A Nature study shows that men's and women's brains respond differently to seeing someone get hurt. "At some level the study proves for the first time in physical terms what many people assume they already know: That women are generally more empathetic than men and that men are more prone to schadenfreude - malicious joy when faced with another's misfortune."
Can it be that the anti-piracy Motion Picture Association has itself pirated the documentary that ctitizes its rating system? Goose/gander and pot/kettle comments welcome. (Thanks to Jim Judy for suggesting this link.)
Kirby Dick's new movie, "This Film is Not Yet Rated" does to the MPAA ratings system what "Super Size Me" did to Big Macs. About time.
My interview with Steve Saint and Mincaye, who inspired the movie "End of the Spear," is up on Beliefnet.
The makers of "Syriana" put their money where their mouth is by making the production "climate neutral," offsetting their environmental impact with investments in renewable energy. I forsee a day when movie credits will include an environmental certification like the one they currently have for their treatment of animals, a sort of "no planet was harmed in the making of this film."
Here's the press release:
SYRIANA Fights Pollution with Renewable Energy
Warner Bros. Pictures, Participant Productions and NativeEnergy
challenge Hollywood to follow their lead
LOS ANGELES (January 18, 2006) In a groundbreaking move, Warner Bros.
Pictures and Participant Productions have made Syriana, a multi-layered
political thriller about the global oil industry, the first major motion
picture to be "climate neutral" by offsetting 100% of carbon dioxide
emissions generated by the production during filming an estimated 2,040
tons with investments in renewable energy. Investments will be made in
wind and methane power and, specifically, in projects that may not otherwise
happen without this support.
NativeEnergy worked with Syriana's producers to calculate the amount of
carbon dioxide emissions from all of Syriana's production activities,
including filming, air travel, rental car and truck emissions, hotel energy
use, diesel generators used on location, office and warehouse energy use,
and emissions from shipping. NativeEnergy then offset those emissions by
purchasing renewable energy credits, or "green tags," from renewable energy
projects.
Investments are in two projects the construction of a family dairy farm
methane generator and a wind farm in the Midwest. The wind farm is on Native
American land and is Native American owned. In addition to clean energy,
the wind farm will create jobs and revenue streams for the tribes from the
sale of electricity and the green tags.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Participant are bringing critical revenues to the
projects up front, contributing directly to their development and
construction. Renewable energy sources such as wind and methane provide
clean electricity and reduce pollution by displacing energy that would
otherwise have to come from fossil fuels like coal and oil. By making these
investments, Warner Bros. Pictures and Participant Productions are reducing
global warming emissions equivalent to eliminating 4 million average car
miles.
In the past, film producers and actors have planted trees to sequester
carbon emissions from production activities in order to make their films
carbon neutral. Syriana is the first to offset 100% of its carbon footprint
with new renewable energy projects, which will reduce the nation¹s reliance
on fossil fuels while helping Native American tribes and family farms
operate sustainable businesses in balance with the earth.
"Embarking on this project gives us an opportunity to both learn about and
educate the public about our air pollution and climate impacts from using
energy and fuel, as well as available alternatives for investing in and
promoting clean energy," says Shelley Billik, Vice President, Environmental
Initiatives, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. "Measuring one's footprint is
also a great way to learn about reducing energy and fuel consumption in the
first place. We hope that other studios and productions will embark on
similar projects."
"We took the initiative in making this film climate neutral because it is
the right thing to do and it is in keeping with our mission," says Meredith
Blake, Executive Vice President for Corporate & Community Affairs,
Participant Productions. "Participant exists to use films as a means for
social change and this is one more way we can lead by example and help to
bring awareness to the industry that offsetting carbon dioxide emissions is
a viable option."
Tom Boucher, NativeEnergy President & CEO, says that the film industry is
playing a leadership role that others will surely follow. "We hope that
Hollywood, businesses, and audiences everywhere will follow this example and
help fight global warming by diversifying our energy supply with clean,
renewable energy projects they actually participate in getting built,"
Boucher says.
Unless we take steps to reduce our global warming emissions, scientists say
that rising temperatures will lead to droughts, extreme weather, and rising
sea levels endangering our safety, economy, and national security. "Global
warming is one of the most significant problems facing our planet, and
Participant believes that everyone corporations, individuals and
governments has a role to play," says Blake. "Making our films climate
neutral is an example of something we can do to reduce our impact on the
planet, leading the way to positive change."
