Bravo TV channels on Sky and Virgin to close

Sky has confirmed the closure date for the Bravo channels as the 1st January 2011.

Sky acquired the Bravo / Living group of channels in June as part of the £160m deal to purchase the Living TV Group.

From January 1 next year, the Bravo family of channels - including Bravo, Bravo+1 and Bravo 2 - will cease broadcasting on all digital TV platforms, including Sky and Virgin Media.

Sky has decided

CNN+ on TDT closed down and no longer available

On December 30th 2011, CNN+, the Spanish version of the worldwide CNN News channels ceased transmissions yesterday.

On TDT in Spain, it has been replaced by a Telecinco channels, currently showing Gran Hermano - Spanish Big Brother!

This is the result of agreements bvetween Time Warner (CNN owners), Prisa and Mediaset, the latter two owning an operating the TDT slot where CNN+ was.



The Sat

Illegal satellite TV ... via broadband

SHANGHAI has cracked down on three illegal satellite TV companies that sent signals via broadband to clients' homes.

This appears to be a new way of providing illegal satellite services in Shanghai, a senior official of the city's radio, film and television watchdog said yesterday.

The companies linked servers to satellite receivers and provided the service via the Internet to more than 10,000 families across China, said Zhang Wei, an official with the Shanghai Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV.

Their clients only needed broadband access, rather than having to install satellite dishes outside apartments, which are easier for law enforcement officers to detect, he said.

Zhang advised people not to use such services, because, as well as being illegal, most are unreliable.

In China, only certain groups can apply to use foreign satellite TV services. These include education, scientific research, journalism and finance institutions that need to watch foreign TV; hotels receiving foreigners; and the communities with many foreign residents.

All other uses of the service are illegal, according to a rule issued by the country's State Council or the Cabinet.

Yet despite the fact that illegal users can be fined up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,528), the black market in Shanghai is rampant. An insider told Oriental Morning Post that the city has more than 300,000 illegal satellite dishes.

One illegal operator said people could install a device for around 1,000 yuan with no subsequent fees.

In comparison, the Yanlord Town in Pudong, an international community, said the annual fee charged by the state-owned China International Television Corp - the sole legal satellite TV operator in China - is more than 15,000 yuan for each user.

But it is probable that the signal of the illegal satellite TV services will be suddenly lost as a result of the crackdown," Zhang said.

The official also reminded parents to be aware that illegal satellite TV schedules could include foreign adult programs, which their children might inadvertently see.

An official with the law enforcement team in Pudong surnamed Shen said it was very difficult to control personal users, as most installed the dishes inside their apartments.

The team received tip-offs via the hotline 12318 but only managed to force around 10 local users to dismantle their illegal satellite dishes so far this year.

An official with the management company of a local international community said they would not ask users to remove illegal satellite TV, as long as dishes were installed inside apartments.

"It is in the interests of our householders," he said.

wow... how digital watch works....

What Does It Take To Be The Best Rated Satellite Tv Provider

What does it take to be the best rated satellite tv provider?

To answer the question at hand we must first understand what makes a satellite tv company.

Basically a satellite television company is only as it’s services and products. In most cases, the quality level of these products and services of a company are what set it apart from the rest.

Programming

Again, a company is only as good as the products and it that it offers. For a satellite television company; one if it’s most important products is it’s programming. A company that wishes to thrive in the highly competitive satellite entertainment industry, must have some sort of advantage. This has a lot to do with what a satellite tv provider can and cannot offer it’s subscribers. What shows, movies and events will a potential subscriber be able to enjoy by joining company A as opposed to company B. Does company A offer the international programming that the subscriber wouldn’t be able to get from company B?

Pricing

Another important factor that plays a major role in the potential customer’s decision making process is pricing. How much is this going to cost? This element is even more important now than it was several years ago when the global economic situation was more stable. Now, because of all the financial uncertainty-a company that wants to claim the title of best rated satellite tv provider just cannot overlook their rates. Prices have to be able to compete with those of other companies in order to win over potential customers. People are looking for the best deals they can find. This means that they are looking for the deal where they can get the more for less money.

Customer Service

Once someone signs up for service from a particular satellite television company; they have to be assured that the company will be there to take care of them. Any service related problem that may arise, should be taken care of promptly and to the customer’s satisfaction. Every interaction between subscriber and provider is a chance for the company to try to repeatedly win over the customer. Customer service is a really important tool for companies to retain customers. A company will lose money if an unsatisfied customer gets fed up and takes their business elsewhere.

The best rated satellite tv provider is the company that can provide outstanding value and successfully incorporate great programming at competitive prices-while taking care of it’s subscribers with great customer service.

How to Shop Amazon.com - Amazon Deals

How to shop Amazon and Amazon deals go hand in hand. Purchase $25 worth of Amazon.com products or more and get free 2 day shipping from Amazon. Right now Amazon deals are plentiful due to the year-end sales, giving you up to 70% off on selected items. If you are looking to save this is the time to shop Amazon. 3D TV is becoming very hot in 2011 you can find all the best 3D TV sales here as well.

Some of the top Amazon deals can be found at the Kindle Store. Kindle has been the top selling Amazon product for two years in a row!

Enjoy some great deals and shop from the comfort of home with the world's most trusted online retailer. It's easy for us to shop Amazon and it makes perfect sense.

Free Kindle Books

Apple iPad Touch

DISH Network-Top 5 Reasons To get DISH TV(dishnetwork)

DISH Network gives us many reasons to get DISH TV. Saving money with Dish Network, Google TV and Dishnetwork apps for Android to name a few. Here are the Top 5. Comment and help me add to the list if you can think of other reasons to get Dish Network.

