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.

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.

Pretties

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

In the highly anticipated sequel to Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, Tally Youngblood finally undergoes cosmetic surgery to be a pretty. She finally has it all-she’s beautiful, popular, has a gorgeous boyfriend and wears truly awesome clothes, but something doesn’t seem right, something is mentally off and Tally is on a mission to find out what’s happened. Set in a dystopian future, where everyone is pretty, there’s a price for beauty. Once having undergone the surgery pretties are given brain lesions that leave them in a state of being perpetually lazy and living a life of luxury and high entertainment. Now that Tally is a pretty she forgets she has volunteered to take a drug that cures the legion. This epic sequel takes the reader on a journey that helps Tally remember what’s important and who she is and who her true friends are. In a twisted and engaging story, this is an interesting book that deals with our obsession with vanity and a celebrity like lifestyle.

                        A story that is definitely intended more for a young adult audience, I see more and more middle school aged girls reading this series. While the second book in the series deals with themes of popularity, fame, vanity obsession and the harm in them, I think it ultimately teaches young girls the importance of who you are and not being focused on reaching perfection when it comes to our appearance. An interesting approach to telling a story focused on the standards of beauty and reaching a state of perfection, I applaud this author and how he executes such a powerful message. While reading this book, I couldn’t help but think how many young girls (10, 11, 12 years old) request this book. It made me think about parental guidance in tween reading. Are they aware that the maturity and young adult fiction and tween fiction is significant? Do they care/not care what their children are reading? Should tweens be reading material that is too old for them? It’s certainly an interesting topic to discuss.

The Popularity Papers

The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham Chang

The Popularity Papers is an interesting story told from the perspective of two best friends who are just outside the ‘in crowd’ and looking in on the lives of those in the popular group and what makes them so much cooler and better than everyone else. In this journal like story, two fifth grade friends are determined to find out the secrets and the inner workings of what it takes to be popular at their middle school. Through observations, recording and mimicking the attitude and demeanor of the popular girls, Lydia and Julie research every move of the popular girls at school because, ‘when you’re popular, you’re just better.’ Styled with heavy illustrations and in a notebook fashion, learn the inner workings of the in crowd, the importance of the social hierarchy of preteens and follow Lydia and Julie on their quest for popularity and where it leads them.

             In the same fashion as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this story focuses on the importance of social hierarchy in middle school. I think it’s safe to say that when it comes to writing books (specifically series) for tweens today, authors stick to the same basic themes. Many series that are intended for a tween audience, the story is most likely going to focus on how to navigate middle school and primarily center on the popular crowd and the main character’s relation to those in the popular crowd. While this may be an important part of a twelve old girls life, it’s important to challenge them intellectually. Letting them read story after story that is essentially the same thing, I think it’s important to emphasize a well rounded reading experience. Although, I enjoyed this story more than the others I think it’s time to turn the focus on a different aspect of life in middle school.

Candy Apple

Candy Apple (Accidentally Famous) by Lisa Papademtriou

The Candy Apple series has long been a favorite for middle school age girls and tweens everywhere. In book fourteen of the acclaimed children’s series, Accidentally Famous centers on Amy Flowers, a seventh grader who is full of personality and energy, the attitude that ‘the league’ doesn’t appreciate so much. Fiona, the queen bee of ‘the league’ does not care for Amy and the fact that she marches to her own beat and doesn’t care what people think about her. In this story, Amy is helping fellow league member Jenelle put on a charity fashion show when Amy steals the show. Amy designs and models her own outfit and is photographed and instantly becomes the fashion guru at school. This infuriates Fiona, she’s no longer in the spotlight and she’ll do anything to get it back. Will the spotlight and attention get to Amy’s head?

