Hey Kidz! Buy This Book: A Radical Primer on Corporate and Governmental Propaganda and Artistic Activism for Short People
by Anne Elizabeth Moore, Illustrated by Megan Kelso
Soft Skull Press, $11.95
227 pages, ISBN 1932360352
Review by Stacey Greenberg
Hey Kidz! Buy this Book is “a radical primer on corporate and governmental propaganda and artistic activism for short people.” There’s only one thing that I hate about it: I didn’t write it!
Moore, a self-publishing powerhouse with a couple of fancy degrees, writes this in the tone of the cool, older sister which makes it incredibly engaging. I learned a lot from this book and plan to incorporate it into my parenting.
Moore’s first lesson is the "Rule of Logoz" -- advertising is everywhere, and it is incredibly sneaky. It isn't just on TV and magazines anymore, it is on the Internet, in movies, on your clothes, and in your kids’ schools. In her first “Try this at home” exercise, she encourages the reader to yell “advertisement” every time s/he sees a logo. I did this while strolling through the Children’s Museum with my two-year-old. The mini-grocery store proudly displayed a Kroger sign, AutoZone sponsored the garage, the play bank was a replica of First Tennessee, and so on.
Even I am being less blantantly targeted by companies like McDonald's -- my son's officially character licensed Happy Meal came with a mini-"magazine" for moms, which was really a poorly-disguised advertisement for formula, breast implants and “Real Simple.”
Moore deftly explains these subtle product placements aimed at our children: “If companies start getting friendly with you now, you are more likely to retain fond memories of their products and support the companies that make them as you grow older.” It’s true, as the accoutrements from my own youth -- Levis, checkboard Vans, Muppet movies -- now adorn my children. Reading this book enlightened me to the reason I thought these things made them look cool.
But even that is pretty mild in comparison to Moore’s big revelation that some of what we see on the nightly news -- in the form of a Video News Release (VNR) -- is advertising. VNRs are created by PR firms to promote an idea, a company, or a product. They are filmed just like news reports but without the,
ahem, “objectivity.” One PR firm estimated that up to 80% of nightly news coverage is in actuality VNRs.
Our consumer culture makes advertising inescapable -- even those of us dedicated to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Daily Show are not safe. Driving home on Friday I was listening to a fascinating report on William Shatner’s new CD. After about one and a half minutes I started thinking, “Hey! I should buy that CD!” This was the same logic that sent me to Amazon.com to purchase Jon Stewart’s book as a Christmas gift for my husband.
But there is hope. Recognizing the media’s influence is the first step in counteracting it.
Hey Kidz has an incredible resource section that is very inspiring and makes activism seem easy and fun, which if you think about it, it is! The “Ways and Means” section gives the reader the tools to write a press release, hold a meeting, start a boycott, publish a zine, bake a pie, and even make salsa (that's right, pie and salsa can be a part of activism). In addition, there are quotes from well-known activists, cool websites, books, and videos to check out, and a chart that details the company holdings of America’s largest corporations. (Important for those that may wish to know that R.J. Reynolds not only makes American Spirit cigarettes, but they own Nabisco and Huffy. Philip Morris makes Boca Burgers and owns Taco Bell.)
Hey Kidz is a book to be carried around in your diaper bag, dog-eared, highlighted, and often referred to. If your child is a teen or a ‘tween, go ahead and get him/her a copy. Advertising is everywhere and this book gives our kids the tools they need to be able to see it for what it is, question it, and if they choose, subvert it.
I say, “Hey Mamas: Buy this Book!” (Oops, I guess even this review is an advertisement!)
Mamaphonic: Balancing Motherhood and Other Creative Acts
edited by Bee Lavender and Maia Rossini
Soft Skull Press, $14.95
284 pages, ISBN 1932360646
Review by Jennifer Grissom
Mamaphonic is a collection of essays, photographs, and illustrations that explore the effect that parenthood has on life perspective and artistic vision. Each of the contributors has a story to tell, with one recurring theme. Your life changes when you have a child!
When you are an artist -- whether you are a writer, an actress, or do your art through another medium -- you look for inspiration in the world around you and what you find inside yourself. What do you do when suddenly you find yourself seeing the world through the tensions and physical complaints of pregnancy or in the games and songs of a two-year-old? When does someone find time to be creative and to do what you love – no, NEED -- to do when this little person is demanding that all of your attention and energies go to them? This is the place where many of the contributors found themselves.
They felt that they had discovered their creative niche and now they no longer seem to fit. What follows is a search for a new niche. Does the world care what a mother thinks or wants to share with the world? Or does creativity get pushed aside and replaced with the worries and thoughts of a mother?
The women explore this balancing act as the writers find their place in their own way and discover that yes, they do still have a voice. It might mean going on tour and fighting morning sickness the whole way. It might mean taking your child in a sling to a university class and extending your education. It might mean taking long walks along your city with your child and then publishing your thoughts on what you see and experience in your own zine. It might even mean hiding under tables from your toddlers so that you can get a moment to write something, anything at all. Each woman finds that being a mother doesn't automatically mean that you cannot any longer be the person you were before. It simply requires that discover the self that perhaps you were all the time. You just never knew it before you became a mother.
I think that most mothers, if not all, could relate to this book. You don't have to be in the arts to suddenly realize that you are a mother and no longer what you were before. I think all of us have at one point or another thought, what the hell has happened to me? How did I get to this place? Some women comfortably take on this role, embracing it, and throwing aside all they were before and becoming one hundred percent mommy. Other women just need to know that they are not forgotten as they embrace this new role in their lives. Some realize that you can be one hundred percent mommy, but still be one hundred percent themselves as well. Motherhood can enhance lives, as well as change them. That, is what the struggle in this book is all about.