#1 DISH Network Saves Us Money
With packages starting at only $24.99/month for 120 channels it's very easy to save with Dish Network.

#2 DISH Network HD Free For Life
Sign up to any of the America's Top Packages and get HD Free For Life for the life of your DISH contract.

#3 DISH TV Everywhere
Dish Network customers can now get DISH TV on their smart phones such as Android and BlackBerry. We have these cell phones free along with free Dish Network installation.

#4 DISH Network-Google TV Special Offer
New Dish Network customers and existing customers can purchase the Logitech Revue for Google TV at a special discounted price of $179. You can find out what you want to know about Dish Network-Google TV here. I think you'll be amazed at what you can do with Google TV on DISH.

#5 DISH Network New Customer Promotions
Get DISH TV now since the new customer promotions end on 5/17/2011. You will save by getting 3 HD receivers installed on up to 3 TVs free. If you want the best HD-DVR on the market that's also free right now.

Get DISH Everywhere

More information and resources for Dish Network satellite TV can be found on our home page.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Satellite TV

Five Things You Didn't Know About Satellite TV
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joe_Satus]Joe Satus

Cost Effectiveness? Satellite Television has become one of the most cost effective ways to view television shows today. Because many television providers offer "packages" on their various services, which include satellite television, these packages often give customers choices in what they want out of their satellite television. They can either choose to have a basic package or add features to their packages and be able to view other channels that may have a new release film or an expensive sporting match like a boxing championship match or World Soccer Cup.

Equipment? Unlike other television services, Satellite Television only needs three pieces of equipment to work properly. First, there is the dish itself, which can vary in size from the dishes that take up half of one's backyard to a dish that is mounted on the side of a house. Then, there is the receiver, which is connected to both the dish and the television set. Last is the remote control which changes the channels and volume settings. It can also help you order special events like the ones mentioned above when they are wanted.

How It Works? Like many electronic things, the way that the satellite signal works is unseen. It is sent from a satellite in space to the dish that is connected to the television. The receiver box unscrambles the signal and displays it on the television screen. This is very much like the old antenna "rabbit ears" that used to be on the tops of houses.

Technical Difficulties? In its infancy, Satellite television could be hooked up to every television within a home, but the people inside were forced to watch the same station on different televisions. That has changed today, lucky for many families with small children who love to watch cartoons. Now, the channels can be displayed on any television at any time for any four different channels on the other televisions. That is a great relief to parents who would like to watch the news as opposed to their child's cartoon.

Signals and Features? Because technology is always evolving, the fact that satellite television runs from a digital signal is greatly helpful when one is watching their favorite show. The picture is much clearer and there is rarely a blurred shot, unless it is intentional within the filming process. Additional safety features, like parent control helps keep the curious children away from channels that they should not be exposed to.

Joe Satus is the author of this article on [http://www.aeidish.net]AEI Dish TV.

Find more information about [http://www.aeidish.net/about-us/]AEI Dish here.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Five-Things-You-Didnt-Know-About-Satellite-TV&id=5564888] Five Things You Didn't Know About Satellite TV

SATELLITE TV NEW KEYS

[ ESPN Classic Italia ] 12111 H 27500 Sirius 4 (4.8°E) | Cryptoworks | ID:0D0030 |
KEY00: BD D3 A8 E9 37 64 FF DB 1D 38 66 CF 97 4A 40 77


[ MGM Middle East ] 12611H S/R 9259 FEC 5/6 Eutelsat W2A (10.0E) | Biss | SID (HEX): 0003, VPID (HEX): 1004 ||
Key:15 9A CD 7C EB F6 14 F5


[ MGM Europe (aka MGM Ireland) ] 12611H S/R 9259 FEC 5/6 Eutelsat W2A (10.0E) | Biss | SID ( HEX): 0001VPID (HEX): 0834 ||
Key: 15 B2 24 EB AF 95 28 6C




[ESPN Classic Sport Europe NASN Europa]Eurobird 9A (9.0°E)11727 V 27500 3/4 |Biss ||
2600:SID:06C2:VPID:0A0B [ EB 8C D2 49 95 A1 74 AA ] ; NASN Europe
2600:SID:06BD:VPID:0A01 [ EB 8C D2 49 95 A1 74 AA ] ; ESPN Classic

