It troubled me to see this Monster High doll on some retailers’ shelves:
I’m not crazy about the culture that’s given us Twilight, Skullcandy, zombie movies, Paranorman, etc, even though I’ve enjoyed some of it myself and have since I was a boy.
Of course there has always been a fascination with some aspects of death and dying and things that go bump in the night. In my day it was Scooby Doo, Kolchak the Night Stalker, and the annual reinvention of Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein on TV and in theaters.
How is this different? It’s an integration of death and decomposition into preteen playthings, and in this case demonstrates utter insensitivity and irresponsibility. There’s no way this sort of thing can be designed, packaged, and marketed without someone saying “Hey, don’t you think this doll looks bulimic?” at which point someone should say (but didn’t), “Yeah, you’re right, let’s show it to some focus groups and see if they see what you saw.”
This is a “normal” Monster High doll...
If you’re tsk-tsk’ing at Clarence again, it only goes to show that if you have no experience with another's infirmities, it’s difficult to sympathize.
The odder the infirmity, the stronger the reaction. Peanut allergies? That’s crazy. Peanut butter is as American as mom and apple pie. Give me back my airplane peanuts.
I heard a southern fried evangelical preacher on the radio yesterday say all you have to do to cure depression is focus on Jesus and think happy thoughts.
Wow. Now I know.
[2013-12-07]
c0
Someone said to me, You don't really expect me to believe all this, do you? ("this" being my religious posts).
I said, Well, some of it makes things a little less painful in this life, and a little more joyful in the next. The rest is pretty much optional.
[2013-12-13]
c0
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