Good and evil, everything became a shadow …
A. S. Pushkin.
Everything turned upside down. Until recently, the children had their childhood: pink and blue suits, exceptionally kind toys, "Good night, kids!" at night. Now children are a battlefield where Good and Evil, Light and Darkness are fighting … Despite the existence of the law on information that harms the child's psyche, toy manufacturers offer more and more new "products".
And in pursuit of "diversity" they cross all conceivable and inconceivable boundaries.
Here is what the marketing specialist Ekaterina Ziborova, barbieplanet.ru writes:
“Over the past ten years, we have seen an interesting trend. And not only the "early growing up" of Western children, who quickly forget about toys and switch to gadgets, sports and non-child consumerism, is involved in its appearance. This trend is the transition of Barbie to the younger age category of consumers. If in the 80s and 90s girls played with a Barbie doll until 10-11 years old and that was normal, now playing Barbies usually go to preschool babies, and only a few remain attached to their “barbies” at school. Schoolgirls prefer Bratz or even Winx, and Barbie begins to seem insipid and uninteresting. And a company like Mattel couldn't afford to miss out on this market. Apparently Mattel's management has given up on the idea of completely rebranding Barbie (again, babies buy - and good!). So in 2010, the Monster High line of dolls for older children was launched, combining a fashion element, grotesque shapes, improved mobility, excellent detailing and a bold monstrous concept."
Promotional video:
The logo clearly and unambiguously shows a skull with a bow and flirty "eyelashes" (which is, in general, nonsense in itself). Glamor mixed with chernukha - this is exactly what our children lacked for complete consumer “happiness”. Note that the obvious trend to produce toys and countless accessories after the popular cartoon has not bypassed this line of dolls. The favorite form of additional accessories is the shape of the coffin. The coffin can act as a bed, as a wardrobe, as a purse, a casket, etc. All accompanying items are marked with a skull.
Products in this series: pens, notepads, hair strips, etc.
"According to the plot, the heroes of Monster High study together in a monster school (touches a quote from the official story" They decided to leave the world of outdated horrors of their parents, and plunge into the horrors of the modern school. "Very important for the target audience of dolls …) Each character is related ties with famous film and book monsters, from The Mummy to Dr. Jekyll. The biographies of monsters are easiest to find on doll boxes, thematic sites, in the books of Lizzie Harrison and the animated series, which already has two seasons and almost fifty episodes,”Ekaterina Ziborova says like a nightingale.
Meanwhile, the Overton window is getting narrower. And on the shelves there are very princess-looking dolls already directly in the coffins. What are the meanings, what life values do similar items for the game carry? Psychologists say that a toy is the quintessence of the cultural space in which a child lives and is brought up. Play is the main activity of a child that prepares him for adulthood. Life scenarios are traced in the game. The child associates himself with his toys, loves them. These or those norms are instilled through the toy. It evokes various feelings: tenderness, kindness, care … aggression, anger, irritation … What feelings can a doll awaken in a coffin? In traditional religions, death is a sad event, the opposite of life, anti-life. Dead people, monsters and other evil spirits are antiheroes in traditional society. Moreover, death frightens the child. Thoughts about death neuroticize him, increase anxiety.
We can say that children's toys have undergone evolution: from small copies of objects of labor, hunting, and household items in ancient times - through toys symbolizing the beauty in life (toys of the 19th - first half of the 20th centuries), to toys that embody the ugly, terrible, death. There is an obvious transformation of the picture of the world of modern children.
Excessive focus on the topic of death, its glamorous presentation in adolescence can lead to a suicide attempt. The promotion of suicide on social networks and such works of mass culture as films, books, music videos, where the theme of death is elevated into a kind of cult, also works for this. All this is surrounded by elements of romance and special aesthetics. A separate emphasis is placed on exclusivity, on the peculiarity of people who in this way rise above the ordinary and primitive representatives of society.
The themes of vampirism, rebirth through death, rituals associated with the other world have gained great popularity. Films such as "Twilight", "The Vampire Diaries" promote the idea that death is something normal and even vital. The main character of "Twilight" vampire Edward became the idol of millions of young girls. The scary thing is that the parents of these girls do not attach importance to the vampire essence of their children's hobby.
A special place in the thanatic youth subculture is occupied by such a phenomenon as anime. Cartoons and TV shows in this genre differ in that they contain themes of death and violence.
This genre is popular on a global scale.
Some particularly popular TV series include Death Note, Elven Song, Serial Experiments Lane, Black Bible and many others. As a rule, anime is painted in dark colors, with aggressive and disturbing music in the background. In the plots there are shockingly many scenes of murder, violence, perversion. The hero of such "cartoons" is usually lonely, they do not understand, often he himself is a victim of violence. The main character, instead of disgust, evokes empathy and even sympathy. Violence is the norm for him. Death is a synonym for protest, suicide is a way to oppose oneself to a world in which a person cannot reach understanding. Anime is especially popular in the emo subculture (from English emotional - emotional, characterized by a special style of dress and a depressive, whiny mood). In addition to the fact that the cult of death among adolescents is of increased interest,death is presented beautifully and effectively. For the fragile psyche of a teenager, with increased sensitivity and emotionality, such romance becomes very attractive. Such media products are broadcast on television channels and are freely available on the Internet. It should be noted that modern advances in the Internet and television make it possible to plant any ideas.
Suicidal behavior is also promoted in books and music videos. Suicide cases among adolescents are widely covered in the media, which also provokes the younger generation to attempt suicide. This is very common despite the fact that in the seventies of the last century a number of studies were carried out in the USA, as a result of which the term "Werther's syndrome" appeared in psychology. Following the media coverage of teen suicide, a new wave of suicide among young people takes place over the next week. The relationship between the number of mentions of the first case of suicide and the number of suicides that followed after them has also been proven.
Death as a norm of life is instilled by the manufacturers of dolls in coffins, as well as other various dolls' evil spirits. Films about vampires and cartoons about a dismemberment are ready for grown-up consumers of necroproducts. Depression and loneliness are the lot for the modern individualist. Death is presented as an ideal escape for the sufferer. What is the future for humanity prepared by the designers of modern reality?
Parents, remember, the future of your children is in your hands. Think about how you want your child to be and, based on this, buy toys. Supervise what your children are watching and listening to. Spend more time with children in the fresh air, play group games, craft, read books aloud, teach them to distinguish between good and evil. Believe me, it's not as difficult as it sounds. Russian literature and folklore, Soviet cartoons and films, Russian and Soviet music - this is an immense treasury of spiritual wealth and the best cure for thanatophilia. Long live Life!