Apparently I am no longer one of few Americans concerned with the state of children's television and its close ties to modern advertising. As previously posted by LLFCC, several groups of public interest advocates have begun to call children's educational programming into question.

Currently, the FCC only requires broadcasters to show a mere 3 hours of education television per WEEK. The fact that stations are finding it difficult to comply with such a pitiful minimum is, in itself, unbelievable. Furthermore, the shows that are being used to allegedly promote the education of our youth along with the shows that are specifically designed to appeal to children under the age of 16 are horrible in that they provide no intellectual material whatsoever and, in some cases, subtly promote malicious ideals. Among these shows being specifically targeted by the FCC are the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and the Winx Club.

I'll confess that I, as a child, used to be a fan of Power Rangers. What child of the late 1980s or early 1990s wasn't? However, in retrospect, I now recognize that the show provided me with absolutely no beneficial material. There was no promotion of moral values, no useful facts or educational material to promote my growth as a child... nothing. I simply spent hours glued to the television watching the masked good guys beating up the bad guys, over and over again. I've even heard several arguments (admittedly from my peers) that, as outrageous as they are, claim that the show is actually racist. I believe that one individual's exact words were, "Dude, are you kidding? Power Rangers was like the most racist show ever when we were growing up. The black ranger was black, the yellow ranger was Asian, and the nerd had blue balls!" Like the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and their theme of "good vs. evil," the Winx Club provides a completely different legacy: biased gender roles.

Even for a complete tomboy, Barbie dolls still managed to consume a fair amount of my playtime as a child. Currently, Mattel (the company that manufactures the Barbie doll) has began to produce a series of Barbie movies, in which a Princess Barbie or some sort is thrown into a damsel-in-distress situation only to be rescued by a handsome Ken doll. The Winx Club is merely a continuation this biased perspective on gender roles. The show, like a number of movies, other television shows, and current dolls, focuses on the idea that young women should put their appearance before all else using the slogan, "We've got the style, we've got the flair. Look all you want. Don't touch my hair." By comparison, this idea really isn't that shocking. A mere glance at today's dolls, specifically the Bratz (see Bratz.com) collection, provides enough incentive to grow concerned about the effects of today's television programming and advertising and its relation to children.

The question remains: What can we do about it? The answer: the same thing we're always given the option of doing. Write your representatives, contact NAB, or do whatever else you think is right. I personally make it a point to NOT invest any of my time or money into things that I deem morally wrong or hazardous to my intelligence. I'll include an image of the aforementioned Bratz dolls, just to give you an idea of where our world is going in the next 40 years or so.