[ TNT SAT FRANCE  ] Viaccess | NT1 12285 V 27500 ASTRA 19.2°E

V 030B00 T1 7F308A9B0B803C4B6BBFEFB041F03B58E3BCAFBEE583B415A53571952B
BE4E053DB6AD5511C063

739D81786DD92871BD7B718E7312DDC77F3DE1AD4FC60932909703D97B9688F2C5B62
21F501D0894F995028A9FD4A3F9

861F71F20AD030846CF546C44DF76C18D0078F607A0F17A2E32119FF4852F4913C2599E
9623EB1924EDDA25FECAF8942

26533579DC3A39C0E56044882BD755AACFA26A6B3E80567ECB136E6FF4D107E8CB8AA
E1EE8E5FC42A9A525DC702CD7

2B20F88D9437D16D65ECB406D144CF9745C127CC0C9A7A49069BB0DEAC8C563AE664E
D26FB57B271D6E3ECEC645D3

D142E238A2B63A340AFB73911E84CC47F20C8155;  TransformTable 

V 030B00 08 D92A82E3111C9AFDED4626AD0B542E5B;  Service key 

V 030B00 09 CC72AAFE5265D6D04608E832CEB9EC4D ; TNTSat

V 030B00 D1 89CBB54EEB94E350;  Des1_Key 

V 030B00 X1 8B2908AE39B0101A;  XORArray 

V 030B00 P1 0704020305000601;  PermArray 

V 030B00 C1 FC3C5F15D7A0B437;  ChainArray 

V 030B00 0B 7C6A2428C020023B163E4FE024FF5D9D ; TNTSat

V 030B00 E1 A79AC0DBEC9C9251D1915F058862AF26 ; SurEncryption Key

V 030B00 E2 439726EBB6A939A456C05FF6AA606C43 ; HD SurEncryption Key

[ AFLAM TV  MOROCCO ]  Eutelsat W6 @ 21.6° East 11651 V 15710 | Biss| SID:0007 |

KEY : 1a 2b 3c 81 4d 5e 6f 1a

[ Dubai Sports (CH 33) ] 12437 H 27500 3/4 Atlantic Bird 4A 7°W | Biss |SID:1270 VPID: 0213||

Key: 12 34 56 9C 78 9C 33 47

[ Canal+ Maghreb ] Badr5 26°E12322V27500TV Piwi TeleToon,12303H27500Cinecinema Star [ Ant-1 Euro ] 39°E 12606-H-30000 |

|Via2.6 |Prov:021110 | KEY08:35F6B9217C2BA83F38C3C1FD23A5D321

Dish Network-FCC Net Neutrality

Dish Network - FCC Net Neutrality Statement This is what Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen had to say about Net Neutrality

"DISH Network applauds Chairman Genachowski and Commissioners Copps and Clyburn for adopting critically important net neutrality rules. The Commission's Order is a solid framework for protecting the open Internet. The new rules give companies, including DISH Network, the framework to invest capital and manpower in Internet-related technologies without fear that our investment will be undermined by carriers' discriminatory practices. While we wish the Commission would have gone further to expressly prohibit discrimination on wireless platforms, we are pleased that there will be ongoing Commission oversight and enforcement authority."

Sounds like Charlie is happy with the FCC ruling.

Learn more about Net Neautrality at Wikipedia

Net Neutrality

Religion and Indian Cinema

Since the early 1990s Indian society has undergone some of the greatest changes it has seen since Independence in 1947. Several key events at the beginning of the 1990s inaugurated the processes that occurred during the decade. These years saw the rise and fall of the political parties who support Hindutva or policies of Hindu nationalism, while economic reforms brought in a new age of consumerism and liberalism that has taken root across the Indian metropolises. While other major social transformations also took place during this decade, such as the rise of lower castes, this period can be said to be one in which a new social group, 'the new middle classes,' rose to dominate India economically, politically, socially and culturally. The impact of these new groups was felt outside of India as they were part of transnational family networks and the diaspora that became increasingly important as a market for Hindi films, alongside other global audiences.

This decade also saw a media revolution (satellite and cable television since 1991), a communications revolution (the mobile phone and the Internet) and new technologies (the audio cassette, the CD, the VCD and the DVD). The dynamics of the interaction of these new media with the film industry have been fast and there has barely been time to analyse them. Religious genres, which had been phenomenally popular as religious soaps on terrestrial television (notably Raymond Sagar's Ramayan and B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat), soon spread throughout the cable and satellite channels along with other religious programming (lectures, music programs), and now religious channels such as Astha and Sanskar grew in in popularity. Audio cassettes and CDs of religious music have continued to sell well, while VCDs and DVDs have allowed religious films to recirculate. Religious content has also flourished in other media, so the Internet now offers online pujas ('worship') as well as access to texts, religious history and so on, while even mobile phones offer SMS blessings and religious ringtones.

Much of this material in the new media is recycled from the religious films. It is impossible to predict where this is all going, and even the present situation remains unclear. One emerging trend is that the consumption of these new media is very different from that of cinema. Although cinema attendance in India has grown with new viewing trends such as the multiplex, the trend for mediated religion is away from an audience in a theatre hall towards a consumer in a domestic space. This must be viewed with caution as the work of Mankekar in Screening Culture, Viewing Politics (1999) on viewing the television Mahabharata suggests Indian viewing practices may be different and these new media may allow the creation of new audiences. This is true of other media as audio cassettes and CDs are played in taxis, autorickshaws and other public places, while VCDs are shown on television screens during festivals. These new technologies allow more rapid dissemination of religious content to the diaspora, and increasingly these groups are active as consumers and producers. Just as Islam has been affected by globalization, especially among the Muslim diaspora (Devji 2005, Roy 2004), one may expect to see the emergence of a new form of globalized Hinduism as the religioscape spreads through the world, linked by these new media. It remains to be seen what form this globalized Hinduism will take.

Although these new media may have initially been viewed as a threat to film (and the DVD seems to be a particular problem for piracy), they actually reinforce film, which remains more spectacular, has better technology and brings audiences together in pleasant surroundings, notably the new muliplexes in shopping malls. The changes in film technology, especially those of digitally produced special effects, have led to talk of a new film of the Mahabharata with superstars Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan playing Karan and Arjun (although it remains to be seen if the audience will accept Muslims, albeit superstars, in these roles).

Cinema is part of the wider project of modernization. It deals with material progress, sometimes with moral progress but it has deep ambiguities which are its strengths and which make its study so rewarding. In Film as Religion Lyden (2003) suggests that the very nature of film evokes the religious. I read this with the caution exercized by Asad in Formations of the Secular (2003), in particular his analysis of the proposition that nationalism is a form of religion, where he shows that this widely held view does not stand up to close scrutiny. While there is much that is religious in the nature of film itself, it does not necessarily constitute a religion. The differences between American cinema and religion and the Indian cinema and religion are such that great care should be taken in drawing parallels between the two. More research needs to be done into the pleasures of the religious aesthetic, of faith and of belief in a moral universe in India and in India cinema.