___________________________________________________________________
About Participant Productions
Founded in January 2004 by Ebay pioneer and philanthropist Jeff Skoll and
headed by Ricky Strauss, Participant Productions' projects focus on
compelling entertainment that highlights important social issues so as to
awaken, inspire and empower audiences to make a difference. In addition to
Syriana, Participant¹s films include: Good Night, and Good Luck. produced
with 2929 Entertainment, directed by George Clooney, and starring Clooney,
David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson and Robert Downey, Jr.; North Country
directed by Niki Caro (Whale Rider) and starring Charlize Theron, Frances
McDormand and Sissy Spacek. Participant documentaries include the acclaimed
Murderball in partnership with THINKFilm and MTV Films; and the upcoming The
World According to Sesame Street.
About NativeEnergy
NativeEnergy is a national marketer of renewable energy credits or "green
tags," offering individuals and organizations a means to compensate for
their global warming pollution, or to effectively power their homes and
businesses with renewable energy. NativeEnergy's patent-pending business
process brings upfront payment to renewable projects for their future green
tag output, enabling its customers to help finance the construction of new
wind farms and other renewable energy projects, such as tribal wind projects
and methane digesters on Pennsylvania family dairy farms, which directly
reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to meet the nation¹s electricity needs.
NativeEnergy also offers Green-e certified green tags from operating wind
farms. Online at: www.nativeenergy.com
MEDIA MOM
Homophobic 'humor' is too widespread in kids' media
By Nell Minow
Special to the Chicago Tribune
Published January 19, 2006
Several movies released in the last part of 2005 had sensitive, understanding and compassionate portrayals of gay and transgendered characters: "Brokeback Mountain," "Rent," "The Family Stone" and "Breakfast on Pluto."
So why is it that so many films made for children and teens feature casually homophobic humor?
In one of this season's PG family comedies, a princessy teenager played by the wholesome Hilary Duff is annoyed at her pesky younger sister.
In the old days, Big Sis might have called Little Sis a brat. But in "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," the insult of choice is, "Whatever, Butch!" Later in the same movie, two warring fathers are mistaken for a gay couple, a situation viewers are expected to find wildly funny.
It's bad enough that this kind of "humor" is offensive as a matter of taste and tolerance, but what parent wants to explain to an 8-year-old what the "butch" comment means, or why it is supposed to be funny that one man has his arm around another man's shoulders?
This is the place where the ratings board run by the Motion Picture Association of America is at its worst, because it does not take humor seriously. Material that would get a PG-13 or an R in a drama gets a PG or even a G in a comedy.
This means that parents are not adequately warned about material that raises two issues of concern. First, it raises issues of gender and sexuality that many parents would not consider appropriate for children. The light-hearted insults in these films can even make it harder to have a thoughtful conversation with children about those issues because they reinforce a very limited notion of what is "normal."
Second, it suggests that it is permissible to make fun of people who are gay or who do not conform to the most narrow definitions of what it means to be male or female.
In the recent PG "Yours, Mine & Ours," it is supposed to be humorous that one of the young sons of a free-thinking mother is a junior "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," advising his mother about fabrics and trim on the purses she designs.
At least her view of him is loving and accepting. Later in the film, when the older children want to come up with the prank that would most upset their straight-arrow father, their idea turns out to be dressing up two 4-year-old boys in girls' clothes and having them talk about tea parties.
"Raise your hand if your brother's a homo!" is a frequent punch line in "Just Friends," a current PG-13 release directed at teenagers. This is a high schooler's insult to his twenty-something brother because the elder brother has failed to "boink" the girl he likes.
Even the darling Disney animated "Chicken Little" has "sissy" humor, when the mother of the high-strung and fearful pig character threatens to take away his Barbra Streisand collection as a punishment. More troubling, the outspoken "mean girl" in the movie, an outstanding athlete, is transformed into a sweet, ruffle-wearing stereotypical girly-girl. At the end, we see her happily dancing with the pig.
Other characters in the film make mistakes and find their way toward becoming more grown up, but only she undergoes such a complete (and presumably humorous) transformation. It would be fine to see her learn her lesson and become more considerate, but the implication here is that she has had to relinquish her strength, competence, independent spirit -- and overalls -- in order to do so.
