Blog #6

In the South Park episode "Death", the parents basically completely ignore their children in their pursuit to make better television for the kids so they don't get 'corrupted'. This is almost oxymoronic in that they are 'caring for the kids' while neglecting them at the same time. They got super upset when they found out what their children were watching, but instead of talking to them about what is wrong with the show and why they don't like it, they go straight to the network and try to get it taken off the air so that NOBODY can watch it ever. They say it is for their kids' own goods, but it's really just based on their opinion of what is funny. It's also hypocritical of them, because on the show they say it is immature and stupid, but when they all come down with the stomach flu, everyone is making poop jokes and laughing heartily. They are also ignoring what the kids want to talk about, which is the idea of assisted suicide. All the adults end up either saying something completely off topic or saying "I'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole". The kids then have nobody to talk to about it and it clearly very much bothers them. The parents are so obsessed with the television thing as well that they seem to just not care.

This kind of thing, the idea that parents just keep on doing what their doing and what they think is best for their kid but not taking into account what their kids want, is very prominent in a lot of movies nowadays. How many movies have you seen where you hear the lines "You're giving up your dream!" "No, Dad/Mom. I'm giving up YOUR dream." One example of this would be the movie How to Train Your Dragon. In the beginning Hiccup (the kid) doesn't want to fight dragons. His father, Stoick, wants him to. There is one specific scene where Hiccup and his dad both have something to say to each other and they end up being complete opposites of what the other says. Hiccup says he doesn't want to fight dragons and Stoick says he's sending Hiccup to dragon school. Hiccup keeps trying to say no, he doesn't want that, but his dad keeps going on and on about how he's gonna learn to fight dragons and blah blah blah. Hiccup acknowledges that his father is completely ignoring him, saying "this conversation is feeling very one-sided," but still his dad goes on and on.