It may be that Indian cinema has specific traits that incline it more towards the religious than other cinemas. One must consider the aesthetics of Hindi cinema, such as its deployment of the miraculous, stars, darshan, tableaux, sets, song and dance, and the aesthetic of astonishment and its evocation of wonder and reverence. Of course it is not just the text itself, but the way the audience perceives it. One only has to think of how Gandhi came to be sen as a divine figure. While all film stars are different from mere mortals through the mechanisms of stardom, Hindi film stars are often perceived as gods by their fans, who may dedicate temples to them. Research has already shown the close associations in India of religion and performance, though this is yet to be analyzed in cinema. As Bharucha's work In the Name of the Secular (1998, p. 40) suggests: 'There is, I believe, an intensely private space in the believer's consciousness that is activated during prayer, worship, meditation or ecstasy.' Cinema creates a group identity for people who believe in the congregation (satsang) and its miraculous effects, and its 'aesthetic of astonishment' (to use the phrase employed by Tom Gunning in his chapter in Linda Williams' Viewing Positions) for an audience that believes in miracles and in stars as gods. Most people react to cinema as something ineffable: we know cinema, we feel cinema but we find it hard to analyze.

It is promising that the scholarly discipline of film studies is slowly beginning to engage seriously with religion. For some years the dominant paradigms were Freud and feminism, which undoubtedly were productive for engaging with melodrama with its study of the unconscious, dreams, desire, and fantasy. We still do not have a better language than this, and so we persist with it, despite our awareness of its limitations. Of course, for religious films, one has to be aware that psychoanalysis sets itself up as a new religion. The theories of postmodernism and the breakdown of grand narratives are not accepted by the majority, neither in the West nor in India. In Filming the Gods, most of the readings can be said to be meanings that are known to the audience and also based on the views of the filmmakers, critics and audiences, though for the first time they are historicized and contextualized rather than interpreted individually, and as a mistaken teleology.

These films, however cynical critics may be, do create religious sentiment in viewers and audiences and may contribute towards a hybrid Hinduism, whether they are taking it from the world around them or whether they are creating it themselves. The films' focus on the family, on the group, on the nation, on the transnational Indian community is all part of a search for a new morality and a new happiness. This raises the question of a Hindu imagination, for these films suggest that religion is more important than nationalism. As British Muslims now often prefer to define themselves as Muslims rather than as Pakistani or Indian, so perhaps a new Hindu imagination may be emerging where the British or North American person of Indian origin is no less Hindu than an Indian. This does not imply any necessary association with Hindutva or Hindu nationalism but with a form of popular belief that has not been redefined in these Semitic terms, nor in any form of systematic belief. If this is indeed a Hindu imagination, it needs to be defined, analysed and historicized.

[The foregoing is from Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema by Rachel Dwyer (Taylor and Francis Books, 2006). This version was extracted and slightly edited from the author's chapter in The Religion and Film Reader, edited by Jolyon Mitchell and S. Brent Plate (New York and London: Routledge, 2007), pp. 137-40.]

Sick Of Comcast Cox and Charter Cable?

Are you sick of Comcast, Cox and Charter? Chances are you have one of these cable tv providers or have had them in the past. Tired of paying $70/month or more for Comcast, Cox or Charter cable? Fed up with the outages and bad service? Some of you have no alternative because of where you live. If you own a house, mobile home or condo you do have a choice and there is a solution.

Satellite TV by Dish Network offers you many options. DISH just rolled out 3D TV and Google TV. You will also qualify for HD Free For Life by subscribing to any of the America's Top packages with Dish Network. As an example, America's Top 120 is only $24.99/month. This package gives you 120 of the most well liked channels and your local networks. You will also get HBO and Showtime free for 3 months. There are some great new customer promotions going on with DISH right now.

Here is the part that will really make you smile! Installation is free. Dish Network will also give you a free HD-DVR upgrade if you order soon. You can also take advantage of the 3 for free deal. Three HD receivers installed free of charge. If you want the best HD programming on the planet and want it free for life then Dish Network is for you. DISH customer service is rated #1 among pay tv providers in the USA.

Look over all the details and sign-up today. Have your old cable bill with you and compare with Comcast, Cox or Charter. Sit back and enjoy the best value in pay tv now.



More articles on Dish Network TV

another water in high speed cam...

Water Sculpture from Shinichi Maruyama on Vimeo.

Magic Shutter on iPhone.....

More info!

what is a creative people??????

Thanks Ahom's info...
what is a creative people??????

sigh.....

Facebook Login | Facebook Yes or No

Image via Wikipedia

Facebook Login- Facebook Yes or No? Do you really want to login? Could you be doing better things or would you prefer to just waste time on Facebook like millions of other people do? There's no right or wrong answer here, just Yes or No. We all use Facebook these days and it raises some questions for most of us.

I'm not on topic today with this post, I'm having some fun and am curious. This blog is about Dish Network TV and getting the best deal. It just seems odd that so many people search for the Facebook Login page everyday. We have browser history, favorites and bookmark features on our computers and mobile devices. Almost everybody has used a computer and been online. You would think that a search like this would be uncommon since we go there daily and already have a Facebook page.