            Another series for young girls to become addicted too, the themes continue to focus on jealousy, attention seeking, girl drama, revenge and popularity. With so many books intended for the tween audience the message is narrow, it’s all about popularity and taking down your enemy. While this maybe the life of middle school girls and we feel books should relate back to the reader, how are these kinds of stories or series healthy for young girls to continue to read? When the books became the personal, more intimate and diary style of writing, I was completely in favor of this style of writing. It was personal and it allowed for an even deeper connection to the reader. This style has become almost saturated in tween literature these days and I feel it’s no longer interesting and almost dull.

How I Survived Middle School

How I Survived Middle School (Wish Upon A Star) by Nancy Krulik

In book eleven in the popular tween series, How I Survived Middle School Jenny is on the dance committee and wants to make sure the winter dance will be an event everyone will remember. But the thing is no one is excited about the dance being in the school gym…Jenny’s former best friend Addie who is also on the dance committee lies saying a pop star will be performing at the dance, getting everyone excited about the upcoming festivities and ticket sales up. Knowing that Addie lied about getting Cody Tucker (only the biggest pop star of all time or at least at Jenny’s middle school, She’s somehow got to get that pop star to show up at the dance. Although Addie’s dad’s company is a sponsor for Cody, she tells everyone her father knows Cody and can easily get him to perform at the dance, only her father does not know Cody.

            Nancy Krulik is beloved among fifth grade girls for her series, How I Survived Middle School. Gushing about crushes, middle school girl drama and more, this series is a favorite for ‘tween’ girls especially. In this particular story, Jenny McAfee is excited about being a part of the dance committee and wanting to make it a dance no one will forget. A former friend who is also a part of the committee promises a teen heart throb pop star will be at the dance. Once students hear the name Cody Tucker in the halls, everyone is finally excited about the dance. What would be a fun event for any middle school girl, the only reason why people are excited about the event is the fact that a famous pop start will make an appearance. Again, another story centered on fame and the growing obsession with fame and celebrities. 

Dork Diaries: Tales of a Not So Fabulous Life

Dork Diaries: Tales of a Not So Fabulous Life by Rachel Russell

In what will become an instant middle school classic novel (with sketches throughout the book to get the feel of a real life diary), Dork Diaries is a series that focuses on Nikki Maxwell and her life as her she and her family move to a new school. In the fashion of a diary (which seems to be a very trendy writing style these days for tweens), Nikki spills all, her feelings about moving and having to make new friends and how to handle life as a middle schooler, because it’s just too difficult to be in the eighth grade! She pulls off the whole, ‘no understands me or knows what I’m going through’ very well and dishes about boys, dealing with sister, begging for the latest iPhone and seriously ripping on the mean girl, Mackenzie in her art class. Follow Nikki’s life in the first novel of the hit series, Dork Diaries: Tales of a Not So Fabulous Life.    

      Much the book focuses on the struggle of being popular and the coolest girl in eighth grade. But isn’t that everyone’s problem in middle school? Now more than ever, popularity, being the coolest and prettiest girl in school seems to be the most important part of school. With bullying becomes more severe and much more of a problem, everyone is in a race to be the most popular kid in school and afraid of being left out and becoming invisible. More than ever, there is a heightened sense of pressure to be a part of the in crowd and to be well known amongst your peers. The whole idea of fame and self promotion is seeping into the classrooms of middle schools across the country, even elementary schools. So what’s the deal, why is it so important to be socially accepted as being number one?

BABYMOUSE

BABYMOUSE by Jennifer L. Holm 

Jennifer L. Holm is a gifted storyteller and is praised and loved for her success with her pink graphic novel series, BABYMOUSE. A Newbery Award winning author and three time recipient for the Newbery Honor, Jennifer Holm created a story that focuses on the life of a young female mouse and her life at home and in the halls at school. Much of the story revolves around the life of young mousling who is trying to fit in at school. She wants to be popular, pretty and essentially queen of the world but will she ever fit in and befriend the inner circle of the popular crowd? While this story is a great way to promote early literacy for young readers, the message it sends to young readers is superficial at times.