It's unlikely that these themes and portrayals will create any confusion in children or teens about their own sexual orientation.
But they may create other kinds of confusion, for they send troubling messages about gender roles and even more troubling messages about the way we treat those who do not conform to the traditional models.
Movies, television, and popular music help children and teenagers determine the definitions of manhood and womanhood, and all too often they focus on the extremes. They show us men who keep all of their emotions inside, demonstrating manhood through physical courage and power. And they show us women who are softhearted and seldom rely on their wisdom and judgment to solve problems, achieving power through their beauty, vulnerability and sexuality.
These depictions can be especially appealing to children and adolescents who often cling to absolutes for a sense of security as they move toward growing up.
Parents need to make sure that children and teenagers see images of characters who show some emotional vulnerability along with physical and intellectual power. Books of stories like "Tatterhood and Other Tales" (edited by Ethel Johnston Phelps), "The Outspoken Princess and the Gentle Knight" (edited by Jack Zipes); the "Redwall" series of novels by Brian Jacques; and movies "The Court Jester," (1956 comedy starring a wonderful cast including Danny Kaye), "The Great Race," (1965 comedy featuring Jack Lemmon among the Hollywood "names") and the current "Chronicles of Narnia" are the sorts of family fare that show male and female characters who are strong, resourceful, and empathetic.
But for kids, no film or book can top what matters most: the behavior they observe at home. Parents should avoid using words like "sissy" and "tomboy," and they should openly object to jokes that make fun of someone's gender or sexual orientation.
Teenagers today, even those who consider themselves sophisticated supporters of homosexual classmates, often use "gay" as an all-purpose insult. This is an age group that responds better to questions than reprimands, so it may help for parents who hear this kind of language to ask -- sincerely -- why the term is considered appropriate and not bigoted.
Families also can discuss the way that rap music has often included offensive homophobic references as a part of its macho bluster. They certainly should talk about rap superstar Kanye West's challenge to all rap performers to stop mindlessly using anti-gay insults in lyrics.
In an interview on MTV in 2005, West explained that he became homophobic when he was younger because he was called "fag" and "mama's boy" in school, but, in part because he has a gay relative, he realizes how wrong and hurtful those gangsta definitions of masculinity can be.
And since we're not likely to get rid of humor that depends on stereotypes any time soon, the most important defense parents can provide is this: teaching children and teenagers that one core attribute of being a man and a woman is respecting the honor and dignity of others who are different.
----------
Nell Minow reviews movies each week for Yahoo! and for radio stations across the country. She can be reached at moviemom@moviemom.com
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Those of us who sit through a lot of very bad movies get some revenge once a year with a chance to vote for The Stinkers - The Ultimate Bad Movie Awards.
I remember every one of the movies in this wonderful article from the New York Times about the movies' take on advertising. The 1950's in particular produced some wonderful satires on marketing and consumer culture, partly as a way for the movies to fight back against their new rival, television. The one film left out of this terrific list is "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" the most outrageous of the bunch, starring Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield.
The Broadcast Film Critics announced their Critics' Choice awards last night, with "Brokeback Mountain" the big winner (best picture, best director, and best supporting actress). In the new category of best comedy, the winner was "40 Year Old Virgin." Statistically, these have been the most accurate predictors of the Oscars. And the winners are:
BEST PICTURE:
Brokeback Mountain
BEST ACTOR:
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “Capote”
BEST ACTRESS:
Reese Witherspoon – “Walk the Line”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Paul Giamatti – “Cinderella Man”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Amy Adams – “Junebug”
Michelle Williams – “Brokeback Mountain”
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE:
Crash
BEST DIRECTOR:
Ang Lee – “Brokeback Mountain”
BEST WRITER:
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco – “Crash”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
BEST YOUNG ACTOR:
Freddie Highmore – “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS:
Dakota Fanning – “War of the Worlds”
BEST COMEDY:
The 40 Year-Old Virgin
BEST FAMILY FILM (LIVE ACTION):
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION:
Into the West
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Kung Fu Hustle
BEST SONG:
“Hustle & Flow” – performed by Terrence Howard, written by Al Kapone – “Hustle & Flow”
BEST SOUNDTRACK:
Walk the Line
BEST COMPOSER:
John Williams – “Memoirs of a Geisha”
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
March of the Penguins
I don't much care who wins the awards but I do enjoy the scrambling for anything resembling a worthwhile detail on the way there. The Envelope is ground zero for this stuff. Jon Stewart is a great choice as Oscar host. Oh, and I sent in my ballot for the Critic's Choice awards this evening, so I get a special kick out of seeing it edge closer and closer to the Golden Globes as the most credible pre-O indicator. Be sure to watch the show!
