The Lizzie MaGuire Movie

The Lizzie MaGuire Movie

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            Growing up watching the Disney Channel, the show Lizzie Maguire was a big hit, perhaps the Hannah Montana of my generation. Staring Hilary Duff, the show follows a young blond girl name Lizzie and her life at home and in middle school. A threesome since elementary school, Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo have been best friends for as long as they can remember but now that they’ve entered middle school and it’s all about cute boys and climbing the social ladder. Along with Kate, the most popular girl, Lizzie’s number one enemy and used to be best friend and Ethan, the heartthrob of their class, Lizzie is faced with the daily struggles of middle school life. Based on the hit show, a movie was made that follows Lizzie, Gordo and their classmates on a trip to Italy before they enter high school. While in Italy, Hilary Duff’s character runs into an Italian Pop Star Paulo and is mistaken for the famous Isabella that is his singing partner. Throughout the film, Lizzie tours Rome on the back of Paulo’s vespa and practices on what will be an out of this world performance at the end of the movie in the Colosseum.

                   While I actually enjoyed this movie, it quickly grew frustrating when Lizzie is mistaken for an Italian Pop Star and ends up singing at the end of the movie. One thing I truly don’t understand is that every actor and actress can now sing and become instantly famous pop stars. This movie is essentially building on the Hilary Duff brand and is the beginning of her singing career. Despite being this girl who deals with mean girls and wondering if she’ll ever be kissed by Ethan, the cutest boy in school, Lizzie now becomes a pop star, wears designer fashion and ‘girlfriend’ of the biggest Italian Pop Star. What kind of message does this send little girls, that is normal?! With shows like Hannah Montana that focus on a girl who is a normal little girl by day and pop diva by night and Lizzie Maguire becoming the it girl in The Lizzie Maguire Movie, we’re playing on the idea that a girls only ambition is to become pretty, perfect and famous! 

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen 

(based on the novel by Dylan Sheldon)

           Based on the novel of the same name by Dylan Sheldon, the film revolves around Mary Elizabeth Cep as she moves from New York City to a New Jersey suburban town where she attempts to become the new queen bee. Demanding to go by a new name she makes up herself, Lola (Mary Elizabeth) runs into the the school’s popular crowd and their head, Carla Santini and they become instant enemies. They go head to head in dance offs, competing for the lead in the schools play and trying to befriend the band, Sidarthur and the lead vocalist, Stu Wolff.  Known for being a drama queen and a bit of an exaggerator, Lola is an aspiring actress but tends to get caught up in her own lies and ultimately is brought down by her enemy Carla. At school the next day after spending the previous night hanging out with Stu Wolff at the band’s after party, Carla reveals that Lola is a liar and never attended the party. With the success of the school play and Lola perfectly executing her performance as the lead and Stu Wolff showing up at a Friday Night party to give Lola a necklace she left at his house, everyone sees that she wasn’t lying.

                        A story that follows a young girl as she moves across the Hudson River to New Jersey, Mary Elizabeth is not happy about moving to a new town and a new school. Known for being a drama queen and a bit of a liar, this movie focuses on popularity, revenge and fame. Half of the story in this film is about the relationship between Lola and the band Sidarthur. Lola is obsessed their music and the lead vocalist and guitarist Stu Wolff. The main character played by none other than Lindsay Lohan, another tween idle, she makes for a perfect Lola in this adaptation on the book of the same name. In the movie version, Lohan’s character gets to meet the pop star first hand and learns he’s a drunk who doesn’t seem to know his own music. Let down and heartbroken, by the end of the movie the pop star sobers up and comes back to seemingly win back Lohan’s character. Movies, books and television shows that focus on this theme of fame and portraying that fans get to become friends as easily as they make it seem in the movies, this simply not real.  

Lizzie MaGuire

Lizzie MaGuire Season One: Aaron Carter's in Town

           Lizzie Maguire was a popular television show that aired on the Disney Channel in early 2001, a show that centered on the life of Lizzie a young girl getting through middle school along with an animated sarcastic alter ego. The series stars Hilary Duff as Lizzie an ordinary, ‘girl next door’ preteen who is confronted by issue adolescents face in their daily life along.  In this particular episode, the famous teen pop star Aaron Carter is in town shooting a Christmas music video. Lizzie offers to write a piece about the music video for the school paper and shows up at the studio harassing the staff to meet the one and only Aaron but lets her best friend take her place to meet the pop star. Leaving her tape recorder in Aaron’s dressing room, she is confronted by Aaron and shares a kiss under the mistletoe outside his door and she and her friends end up being featured in the music video.

                        Another example of this theme becoming more and more normalized in television and books targeted to tweens, the idea of fame has become an important part of the tween life. While it’s perfectly acceptable for children to look up too and aspire to be like their favorite characters on television, the celebrity lifestyle seems so normal to our kids today. In shows like Lizzie Maguire that would be categorized as contemporary realistic fiction, the show features a very realistic lifestyle, making experiences and situations very relatable for the viewers. However with the fame and celebrity lives becoming more and more a part of the story or show, what is this setting our kids up for, aspirations or rejection by standards that television portrays? Is it healthy for our children to be surrounded by the celebrity lifestyle. 