Some of us use Facebook as a means of keeping in touch or connecting with old friends. A large percentage of Facebook users just go there to play and waste time. Maybe that leads to the answer of why do some of us have to search to login to Facebook. Have we become so programmed to search for everything that we even search for this? What do you think? It's only the most popular website on the planet. Comment below and share your answer. I will see you all on Facebook later lol.

Satellite TV on PC

Satellite TV for PC, sometimes called satellite TV on PC, is a convenient and economical way for people who want to watch satellite TV on the internet – anywhere in the world. Software is downloaded to a computer, and has no spyware, malware, adware, viruses, hacking or cracking. The software works by connecting TV channels worldwide, including radio stations that are streamed over the internet.

Overall, satellite tv for pc watch tv on pc has revolutionized the way people watch TV on the internet using a computer, and watch up to 5000 TV channels in high definition TV (HDTV). The software, with lifetime updates, can be downloaded as quickly as five minutes. There is no extra hardware, TV card required or any special equipment needed. All that is needed is a computer, and an internet connection. Thus, there is no reason or need to subscribe to high priced cable or satellite TV service explains a spokesperson for this website in a comment.

Satellite TV for PC is available to watch TV online, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, on all 7 continents, 24 hours, 7 days a week. It offers high definition, crystal clear quality and sound, with new channels and features added continuously. It works with any internet connection, whether it's dial-up or a high speed internet connection. It also includes fast loading channels with no distortion, and is available in any language. In addition, satellite TV for PC is compatible to work with all versions of Windows.

DIRECTV has added HBO and Cinemax programs to its Video On Demand(VOD) lineup

HBO's VOD lineup includes the entire season of the Golden Globe-nominated Boardwalk Empire as well as movies, original shows and documentaries while Cinemax's VOD menu features movies.

The two channels have been conspicuously absent from the DIRECTV On Demand menu. DIRECTV, which launched its VOD service in July 2008, has been offering numerous channels on demand including Showtime, Starz, HDNet, IFC and A&E.

DIRECTV has not issued a press release explaining why HBO and Cinemax are being added now, but it's likely the satcaster recently reached a deal with Time Warner which owns both channels. The two channels were added to DIRECTV On Demand this week.

The satellite TV service has expressed optimism that its VOD service will compete effectively with the On Demand services offered by cable and telco operators. However, unlike their rivals' VOD offerings, DIRECTV's VOD service requires subscribers to connect their set-tops to the Internet.

DIRECTV recently acknowledged that the Net issue has been an obstacle, saying that it plans to soon offer a free service to connect their subscribers' set-tops to the Internet. The company did not offer details, but Investor's Business Daily has reported that DIRECTV is testing a joint Internet service with Verizon.

Top Ten UK TV programmes 2010

Here is a list of the top ten most watched UK TV programmes this year (until 19th Dec!)


Top 10 TV shows

Rank, Title, Channel, Date, 000s, Share %,



1 The X Factor Results ITV1 12/12/2010 17,709 55
2 World Cup 2010: England v Germany BBC1 27/06/2010 17,452 81
3 EastEnders BBC1 19/02/2010 16,407 57
4 Coronation Street ITV1 06/12/2010 14,747 48
5 World Cup

The Deep! cool stopmotion animation

MGMT Kids

偶然機會聽到 MGMT Kids, very enjoy this music......

more info there. and here.

You were a child,
crawlin' on your knees toward it.
Makin' mama so proud,
but your voice was too loud.

We like to watch you laughing.
You pick the insects off plants.
No time to think of consequences.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

The water is warm,
but it's sending me shivers.
A baby is born,
crying out for attention.
Memories fade,
like looking through a fogged mirror
Decision to decisions are made and not bought
But I thought,
this wouldn't hurt a lot.
I guess not.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.


A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.


Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wantin',
To be haunted.


Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of treeeeees...


poor kid in MV...

The Image of Gandhi in 'Gunga Din'

In a most significant display of contempt and cynicism the 1939 Hollywood film 'Gunga Din' cast the 'mad guru' in the physical mold of Mahatma Gandhi. From his slight physique to his austere sartorial look wearing just a loin cloth and a chaddar (a large cotton shawl) draped over his shoulder or head, the demented villainous guru recalled the unmistakable figure of Mahatma Gandhi. Except for the head gear (turban), this was the dress which Gandhi wore during his visit to England for attending the Round Table Conference. Adopted from 1921 onwards, this dress contributed substantially in endearing him to the peasant masses of India. It was widely familiarized to the Western public through the visual media.

Gunga Din collapses the actor and personality of Gandhi into one. For the white audience, this effected a closure between the real person and the villain in the film, but for the Indian audience, it opened up the imperialist's motivated misrepresentation. Yet, this collapsing of the two identities made the identification of the Indian audience with the guru and what he stood for that much easier and more significant. The film had once again picked up, what a television critic was to point out much later, writing in the journal Voice in 1985, 'the worst nightmare of the British in India,' by making him the chief threat to the British Raj. In the 1930s, Gandhi was a permanent nuisance to the British. By and large, he was considered and projected not as a saint in Britain, but as one official put it, 'cunning as a carload of monkeys,' and his views on caste, the cow, Lancashire and women were made fun of, as reported by Suhash Chakravarty in The Raj Syndrome (1989). Even sympathizers like Edward Thompson, who came to be a correspondent of Gandhi's and was a supported of the Congress, found him deceitful. In his novels (such as his 1932 A Letter from India) he offered serious doubts about Gandhi. In fact, Gandhi was not treated particularly well in colonial fiction.