The Black Reel nominations are in -- with three nods to Washington Area critics' breakout star Terrence Howard. I was lucky enough to be invited to vote on these nominations and I am delighted by the way they came out.
If the swarm of Oscar-prediction websites obsessing over all over the hothouse/arthouse critics' darlings has you feeling claustrophobic, the folks at Rotten Tomatoes have just what you need -- ROTTEN TOMATOES: Bombs to the Bomb, a delicious re-look at some of the year's worst movies to recast them (not, alas literally) as awards-bait. I loved it even though it includes "Supercross" -- which I gave one of its 2 (out of 55) positive reviews (and then completely forgot).
I also loved this year's Slate Movie Club discussion, always the year's best, most provocative, and most purely entertaining round-up (even if they do spend too much time on the "no one's ever heard of this movie and it only had one showing at the East Grinstock Film Festival and Bake Sale and it's in !Kung without subtitles but has a transcendent performance and a piercing depiction of government inhumanity and family dyfunction"-type films). It's smarter and more fun than most of the movies it covers.
Washington Post critic Desson Thomson always has one of the best end of year lists, especially his disappointments.
Contact:
Nell Minow
moviemom@moviemom.com
http://movies.yahoo.com/moviemom
Movie Mom Names
Top Films and Top Family Films for 2005
(Washington DC) December 27, 2005 Nell Minow, who reviews movies each week for Yahoo! Movies and radio stations across the US, has released her list of the year’s best movies – the top 10 overall and the top 10 for families, with three runners-up in each category.
This year’s lists include some first-time screenwriters and directors, like Paul Haggis with “Crash,” Dan Futterman with “Capote,” and Joe Wright with “Pride and Prejudice,” as well as champion of the box office and Oscars Steven Spielberg for “Munich.” It was again a very strong year for documentaries, with “Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,” “March of the Penguins,” “Mad Hot Ballroom,” and “Murderball” as standouts. The list of family films ranges from the brilliantly imagined big-budget worlds of Narnia, Chicken Little, and Harry Potter to the warm, evocative stories of love, loss, and growing up in “Roll Bounce” and “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” And one movie made it onto both lists – the deliriously entertaining “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” the first-ever feature from multi-Oscar-winner Nick Park.
Top 10 list for 2005
1. Good Night and Good Luck
2. Munich
3. Crash
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
6. Pride and Prejudice
7. Everything is Illuminated
8. Brokeback Mountain
9. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
10. The Squid and the Whale
Runners-up: A History of Violence, Capote, Murderball
Top 10 Family Movies for 2005
1. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
4. Mad Hot Ballroom
5. Robots
6. Chicken Little
7. March of the Penguins
8. Roll Bounce
9. Sky High
10. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Runners-up: Millions, Mirrormask, Serenity
Nell Minow is the author of The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies. She also writes the Media Mom column for the Chicago Tribune.
Movie Mom is a registered trademark of Nell Minow.
Salon has an excellent article by Michelle Goldberg about the pre-emptive strike against the new Steven Spielberg movie about the Israeli response to the massacre of its Olympic athletes in 1972. What I like about the movie is just what the extremists find most threatening. Everyone in the movie is trying to protect his or her home and family. That does not mean that the point of view of the movie is that all judgments or actions taken for that protection are equally valid. But the movie does explore the moral and psychic costs of retaliation on people of honor and integrity. Many people would love to have seen this be an "Indiana Jones and Luke Skywalker Go After the Palestinians" shoot-em-up, but that would have been a disservice and a dishonor to the people who have died and the people who have killed in this conflict over the years and to those of us who are developing evaluating our countries' policies on terrorism today.