The Idol In Me

Hannah Montana Season One: The Idol In Me

           Considered one of the Disney’s Channels best and most popular shows, Hannah Montana was an extremely successful series that launched the Hannah Montana brand and literally became a nationwide phenomenon. With a huge fan base following, Miley Cyrus became the “it” girl after making Hannah Montana the must watch show in 2006 when it aired. The show focuses on the double life of Miley Stewert, she’s secretly the singing sensation known as Hannah Montana. Dealing with the life as a tween and life in middle school, she’s also the hottest thing around when she portrays the super popular Hannah Montana. In the episode, The Idol side Of Me, Hannah participates in a reality singing competition, Singing with the Stars she’s paired with her enemy, the queen bee Amber and gets her into the top three to humiliate and embarrass her but ends up regretting her decision.

                   A show about a normal girl living a double life as a teen pop star, it’s every girls dream to live the life of Hannah Montana. Already a story about the life (the ups and downs) of being a famous celebrity, Hannah must learn to keep her life as a pop star to her family and closest friends. An episode that focuses on popularity, fitting in, fame, self promotion, this may not be such a good show to promote to young and vulnerable girls. Although a show that emphasizes the life of Miley Stewart and her life with her friends and fitting in at school, girls may relate to that side of Miley but notice and focus more on the glitz and glamour of the pop princess that Hannah is. While the show may be fun and entertaining, it’s unrealistic and terrible example for children. A wig magically transform Miley to Hannah and her mean, sarcastic and trashy attitude is far from what we want our children looking up to.

Stars Dance

Stars Dance Album by Selena Gomez

           Another Disney Star with many followers known as ‘Selenators,’ has stepped out of the Disney spotlight and has grown up with her music in her latest album titled Stars Dance. Pursuing a more grown up look and vibe, is this at all appropriate for her listeners to be following. Her first solo album since breaking away from her band Selena Gomez and The Scene, Gomez admits artists like Britney Spears and Skrillex were the inspiration for her fourth album. Following with the trend in pop, dance and electronic music this album is about getting your dance on. The music video of Slow Down, features Gomez very grown up looking with her wardrobe and makeup while the setting of the video takes place at a dance club and along train tracks. Although the lyrics of speak of taking a relationship slowly rather than rushing into things.

            Although Selena has been praised for keeping somewhat of a good image with her tween followers, she has certainly grown up and is ready to leave her Disney days behind her. Her first solo album certainly seems to be a big step in the direction of taking on more of a sexual appeal than her previous albums and her on screen time with Disney. One thing that has set these Disney stars a part is they have this wholesome image while working on Disney channel shows but once they leave and try to grow up and look for work in more mature content, this leaves their fan base to look up to their new found identity. As we watch some of these stars grow up like Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus, we see these kids not only struggle with identity and privacy but their fan base is influenced by the decisions they make on and off screen. As parents, this is something we don’t want our kids growing up with.   

The Fame

The Fame Album by Lady GaGa

          An album that is definitely intended for high school and even college kids, Lady GaGa has become a favorite among many different age ranges. An artist that truly loves her fans and sings about being an outcast and not fitting in, Lady GaGa is definitely popular amongst today’s tweens. In her debut album titled The Fame, her music expresses her fascination and obsession with becoming famous and being loved by her fans, she even admits she’s afraid of not being in the spotlight. With an artist who is as influential as Lady Gaga, is this the right message to be sending kids? Her most famous tracks off her first album include titles like ‘Just Dance,’ ‘Starstruck,’ ‘Paparazzi,’ and ‘Pokerface.’ Although catchy and fun to dance and sing too, most of her songs and lyrics are superficial and definitely not G-rated. Her song Pokerface plays out explaining a bisexual relationship, Starstruck is exactly what it sounds like and the rest of her album would not be considered appropriate for eight to fourteen year olds, yet the listen to it and know every lyric to her songs.

                   As much as I enjoying listening and dancing to her music, Lady GaGa is definitely not meant for kids. The lyrics, content and visuals are meant for young adult and adults. But with radio and access via television and the internet, it’s so easy to watch and read information that is too mature of kids. Simply goingto YouTube and searching for Lady GaGa, Beyonce or any other artist and watching their music videos, it’s no wonder how kids know so much information that is clearly not acceptable for them to be aware of. Which brings me back to a point I made in an earlier review, is there such thing as parental supervision or control on what children should be allowed/not allowed to read or watch. While I don’t think it’s ok for a parents to be overly controlling about what their children watch or read, there definitely needs to be barriers of what children are allowed to view. 

Just Jake

Just Jake by Jake Marcionette 

           When Jake Matthews is forced to move from his hometown in Florida to Maryland with his family, Jake is completely worried about fitting in at his new school. At home back in Florida, Jake was practically the most popular guy in middle school, everyone loved him. He was funny, awesome and carried himself as one confident kid, until he had to leave and find himself in a new school. No longer feeling confident and struggling to fit in, Jake must confront the bullies at his new school and show his new friends the cool guy he can be. With his ‘rules of awesomeness’ and his arrogant attitude, Jake attempts to be back on top of the social ladder at his new school and to hopefully find a group of friends that will accept who he is. A silly and lighthearted story about a preteen finding their place in middle school, Just Jake is good book for those who love and praise Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

                        A series intended for middle school boys, Just Jake is a fun and quirky story that is similar in style to stories like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and other stories that tell the lives of kids trying to fit in and make sense of who they are in these in between years. Popularity, Fame and being well liked seems to be the most important thing to this age group. Even though it may seem like the end of the world if you’re not in the popular group, we need to redirect tweens to books that don’t solely focus on this subject. I feel there so many books and series that are essentially the same story just with different titles. Instead of focusing on queen bees and what kind of jeans the popular girls are wearing, creating a story that isn’t so predictable and easy for this age group is something we must consider as educators and authors. Tweens are becoming obsessed with ideas fame, vanity and what’s popular that their priorities are not in order.