Dumb quote of the day
"The fact is there are so many unhappy, scary things in the world," [clothing executive Lori Liddle] said. "While Halloween has its roots in scary, it really is about dress-up and imagination. At the end of the day, kids really don't want to be scared.
-"Gore galore in young kids’ Halloween costumes"
Associated Press, October 22nd, 2009
Associated Press, October 22nd, 2009
Yep, kids hate being scared, which is why when I was a kid we'd spend much of the time around Halloween (or around the year generally, really) telling each other ghost stories and especially bloody and awful urban legends like the one about "Bloody Mary" who will come to your mirror if you stupidly say her name three times in front of it and hack you up (absolutely true, my cousin's friend's brother's uncle's neighbor when he was a kid was really ripped to shreds by the evil spirit) or the classic about the escaped loonie with the hook for a hand who creeps up on parking couples.
The AP article about too-gory Halloween costumers tells us that Ms. Liddle:
Is it me, or is there something starkly disingenuous about a former executive from American Girl and Land's End who's currently trying to hawk her own line of (lame) kiddie costumes complaining that competitors' products are too icky and frightening? (Also, seeing as how Ridley Scott's Gladiator is one of the most-offensive examples of violence-as-porn I've ever seen, I'm a little weirded out by the offering of gladiator costumes; or maybe I'm simply remembering that classic line from Airplane, which maybe makes a gladiator costume even creepier.) And shouldn't AP or the Today show have some kind of caption explaining that the article is an advertisement for goods or services, even if it's an unpaid promo? Just sayin'.
Halloween is all about bringing on the scary, and that's nothing new. If there's anything to complain about with costumes like these, it may be the increasing commercialization of American culture, and a distressing lack of effort on the parts of parents (though I do understand--I remember years as a kid when I stupidly wanted a store-bought costume; in retrospect, I was dumb, but, y'know, I do get it). I'm not a parent, but if I were I think I'd have more of an issue with my kid wanting to buy a Michael Myers costume than I would about my kid making a Michael Myers costume. But regardless, I do think there's something awful about the "Boy's Axe Murderer" costume in the picture accompanying the AP article.
It's missing something.
The AP article about too-gory Halloween costumers tells us that Ms. Liddle:
...got a fright of her own at how the costume industry... when she started wandering trade shows to stock her Wishcraft Halloween line....
...
So she set out to "bring the magic back to Halloween" through more than 150 "kid-friendly" costumes that include dreamy little sultans and genies, smiling spider queens and playful bat capes, along with brave but blood-free medieval knights and gladiators.
Is it me, or is there something starkly disingenuous about a former executive from American Girl and Land's End who's currently trying to hawk her own line of (lame) kiddie costumes complaining that competitors' products are too icky and frightening? (Also, seeing as how Ridley Scott's Gladiator is one of the most-offensive examples of violence-as-porn I've ever seen, I'm a little weirded out by the offering of gladiator costumes; or maybe I'm simply remembering that classic line from Airplane, which maybe makes a gladiator costume even creepier.) And shouldn't AP or the Today show have some kind of caption explaining that the article is an advertisement for goods or services, even if it's an unpaid promo? Just sayin'.
Halloween is all about bringing on the scary, and that's nothing new. If there's anything to complain about with costumes like these, it may be the increasing commercialization of American culture, and a distressing lack of effort on the parts of parents (though I do understand--I remember years as a kid when I stupidly wanted a store-bought costume; in retrospect, I was dumb, but, y'know, I do get it). I'm not a parent, but if I were I think I'd have more of an issue with my kid wanting to buy a Michael Myers costume than I would about my kid making a Michael Myers costume. But regardless, I do think there's something awful about the "Boy's Axe Murderer" costume in the picture accompanying the AP article.
It's missing something.
Comments