The Oprah Factor: Stop the Yo-Yo Dieting Messages

April 8, 2009 Young women and their moms have been "under the influence" of Oprah longer than you can say “she’s gotta have it.” From cuddly bathrobes to kids' book club picks, when the grand dame of daytime speaks, people listen. Precisely the point that Director Darryl Roberts of America the Beautiful is making in his recent “open letter to Oprah” plea to curb the weight … [Read more...]

Overachievers: Interview with Liz Funk Author of SuperGirls Speak Out!

Mar. 4, 2009 I'm berating myself for not having this interview 'go live' on Eastern time, where teen author Liz Funk (now 20) resides...I'm doing the best I can... ...ESPECIALLY since I got behind the eight ball due to delivering five hilarious "free-range teens" to their respective homes on a school night and didn't get the formatting done...So, alas, it's going live via … [Read more...]

Counter-Marketing Thinspiration: Killer Media Cues

Feb. 12, 2009 Media literacy rule number one: Watch for extreme headlines that command attention. I could've gone with 'Fatal Attraction' or any other number of sensationalist eyecatchers. As you can surmise, this is about the role of media feeding the pop culture zeitgeist like the Venus Flytrap plant in the Little Shop of Horrors, singing, "Feeeeeeed me." Valentine’s Day … [Read more...]

Kids’ Prime Time TV Health Cues Ingested, For Better or for Worse

Dec. 28, 2016 Adding this MediaShift article on using comedy to impart serious science/data/facts as well. With an incoming administration that has no 'use' for reality or facts, it's imperative that media literacy advocates serve strong doses of health, science and eco-literacy into the media stream to combat propaganda and political 'RealityTV' trash, aka "fake news."    … [Read more...]

America the Beautiful: An “R” Rated Movie You WANT Kids To See

Teens and tweens have heard more raw verbiage on school grounds in any given day than Eve Ensler's little snippet in America the Beautiful that garnered the documentary an ‘R’ rating. (trailer here) That ‘R’ is for the reform needed in movie ratings, since even the most graphic visuals of plastic surgery could have shown on ER or CSI prime time on any … [Read more...]