The portrayal of Gandhi as the chief villain highlighted the dichotomous perceptions of the two different audiences, Western and Indian. For the Western audience, the empire films confirmed the newsreel projection of Gandhi. According to Martin A. Jackson's article 'Film and the Historian,' published in the journal Culture in 1974, these images of Gandhi were of a 'peculiar Oriental who had outlandish ideas about independence and who wore a loin cloth.' Moreover, Gandhi 'being odd in appearance, full of surprises and engaged in the strangest activities, such as fasting or marching for independence,' was a good subject for the new cameras. It was this image that was duplicated in the feature film. Hollywood's heavy reliance upon the British India Office for cooperation in the making of the film, along with Katherine Mayo and other British writers as a source of information, resulted in the particular propaganda thrust of Gunga Din. In this film especially, as noted by Garry Hess in America Encounters India (1971), Hollywood gave shape to the British propaganda in the USA, which depicted the Congress as fascist with its dictatorial leadership, its domination by a single race (Hindus), its standard uniform of dhoti and Gandhi cap (substituted by a turban in the film) and its veneration of Gandhi, which was projected to resemble that accorded to Hitler by the Germans. Yes, this film also allowed for alternatives US perceptions. Ideologically, Gandhi had his following and admirers in the USA, which comprised a strong anti-imperialist lobby.

For the Indian audience, therefore, the resultant and essentially ambivalent cinematic portrayal provoked wide condemnatory comment in the media. The close resemblance to the villain in Gunga Din to Gandhi also reinforced the contemporaneity of the film. Writing about Gandhi's portrayal in this film, a 1939 issue of the journal Film India recalled an earlier cinematic attempt in 1935, when RKO had produced a two-reel comedy, Everybody Likes Music, in which, 'Our revered leader Mahatma Gandhi was portrayed as an immoral drunkard with a low woman in a cheap saloon. His figure, his dress and all his peculiarities so sacred and dear to our nation were used to convey an exact identification, same as in Gunga Din, that could not be missed.' For exhibition in India, the offensive portion in the film, Everybody Likes Music, was censored in 1935. Yet, this insult, it was pointed out, was 'broadcast all over the world and the white man laughed at the man who we worship as a God in our country.'

Such a reaction from the Indians was no surprise to the British. They were in fact aware, according to contemporary documents from the India Office Records, of the annoyance in India caused by a German broadcast in which a Germanophile Indian student sneered at Mahatma Gandhi and other India leaders while denouncing the concept of non-violence. Gunga Din went far beyond this: British army officers are shown to abuse the guru, repeatedly denigrating him as 'the dog,' 'the filthy scum' and the 'maniac.' This abuse and ridicule directed at the Mahatma, could hardly fail to provoke an Indian audience.

At the same time, cinematically, this audience had Gandhi and his ideology amply projected in their own movies. A silent-era film Sant Vidur (or Bhakta Vidur), produced in 1921, provided a direct nationalist projection of Gandhi. In this Vidur was molded on the personality of Mahatma Gandhi, played by Dwarka Das, an actor with a tall and lanky figure. According to oral history records in the National Film Archive of India, his entire make up 'made him look like the Mahatma, including the Dandi Danda in his hand.' The film was banned initially because, as J. B. H. Wadia observed in an interview recorded in 1984, 'We know what you are doing, it is not Vidur, it is Gandhiji, we won't allow it.' Later on, with several cuts, the producer succeeded in showing the film in some of the provinces, including Bombay. It did roaring business everywhere. There were yet other films, like Brahmchari made in 1938, which showed Gandhi's Wardha-like ashram run on nationalist lines of self-help, hard work, the khadi (raw cotton) spinning and weaving program and other handicrafts. The charkha (spinning wheel), reminiscent of sudarshan chakra (the divine weapon of the Hindu god, Vishnu, and a destroyer of all evil), and looked upon as a potent icon of freedom movement, was popularly perceived as a symbol of the annihilation of foreigners. This film also ran into trouble with the censors because of its explicit nationalist overtones and identification with Mahatma Gandhi.

An important landmark in early films incorporating the contemporary nationalist discourse, especially in relation to Mahatma Gandhi, was Sant Tukaram (1936). A vastly popular film it ran continuously for a year in Bombay; in the countryside people walked for miles to see its open-air screenings. The film was rated as one of the three best films at the prestigious Venice film festival in 1937, marking the first time an Indian film won an international award. Tukaram, as Geeta Kapur argues in a 1987 article 'Mythical Material in Indian Cinema,' has necessarily to be seen as a socially symbolic narrative. It shows the cross-referencing between cultural creation and political situation already conditioned by the contemporary 'saint,' Gandhi. The film established a close parallel between Tukaram and Gandhi in their message.

In the late 1930s the marketability of nationalism and its viability were visible not merely in the films produced by Indians - most of which became popular hits - but also in the way producers, distributors and exhibitors advertised their products. Mahatma Gandhi, for example, was a favorite for advertising the films. Large size photographs of Gandhi adorned the film advertisements along with much smaller photographs of the lead hero or heroine. According to documents in the Maharashtra State Archives, yet other films were advertised as 'helper to the cause of Mahatma Gandhi,' or invited the viewers to see their film, advertised as portraying 'the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi,' or claimed that 'Mahatma Gandhi's immortal words inspire a picture.' So much so that the distributors and exhibitors of a Hollywood film also felt it commercially prudent to put in a sponsored advertisement claiming, 'Mahatma Gandhi sees the first talking picture Mission to Moscow.' The report that followed suggested that Mahatma Gandhi considered this film to be of the 'right type.'