Salon's new Broadsheet blog discusses my article about DVDs for infants and toddlers. The commenter who says that Baby Einstein is not as thoroughly merchandised as Sesame Street should take a look at this press release, which lists the "must-have" gifts for the holiday season, including the Baby Einstein Sing and Learn Monkey, "the lovable, interactive plush puppet host of the Baby da Vinci(TM) From Head to Toe DVD and video." This is contrary, by the way, to the response I got from the company when I asked whether they were going to market the toys from the videos. "Baby Einstein features toys from many manufacturers in our award-winning line of developmental DVDs and videos. Although Baby Einstein does not sell these products, we do provide information on obtaining these items. Please visit http://www.babyeinstein.com/ and look at the “Toys in Videos” section under the Products tab. In addition to creating videos and DVDs, Baby Einstein now offers its own line of books, music CDs, Discovery Cards, juvenile playthings, toys, baby gear, bibs, soft bath items, party supplies and apparel for little ones ages 0-3."
Also, yesterday's Chicago Tribune had a great
editorial about media for babies, citing my piece.
The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a report calling for more research and better labeling for products marketed as "educational" for under-twos.
The more I learned about the booming world of media for 0-24-month olds, the angrier I got. The nerve of the Baby Einstein people to say that they disagree with the American Pediatric Association's recommendation of no television, videos, or computers for babies under 24 months but admit that their own materials are not "research based." They know that the research shows that kids learn less from these DVDs than from interacting with the world (and that, contrary to being calming, the refresh rate of pulsing light on any screen is both hypnotic and stimulating, neither good for babies), but they are making so much money that they do not want to have to deal with what the research will tell them.
MEDIA MOM
Are 'educational' baby videos a scam?
Research lacking to support claims
By Nell Minow
Special to the Tribune
December 14, 2005
Nothing grabs the attention of nervous new parents and excited grandparents like a product they think can make their children smarter.
The market for educational "baby videos" aimed at children as young as newborn has skyrocketed, representing about $100 million in annual sales, according to Business Week.
It's ironic that while food labeled "fresh" or "low-fat" must meet very specific federal standards, there's nothing to prevent a manufacturer from labeling a kiddie video "educational" or "enriching" without providing much support for the claims. Indeed, for at least one educational baby video series, the PhD "experts" endorsing it on the box do not disclose they also are the experts paid to help develop it.
Our youngest children are growing up in media-saturated households, but a Kaiser Family Foundation report released last January found only limited research on electronic media's effects on them. (This week the non-profit private foundation plans to release a report on the marketing of educational media for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as hold a roundtable discussion on the topic.)
There's also little available to help parents figure out the value of educational DVDs or videos or computer games designed for children under age 2.
Here's what we do know:
- The "Mozart effect" -- the popular idea that listening to classical music will make you (or your child) smarter -- has been discredited.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics advises zero "screen time" (videos, television, computer) -- none -- for children under age 2.
- No reliable body of research exists to support the notion that a child so young can measurably, permanently benefit from watching developmental videos.
Unfortunately for parents and grandparents, according to Dr. Susan Linn, psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center and Harvard Medical School, so-called "developmental" videos won't put Baby on the path to the Ivy League.
"Essentially, the baby video industry is a scam. There's no evidence that the videos are educational for babies, and a review of the research on babies and videos concludes that while older babies can imitate simple actions from a video they've seen several times, they learn much more rapidly from real life," Linn says.
One of the best known series of developmental media for infants is Baby Einstein, which got its start in 1997 when new mom Julie Aigner-Clark created a video "to help her share her love of art, classical music, language and poetry with her newborn daughter," according to the company Web site.
Until then, instructional media for children usually began around age 3, with the focus on preschool curriculum content -- dancing alphabet letters and numbers and flashcard-style presentations of colors, animals and shapes.
Baby Einstein, aimed at infants, is more gentle and free-form, with music, words and images of babies, children, toys, pictures and nature.
The company names its products after people from history instantly recognizable as brilliant in the arts and sciences -- Baby Bach, Baby Galileo, Baby Monet, Baby Wordsworth, for example.
Now a part of the Walt Disney Co., Baby Einstein has expanded its series of DVDs, music CDs, books and toys to include many more titles intended for infants, some as young as newborn or a month old. The company also has launched a new line of Little Einstein products for preschoolers.