      BABYMOUSE spends most her time compensating for the like of beauty, glamour, excitement and adventure in her daily life by mentally believing herself to being Queen of the World, prettiest or most popular girl at school. While everyone is certainly concerned where they socially stand in school, so many books appropriate for tween readers seem to be saturated in the same themes of popularity, striving for perfection and being famous. While I enjoyed reading BABYMOUSE, I was left feeling like I had read the story before. With the market for tween books focused on such a narrow topic, are these series and graphic novels becoming unhealthy for our kids to read?

Princess Diaries

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Princess Diaries was perhaps the most popular book when I was in middle school, every girl had the books and during silent reading you better believe we were all reading about Princess Amelia and talking about how cool it would be to have that lifestyle. A slightly different take on fame, Meg Cabot the author of many popular young adult/tween fiction, Princess Dairies was perhaps her biggest success that became a very popular series among tween readers. The Princess diaries is about a young girl growing up with her mother in New York City and going to a private school where her father wasn’t in the picture. What she soon finds out was that her father was a prince of some European country in between France and Spain, known as Genovia. Alas, we have modern take on a princess story. Come on, is that all you can come up for young girls, Fame, The Perfect Body Image and Princess fiction?  A coming of age story with a twist of modern princesses and romance, Princess Mia must choose a lifestyle as the invisible high school girl or the future Princess of Genovia?

      Another story that was intended for a young adult audience, The Princess Diaries became a very popular series that tween girls fell in love with. Speaking as one of those girls, this is yet another story that promotes fame in a slightly different way, royalty and what that means in modern times. Let’s not focus on diplomatic or political concerns that royalty must take on, the story focuses on Mia essentially being at an in between stage of her life who has frizzy hair and comes off as a dork and often invisible to the people around her. Once she finds out she is the daughter of a prince, she instantly becomes the most popular girl at school and everyone wants to be her friend, even the popular boys and girls Mia secretly hates. Mia gets a taste of what’s it is like to be a part of the cool crowd and realizes what true friendship is and that she might not be cut out to take on such important responsibilities as a princess.    

L.A. Candy

L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad

Yet another celebrity who thinks just because she’s a celebrity she can dabble in whatever she wants and can still become a New York Times bestselling author. Lauren Conrad, a Laguna Beach teenager that changed reality television by not only promoting fame but the rise of teenage television stardom. Lauren Conrad became famous by co-starring in the hit television ‘reality show’ when she was eighteen years old. Lucky for her she became a millionaire, had another hit show, became a fashion designer, a bestselling author and screams self promotion. No offense to LC because I actually am a fan of hers, (I grew up looking up to her) she represents this idea that fame is how we become successful. Hello your audience is reaching middle school girls, this is not the right message to be sending tweens. Her image encourages the idea that fame is almost normal and easy to fall into. In her first book series, L.A. Candy she essentially tells the story of her real life and how making it in Los Angeles, a sea of fake people and friends who will stab you in the back no matter the cost of fame. Flat, predictable and characters who sport Chanel purses, this book sends the wrong message and is a recipe for disaster for young minds.

              Reading the first in the series, I really did not understand the point to this book (I had to force myself to read the other two books). It is essentially a novelization of her hit show on MTV, The Hills. It focuses on a young girl who becomes a reality show star and her life in Los Angeles, California. Although this type of fiction is certainly trendy and popular at the moment, parents may not be all that worried because they see it as only a trend, something that won’t be cool in a few years. However with a culture that is constantly being bombarded with Hollywood, constant celebrity gossip, rumors and the high life. Our society and culture is certainly being influenced by this role of celebrity lifestyle and fame playing a crucial part of who we are as the American youth.  Although the books focus on the life of fame for young girls, in real life I think Lauren is one of very few celebrities that try to stay away from the fame and drama. She has done an excellent way of trying to live a life on the ‘down low.’