The British officials were aware of the public draw of the Mahatma's name in the film industry, as suggested by other documents in the Maharashtra State Archives. They had attempted to curb both advertisements and films that exploited the Mahatma's name. Yet, it is significant that despite this hyper-sensitive concern of the film censors in India - who saw in the title Mahatma (a Hindi feature film) 'a sinister association with Mahatma Gandhi' and pressurised the producers into changing it to Dharmatama - they failed to see or offer any comment on the allusion to Mahatma Gandhi in Gunga Din. One can speculate that perhaps they used this demeaning portrayal as a corrective to the one being projected in the indigenous film industry. In fact, it is interesting to note in this connection that Col. Hanna had raised severe objection to Gaumont British's synopsis of a film called Black Land in 1934, which came too close to some of the recent events in South Africa, having identifiable British officials under a thin disguise, as reported by Jeffrey Richards in The Age of the Dream Palace (1983).

The 1930s were also the years when Gandhi had emerged in the Western world, especially in the USA, as enormously newsworthy. A large number of documentaries and newsreels were made of Gandhi's visit to England and his activities in India by foreign producers in keeping with the importance of Indian news in general and that of Gandhi in particular. The newsworthiness of India can be seen in the fact that the British Movietone News kept a crew permanently in India during these years, as evidenced by documents in the Maharashtra State Archives, with a view to securing a 'constant supply of Indian pictures.' Moreover, because these films were widely exhibited in the USA, it was considered 'highly desirable that their subject matter and method of presentation should be carefully considered' with an eye to the effect they were likely to produce abroad. Therefore, a close British superintendence was placed over the filming crews. This 'close co-operation' was of 'mutual advantage,' as certain aspects like the Round Table Conference, authenticating 'honest intentions of the British' came to be projected, on the one hand, and the filmmakers were able to cater to the growing demands of their market on the other, by acquiring a facilitated entry in India.

Consequently, a large number of documentaries and newsreels were  made on Indian themes by foreign producers. The Indian film-makers did not lag behind. For them it was an unlimited opportunity to project the national leadership and Indian's aspirations towards independence. For the British, however, these documentaries and newsreels featuring Mahatma Gandhi, including Gandhi in England, Gandhi Sees the King, Gandhi's Activities in England and others, soon turned into 'propagandist films pure and simple,' especially when the civil disobedience movement attained its height and had to be banned. The Congress greatly publicized this ban in its newsletters and the national media subjected it to extensive comments, as shown by documents in the Maharashtra State Archives. The Free Press Journal, on 16 December 1932, declared the ban on account of danger posed to the British empire by the Gandhian ideas. The Bombay Chronicle, on 17 December 1932, asserted that the films could be prohibited but not Gandhism. Regional language dailies, Gujarat Mitra and Gujarat Darpan, on 18 December 1932, similarly declared that Gandhism could hardly be destroyed by such activities. The censorship of Indian films and documentaries during these years was so tight that even the framed photographs of national leaders in the background were edited out, according to a 1945 issues of the journal Film India. Similarly, between 1 August 1936 and 31 March 1937, according to the India Office Records, several such films were banned on the grounds that they dealt with controversial politics and were likely to ferment social unrest and discontent in the country.

The Congress ministries, after assuming office, relaxed such blanket bans. it is in such a climate of less stringent censorship of Gandhi and his ideology that the film Gunga Din, caricaturing Gandhi, has to be seen. The cross-currents of imperial arrogance and commercial considerations, in combination with the ideological compulsions of the film, made them ignore the likely impact of caricaturing Gandhi on an Indian audience. Ideologically, the film shows a complex handling of Gandhi as a character. Gandhi's semblance is in the fact evoked to subvert his image and ideology. Gandhi is demystified as hypocritically spiritual while being shrewdly materialistic, violent and self-interested. This portrayal accepted the spiritual India of the past but reasserted the fall of Hinduism - into a ritualized violent cult going under the name of spiritualism - in the present context. This decadence is signified in the person of Gandhi, who, in certain sections of Indian society (among both Muslims and Sikhs) was seen as a Hindu fundamentalist, known to use religion and religious symbols as a rallying point for mobilizing nationalist opinion against the British. His real agenda is shown to be a violent takeover of India and not a non-violent satyagraha, as professed.

It is here that a complete travesty of Gandhian philosophy and his political program was effected. It is well known that the all-India movement of 1921-22 was abruptly and unilaterally called-off at the height of its popularity on 11 February 1922, at Gandhi's instance, following the news of the burning alive of twenty-two policemen by angry peasants at Chauri-Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces on 5 February. This decision was deeply resented by almost all the prominent Congress leaders, including his political heir, Jawaharlal Nehru (as reported in his autobiography), and even more so by the younger people. Gandhi's own defense of this action as stated in his paper, Young India, on 16 February 1922, is revealing: 'I would suffer every humiliation, every torture, absolute ostracism and death itself to prevent the movement from becoming violent.' Gandhi's firm commitment against violence was to surface repeatedly as he continued to make effective use of the weapon of fast-unto-death to end riots and other forms of violence.