But to my mind, it's hard to figure out what these products do. Are they entertainment? Are they educational? Something between a baby-sitter and a hold button to give tired parents a break?
Smarter not the goal
I turned to the company Web site and online store -- www.babyeinstein.com -- and learned the videos, music and "discovery cards" (flashcards) don't promise to raise a baby's IQ to Einstein levels. "Baby Einstein products are not designed to make babies smarter," the Web site says. "Rather, Baby Einstein products are specifically designed to engage babies and provide parents with tools to help expose their little ones to the world around them in playful and enriching ways -- stimulating a baby's natural curiosity."
The Web site features parental testimonials for Baby Einstein's success at holding their babies' interest, increasing attention span, teaching colors and appreciation for classical music. There's also a separate group of testimonials attesting to Baby Einstein's power as a calming agent for fussy, fractious kids. "Thank you so much for making something that my baby is interested in because I cannot get him to sit down and watch anything else except Baby Einstein," says one.
"They have been almost like a baby-sitter to me, while I shower or wash the dishes," says another.
Nobody can take issue with harried parents thrilled to find something to keep the baby occupied for a few minutes so they can clear the table or grab a shower. But do we really want babies to learn that the best way to find something interesting to do, or to calm themselves down, is to watch a television screen?
I e-mailed Baby Einstein to ask if staff members know of any independent research showing what babies and toddlers learn from material like their videos. I heard back promptly from a publicist who ran my questions by the company's vice president for marketing, communications and educational products, Rashmi Turner.
"It is important to note that Baby Einstein products are specifically designed to provide parents with tools to help expose their little ones to the world around them through parent-child interaction," Turner said.
"The Baby Einstein Company does work closely with child development experts and relies on their insights and expertise to help ensure its products are appropriate for both parents and babies alike."
I brought up the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that babies under age 2 not have any "screen time" at all, whether television, DVDs or computers because children learn best through hands-on experience and interaction.
"As stated on the Web site, The Baby Einstein Company respects the American Academy of Pediatrics," Turner said. "While we don't necessarily agree that children under the age of 2 should not be exposed to television, as we believe it can be a powerful learning tool when used appropriately, we do agree with many aspects of the AAP's recommendation."
Notably, Baby Einstein agrees that parents should watch programming with their children and parents should interact with their children throughout -- talking, playing, singing and reading together. That part of the Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation, however, is supposed to apply to older children, not infants and toddlers.
Turner said the Baby Einstein DVDs are "not research-based" and the company does not have any data showing that children learn anything from watching them.
Evaluation difficult
It is very difficult to evaluate how much infants can learn from watching videos and DVDs, first because we can't ask them, but more important because infants are at the most receptive stage of life for learning. It is almost impossible to measure how much they pick up -- much less how quickly or how well they learn -- from a DVD compared with having a parent or caregiver sing a song or play with them.
Still, an academic review of the research to date by Daniel R. Anderson and Tiffany A. Pempek of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, discussing studies from different perspectives (measuring attention, imitation, new vocabulary), shows babies learn less from watching DVDs than from the same amount of time playing and interacting and observing directly.
In other words, your baby will learn more about gravity from throwing her spoon onto the floor than she will from watching a video of a baby dropping spoons -- no matter what kind of music is playing in the background.
If you look and listen carefully, that's what the producers of the baby DVDs themselves tell you.
Three "academic leaders" (who also are paid consultants, though that isn't disclosed) appear in a segment for parents on the Eebee DVD by Sony Wonder, for example, to explain to parents that babies need interaction and experience. They advise parents that "play is the work of childhood" and that children need to feel textures and explore objects for themselves.
"We know that passive viewing is not good for children," says Kathy Hirsch-Pasek, identified as a PhD and co-author of "Einstein Never Used Flashcards." On the DVD's box, however, which does not identify her as a consultant in developing the material, Hirsch-Pasek, provides a cheery blurb that reads: "Eebee's adventures sparkle with a creativity that shows how the magic of everyday moments can become extraordinary learning opportunities."
Also on the Eebee DVD, Dr. Deborah Linebarger of the University of Pennsylvania, another paid consultant, says, "It's not realistic to tell a parent no TV or no videos."
