Friday, June 15, 2007
Page 15
AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)
Time for a Good Girl Role Model
By J’AMY PACHECO
As a mother, I worry about the way my daughter is influenced by the outside world.
Fortunately, she has a good head on her shoulders and thus far has been uninspired by “role models” like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. If she notices them at all, it’s to remark on how embarrassing she finds their behavior. In fact, if anything, she is disgusted that former Disney Girls Lohan and Spears have strayed so far from their roots with the wholesome mouse family.
That’s not to say, however, that my ‘tween isn’t influenced by pop culture. The truth is quite the opposite. She can be very quick to express longing to jump on a passing bandwagon.
Some time ago, for example, she got a bite from the concert bug after hearing the Cheetah Girls were coming to town. When I discovered that ticket brokers had snapped up all the seats and were selling them for unconscionable markups, I wrote a letter of dismay to the powers that be, and was able to buy what had to be the best concert tickets ever for the original ticket price.
That night, I told my daughter to enjoy the show, because she’d never see another concert from seats that good. So far, she hasn’t asked to attend another concert. Phew.
But we do own just about every CD with ‘tween appeal ever pressed. The same goes for movies like “High School Musical,” “Jump In” and, of course, “The Cheetah Girls” and its sequel.
There’s another movie on the horizon that you can bet we’ll be seeing and ultimately, buying. Nancy Drew – who in reality is waaaay older than I am – is making her way to the big screen this week. I can’t wait – and neither can my daughter.
It doesn’t take a detective to figure out how Nancy Drew has managed to retain her popularity for almost 80 years. She’s a titian-haired beauty who drives a convertible, has a hunky boyfriend, true-blue friends, a big house and a live-in housekeeper – yet is as kind and down-to-earth as can be. She’s brave, friendly, adventurous — and has 24/7 access to a really good lawyer. How could anyone not love Nancy Drew?
(For the record, I don’t have a clue as to what color “titian” is. On the covers of some of the books I read as a child, Nancy appeared to be blonde. On others, she was a redhead. In any case, I like the glamorous sound of “titian” and wish I, too, could have titian hair. I wouldn’t mind a convertible and a good lawyer, either.)
Anyway, back to the subject — which is, believe it or not, good role models for girls. The Los Angeles Times reported last weekend that Hollywood is “rediscovering” the power of the good girl role model. I say, “Hooray for Hollywood!”
It’s about time. There is a whole world of parents crying out for entertainment that will interest their children without making them think it’s cool to be a lowlife human being.
My daughter recently begged for a book that is essentially 227 pages of e-mail chat between friends printed in book form. Although the book is written at a very low reading level, I worried about the fact that it was sold in the teen section of the bookstore, and decided to read it myself first. Three pages into it, I knew it was a no-go, based upon the very inappropriate conversations between the girls in the book.
I’m delighted that the people who put entertainment out into the world are finally realizing that not everybody with money to spend wants to spend it on trash.
The girls I know are smart, work hard in school, are very responsible and perform community service. They also like to listen to music, play computer games, see movies, buy clothes, and read interesting books and magazines. They like to look stylish, but not trashy.
They also have mothers who would love to not only go see fun girl movies with their daughters, but who are always looking for appropriate music, movies, books, games and other items to purchase for their own girls and friends.
I don’t have a son, so I don’t know much about ‘tween boys and what they’d like to spend money on. But I imagine they want some of the same things girls want – to be entertained, to be challenged, and to feel like they fit in.
I’m encouraged by the current wave of wholesome entertainment, and hope it turns out to be very profitable for the people behind it. Who knows, maybe Paris, Lindsay and Britney will be inspired to clean themselves up.
I’m not sure how, but a nice titian hair rinse might be the place to start…
Copyright 2007, Metropolitan News Company