Play this with your kids!

AD DETECTIVE

Fun and games?

A lot of children's advertisements make eating candy into a game. This distorts children's ability to eat candy responsibly by making it into a matter of winning or losing.

Questions to ask children about advertising

Q - Do commercials use tricks?

Commercials exaggerate the capabilities of toys to make them appear more enticing.

Q - Can toys really talk (move or sing)?

If they move or talk on television…don’t be so sure. This may only be a way of dramatizing the imaginative possibilities of the product.

Q - How do they make food look so good?

Food stylists prepare the food and often don’t even use the original product.

Q - How do they make games look so easy?

Through skillful editing they make it so the user makes no mistakes.

Q - What does “Parts sold separately” mean”

Children who cannot read an ad may be disappointed when they do not receive the accessories displayed in the ad.

Q - Are celebrity sneakers better?

Buying sneakers will not make you play like the person who endorses them.

Silverblatt, Art. Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages. 2nd Edition. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.

Station Identification

Quote of the Day

"I firmly believe that more media literacy instruction can be very useful in our efforts to promote tolerance and combat violence. With the increased exposure of young people to an incredibly broad array of messages from an equally broad array of media messengers, it's all the more important that we teach our young people how to make sense of what they're seeing, hearing, and feeling. We need to teach them how to separate fact from fiction and fantasy. Only if we provide appropriate guidance can we expect our young people to understand that not everything on the screen has a place on the street corner or in the classroom."

-US Attorney General Janet Reno
interview with Cable In The Classroom's Al Race, 1999

CARU Reviews Ad for 'Over the Hedge' Videogame

We all know that small children have a hard time distinguishing between reality and fantasy. But what about the difference between real news and fake news? The makers of the 'Over the Hedge' videogame may have crossed the line by simulating a newscast to promote the new game. Read the document below for details from the Childrens Advertising Review Unit (CARU).

Hakuna Matata and Implicit Meaning

I'm sure most of us have seen The Lion King. In fact, I'd guess that almost all of us can sing the catchy and fun song that Timon, Pumba, and Simba bust out mid-movie, "Hakuna Matata." What exactly does Hakuna Matata mean anyways? Do you remember from the movie? I'm sure you do, let's take a look at the lyrics.

Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase.
Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze.
It means no worries for the rest of your days.
It's our problem-free philosophy.
Hakuna Matata!

Wait a minute. What kind of message are kids getting from this movie? I thought The Lion King was wholesome and uplifting, but according to this scene, it would appear as though the movie's "theme" is one of lack of responsibility or how running away from your responsibilities brings you happiness and friends. Hmmm....interesting. Let's think this through.

This is a great example and has the potential to lead to a constructive conversation with young people. Sure, taken out of context this scene appears to be teaching our children all the wrong things about life. But, when viewed as a whole with the rest of the movie, we get a better understanding of the Hakuna Matata way of life and how it falls short.

Using this film as a visual, take the opportunity to talk to your children about the implicit meanings found in the media around them. Ask them what this scene from The Lion King is saying and if they agree with the message. What's the message of the movie? Do they agree with it?

When discussing other media examples with your children, ask them what the movie, the commercial, the scene, the story, etc. is trying to say or what it's implying.

Helping our children recognize the meanings (both explicit and implicit) behind the media they consume is an important step to empowering them and helping them become media literate.