Also, this is yet another example of companies inexplicably pandering to a small minority while ignoring- and insulting- a much larger section of their potential customers. These crappy little books are put out to make kids want to buy more Lego; you're not exactly inspiring little boys when you make the male hero figures weak and useless, fit only to cheerlead for the true heroes, the women, from the sidelines. t's not just the guys being turned off, either. Because most women don't want men to be weak and incompetent either... just the crazy and insecure ones. Maybe you think that this is a lot to read into a child's book or two, but this is pervasive through just about all entertainment and media now, and it's unhealthy and frankly, boring. Time to stop this pandering nonsense.
After Sunday dinner at my parents' place, a couple of my young nieces brought some selections from my mum's large supply of children's books and asked me to read to them. Read aloud? Talk about threatening me with a good time. Unfortunately, a few of the books they brought were some Lego Superhero ones- not exactly classic literature at the best of times. Goodness knows where they came from; guaranteed my mum didn't buy them... I'm pretty sure she doesn't know that there is a Lego Batman. In any case, I consoled myself that at least they would be short reads and over quickly. Not quickly enough, as it turns out. Look at this trash: In the first book I picked up, Batman and Superman are supposed to be fighting the bad guys but instead get in a fight with each other over who is better. But then... Wonder Woman and Batgirl arrive and try to separate the two immature babies. They can't get them to stop fighting, but not to worry: the ladies will show Batman and Superman how crime fighting is actually done. Wonder Woman and Batgirl handily defeat the villains; Superman and Batman are still arguing and pouting so much that they don't even notice. WW and BG share a laugh at the two silly, incompetent men and walk away. The end. While I was staring with distaste at this nonsense, the three year old handed me the next Lego book. It was no better. Batman and Superman are once again teamed up to fight bad guys but are quickly overpowered and taken prisoner. Of course they are. Not to worry though: Wonder Woman and Batgirl arrive and handily- without any effort at all- punch out the bad guys who Superman and Batman together couldn't handle. As the two incapacitated male superheroes look on, hapless and helpless, the two women mop up the criminals with ease and Batman- Batman- is reduced to fanboying about them. The end. That really was the end, because I flat out refused to rot the nieces' brains with any more of this swill and made them go pick other, better books. Leaving aside for a moment just how badly written these are, the agenda being pushed in them is obvious. The male superheroes are dumb, childish, and incompetent, while the female ones are smart, strong, and able to outfight and overpower all the men, good or bad. I have a few thoughts on this, the first being that this is condescending clap trap. The idea that all women in all modern fiction- it has to be fiction, because it certainly isn't reality- have to be the best and strongest at everything, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional strength, is ridiculous. Do you think we don't know what's going on here? And the idea that women will bond together and support each other to get things done while men will only bicker and tear each other down... well. I'll simply say that I've worked with- and for- both men and women, and the one time someone tried to sabotage me at work, it wasn't one of the men. A lot of women are very handy at tearing each other down, just sayin'. Speaking of tearing people down, it's become a nasty habit for purveyors of fiction, whether written, or made for TV or movies, to put men down in the hope of elevating women. I don't know what cabal got together and decided that boys must be derided and demoralized in order to make girls feel good about themselves, but it needs to stop. Also, this is yet another example of companies inexplicably pandering to a small minority while ignoring- and insulting- a much larger section of their potential customers. These crappy little books are put out to make kids want to buy more Lego; you're not exactly inspiring little boys when you make the male hero figures weak and useless, fit only to cheerlead for the true heroes, the women, from the sidelines. t's not just the guys being turned off, either. Because most women don't want men to be weak and incompetent either... just the crazy and insecure ones. Maybe you think that this is a lot to read into a child's book or two, but this is pervasive through just about all entertainment and media now, and it's unhealthy and frankly, boring. Time to stop this pandering nonsense.
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About MeI'm a lover of good books, classic movies, and well-written shows (as well as some pretty cheesy ones, to be completely honest). Categories
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