Not realistic? That makes me furious. Are babies going to tell you they're going to the library to study and then sneak off to a friend's house to watch something on a screen? One lesson babies cannot learn too early is that parents know how to set limits.
`What are we learning?'
Former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson once said, "All television is educational. The question is what we are learning from it."
Despite adults' best intentions in turning on "enriching" videos, there's a danger babies and toddlers may be learning they don't need to develop imagination, curiosity and the ability to entertain and quiet themselves. As Linn says, "What babies do learn . . . is to turn to a screen for stimulation and for soothing."
These DVDs don't teach babies nearly as much about colors or words or shapes or the world outside as they teach them this: Watching television is and will be a major occupation.
So when we sit babies down in front of a video about how wonderful it is to touch, squeeze, roll, stretch, hide and feel -- instead of encouraging them to actually do those things -- the lessons they are most likely to learn are that watching television is important and that the grown-ups in their life will tell them one thing but do the opposite.
Maybe that's a new line of products. We can call them Baby Irony.
- - -
Alternatives
Media Mom suggests:
- Play music and sing to your baby (she doesn't care that you're not a candidate for "American Idol").
- Read books out loud and make audio tapes of yourself reading them to play to the baby when you are away.
- Give the toddler measuring cups and something safe to scoop and spill -- his cereal, maybe, or mashed potatoes. (Let him enjoy getting messy and be sure to take pictures before he takes a bath.)
- Describe what you're doing, and describe what you see. "We are driving to the bank, and oh, look! A fire engine! Where's it going?" is thrilling repartee for a toddler in a car seat, and your excitement and curiosity will be inspiring.
- Remember, you are doing much more than practicing words or pointing out things about the world around you. You are teaching your baby he or she is important to you -- that's a lesson no video can match.
- - -
What the American Academy of Pediatrics says about television, children and learning:
Television affects how your child learns. High-quality, non-violent children's shows can have a positive effect on learning. Studies show that preschool children who watch educational TV programs do better on reading and math tests than children who do not watch those programs. When used carefully, television can be a positive tool to help your child learn.
For older children, high-quality TV programs can have benefits. However, for younger children it's a very different story. The first two years of life are especially important in the growth and development of your child's brain. During this time, children need good, positive interaction with other children and adults to develop good language and social skills. Learning to talk and play with others is far more important than watching television.
Until more research is done about the effects of TV on very young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television for children younger than two years of age. For older children, the AAP recommends no more than one to two hours per day of quality screen time.
www.aap.org
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A crowded field
The popularity of the Baby Einstein series has inspired other companies to further pry open the wallets of competitive or worried parents. Psychologist Susan Linn has counted more than 200 titles for this age group. Among them:
Baby Chatterbox (where "learning is always fun!!!") is "designed by caring parents, teachers and speech language professionals" to "focus on promoting your child's vocabulary acquisition." Recommended ages: 3 months to 3 years.
Baby Bumblebee, which claims to rely on "a scientifically well-established teaching method," says it will "build your baby's brain" with DVDs devoted to vocabulary building and numbers. Recommended ages: 4 months to 11 months, though it adds that "many parents have successfully started earlier or later."
Eebee's programs ("when adventure becomes understanding") show adults interacting with babies and a baby puppet, playing with a ball and pouring cereal.
Tiny Tot Sports says it helps fight childhood obesity with its DVDs about baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and football for "ages 0-4."
Sesame Street announced in November the advent of Sesame Beginnings, "a new line of DVDs, books, toys and infant products, brings everything you love about Sesame Street to you and your infant." The Web site notes, "With Sesame Beginnings, every time you and your baby laugh and connect over a silly song, you encourage your child's curiosity and interest in learning."
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Nell Minow reviews movies each week as The Movie Mom for Yahoo! Movies and for radio stations across the country. She can be reached at moviemom@moviemom.com.
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
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This Slim Smith column has a story about a woman who saw a 4 or 5 year old at the R-rated gore-fest "Saw II." She thinks it should be the theater's responsibility to keep the child from seeing the movie. But, as I explained to Smith, R just means that no one under 17 is admitted without a parent. Any parent can bring a child to an R-rated movie, and it really can't be the job of the theater or the movie studio to tell a parent what to do. It can be the job of the state, however, and I am all for calling this kind of exposure child abuse.
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