The Rugrats

The picture above is from the cartoon show Rugrats. Rugrats was a show that explored the mind's of toddlers/babies. In the show, Rugrats, these children are able to speak to each other, but they can not speak to adults. This allows us to get a view into an imaginary world where babies can communicate with each other, and go on big adventures without adults ever knowing. In the picture above, the main character, Tommy, can be seen smiling and squirting a bottle of milk. Chuckie, the orange haired child holding the teddy bear, has a startled look on his face, as if he is afraid for the consequences of Tommy's actions. Angelica, the blond haired girl holding a strange doll, has a somewhat evil grin on her face, as if she is up to something mischievous. Phil and Lillian, the two fraternal twins scene in the background, look as though they are in excitement when Tommy decides to squirt his bottle of milk. If a parent were to watch a show introducing the idea that babies can talk to each other a go on adventures without anyone knowing, it may cause parents to keep a closer eye on their children while they play.

Potential sources

Potential sources

The image above was part of a “shock and awe” campaign by Gameover.info against violence in video games. The photo depicts a bloody game controller immediately followed with an illustration of a small child in full military dress crouching in a foxhole. The child in the image is presumably targeting the parental audience and is depicting the child in this manner to make a connection between playing violent games, and “training your child to kill”. The photo also coveys negative paternal attitude toward sending your child to fight a war and in some ways is saying that if your child plays video games that he will become want to become a soldier.

The image above differs dramatically from the first as it is a physical representation of childhood presence in the military. The image is the from the cover of a 1970 edition of LIFE magazine, titled Palestinian Arabs: new pride and unity, changing careers at middle age. The image depicts several small Middle Eastern boys, wielding actual combat firearms while forming ranks. The children appear to be partaking in what appears to be some sort of exercise or military drill. The image represents children as soldiers and seems to dismantle all innocence about them. It is a much more graphic approach to the same ideas presented above,but rather exposure to war in reality vs a game. The substantial difference is the target audience, while the first was intended for parents the second fits almost a global scope.

"In This Diary" by the Ataris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SbxNQYblY0

The song "In This Diary" by the band Ataris is the epitome of what childhood is all about. "Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up: These are the best days of our lives" describes how every child dreams of growing up and being an adult, but in reality, one should live in the moment and enjoy it because time flows by so very quickly. "In This Diary" highlights the recklessness and thrills a young adult has with lyrics describing breaking into hotel pools and driving aimlessly in the middle of the night. "In This Diary" is the pure essence of childhood summers, hanging out with best friends and simply having fun. It is definitely without-a-doubt a coming of age song for every generation.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and "Diary" by Ataris

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a children’s novel written in 1895 by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, more commonly known as Lewis Carroll. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, generally shortened to Alice in Wonderland, is of a tale about a young girl named Alice who follows a white rabbit. In her search to find the rabbit, she falls down a mysterious rabbit hole and enters the magical world of Wonderland. Alice meets many interesting beings along her journey. She encounters a blue caterpillar smoking a hookah who questions Alice about herself. “ `I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, ‘because I'm not myself, you see.' “ (Alice in Wonderland pp. 21). Alice admits that she is going through an identity crisis, which shows that she is maturing and changing as she approaches the end of her childhood and her beginnings into young adulthood. As her voyage continues, she enjoys a mad tea party and finds her way onto the Queen’s land. As the Queen shouts "Off with her head", a pack of cards start to swarm over her. Just at that moment, Alice's older sister wakes her up for afternoon tea, leaving Alice to discern what is reality from fantasy.

Second hand smoke

This is a advertisement targeting against second hand smoke in home. From advertisement we can see that a boy sitting in a ordinary home room and have a discordant adult hand holding a cigarette masterly and pose naturally like a adult who have a long history of smoking. On the bottom of the advertisement it says “Second hand smoke in the home hospitalizes 170,000 UK children a year.” And emphasize the number 170,000 to warn parents that if they smoke at home ,it is like they make their child smoke using their own hand even though their child don`t want to but second hand smoke made them to.

He Say She Say by Lupe Fiasco (2006) [Michael Mullen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byV0GUg7w4U This song by Lupe Fiasco goes into detail about a relationship between father, mother, and son. Based on the song's lyrics and the video, the mother and son are telling the father how detrimental his absence in his son's life has been. The two verses are symmetrical, with the child's mother first speaking about his dropping grades and behavior in class to the father and then the child himself speaking from his own perspective. This music video speaks strongly on the relationship parents have with their children, specifically fathers. It claims a lack of interaction will cause a negative affect in a child's life.

Home Alone (1990) [Michael Mullen]

To the left is a promotional poster of Home Alone, a series of four films. The first was directed by Chris Columbus and produced by John Hughes. Near the top of the poster, it states: "A Family Comedy Without the Family." Throughout the film, a child is accidentally left at home by his parents and must ward off idiotic burglars. In this poster, the main character (Kevin) appears to be inside of a house. He appears to be in fear and is staring directly forward with his hands to his cheeks as he yells. Two menacing men look inside of what seems to be a window as snow falls outside. The background is mostly blue and there is a red house with a lone light on between "Home" and "Alone" in the title.