Putting an end to an effective, revolutionary and violent situation created widespread dissatisfaction and anger against Gandhi and his methods, which produced a strong internal critique that condemned his non-violent doctrine unequivocally and, at best, made no pretense at understanding it. It also spurred fresh revolutionary terrorism, which climaxed in 1929-30, the year of a whole series of terrorist actions in Punjab and United Provinces towns. The Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, which played havoc with British life and administration in northern India, produced heroes and martyrs, who attained remarkable popularity. For example, Bhagat Singh, who was hanged for his terrorist activities, outranked for a short time even Mahatma Gandhi 'as the foremost political figure of the day in popularity,' as shown by confidential intelligence bureau accounts cited by Sumit Sarkar in Modern India (1985). The emergence of revolutionaries and terrorists as popular heroes and martyrs enormously furthered the cause of Indian nationalism. Yet, Gandhi's abhorrence of violence did not allow him to speak or plead on behalf of political heroes like Bhagat Singh. In fact, Gandhi condemned their violence. Durga Bhabhi, the still-living widow of a compatriot of Bhagat Singh, spoke in a 1997 communication to Uma Chakravarti of her own and widespread anger against Gandhi due to his failure to save nationalists like Bhagat Singh from the gallows by appealing to the viceroy for mercy.

For Gandhi, the doctrine of ahimsa (non-violence) was not only a personal credo and philosophy but was a deeply-felt and worked-out philosophy. As a politician, he was aware that the resultant perspective of controlled mass participation objectively fitted in with the interests and sentiments of socially-divisive sections of the Indian people. It could, for example, prove acceptable to business groups, as well as relatively better-off or locally-dominant sections of the peasantry, all of whom stood to lose if political struggle turned into uninhibited and violent social revolution. The concept of ahimsa and satyagraha, therefore, lay at the heart of the essentially unifying umbrella type role assumed by Gandhi and the Gandhian Congress.

The transformation of Gandhian work and ideology in Gunga Din worked toward exposing Gandhian philosophy to generate latent fears and reservations inherent in certain sections of colonial society. The film, therefore, could well be seen by the different Indian audiences as a deliberate travesty, which went beyond caricature and ridicule towards a motivated misrepresentation. The violent repression of Gandhi's non-violent satyagrahis by the colonial state apparatus during the course of the national movement from the 1920s onwards  was well known in India, as were General Dyer's orders to fire on a peaceful, unarmed crowd in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919. Stories of British violence against Indian nationalists had become part of nationalist folklore.

Rejecting these hard political realities about violence and the perpetrators of violence, according to Shahid Amin's 1984 article 'Gandhi as Mahatma' (published in Subaltern Studies III), the cinematic portrayal took off from the well-acknowledged skepticism of the British about Gandhi's non-violent program and the militant and violent action perpetrated by certain social groups in northern India in the name of Gandhi and his ideology. Even the revolutionaries, very far removed in methods from Gandhi, were known to celebrate their victories by evoking his name. For example, the Chittagong Group of revolutionaries headed by Surjya Sen brought off the most spectacular coup in the entire history of Indian terrorism on 18 April 1930 by seizing the local armory and celebrated it with a cry of 'Gandhiji's Raj has come,' as noted by Sumit Sarkar in Modern India (1985).

The film, therefore, portrayed Gandhi (a real-life Vaishnavite and follower of Bhakti), as a worshipper of Kali, the goddess of violence, believing in the cult of violence and murder, to achieve his surreptitious agenda. The conspiracy to take over the whole of India is shown to be a Hindu conspiracy headed by Gandhi and as much against the British as the Muslims. In the days of the communalization of Indian society and polity this could calculatedly generate great anxiety among the Muslims of India, especially those of the Frontier who had thrown in their lot with the Congress. Significantly, in the elections of 1937, the Congress, designated by the Muslim communalists as a Hindu association and projected by the British as such in the USA, had won an overwhelming majority in seven out of eleven states (and formed coalition governments in two others), which included the Muslim majority state of the Northwest Frontier Province. The Muslim League, which claimed to represent all Muslims, could not get a foothold in any state and was busy propagating the image of a Hindu-dominated India. Gunga Din greatly reinforced such a reading. The NWFP was especially troublesome for the British as it was Gandhi's influence on the Frontier leader, Abdul Gaffar Khan, which had led to the merging of his party, the Khudai Khidmadgar, with the Congress. The film's purely Hindu image of Gandhi and the latent violence of Hindus, not withstanding their minority position in this province, could be used to demystify and denounce his growing influence in the NWFP in particular and among the Muslims in India more generally.

[The foregoing was extracted and slightly edited from Colonial India and the Making of Empire Cinema: Image, Ideology and Identity by Prem Chowdhry (Manchester University Press, 2000), pp. 152-59.]

BCS (Bowl Championship Series) Bowl Games-Dish Network

BCS (Bowl Championship Series) Bowl games on Dish Network are coming up fast. BCS first-timers Oregon and Auburn play for the national championship on Jan 10, 2011 in the Tostitos BCS Championship Game at 8:30 pm live on ESPN.

BCS National Championship Game

Other BCS bowl games to watch are Wisconsin vs TCU in the Rose Bowl, UConn vs Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, Stanford vs Va. Tech in the Orange Bowl and Ohio St vs Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

All of the BCS bowl games will be carried on ESPN, channel 140 on DISH. DISH Network customers will be able to enjoy the games in HD  with the America's Top 120 package, DISH's smallest package. Even Dish Network subscribers with this package qualify for "HD Free For Life". You can find out all the details in the Current Offers post.

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ESPN- Keys to the BCS National Championship Game




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Child Development in the Media Age

In 'Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood,' educational theorists Joe Kincheloe and Shirley Steinberg assemble a collection of essays on children and the commodification of identity. They bring together a number of contemporary scholars of education, psychology and sociology into an interdisciplinary study of children’s popular culture and its implications for schooling and child development. Steinberg and Kincheloe introduce the essays with a chapter entitled ‘No More Secrets: Kinderculture, Information Saturation, and the Postmodern Childhood.’ The basic premise in their introduction is that the ‘information age’ has radically altered childhood, especially in the US but also in places adopting the American way of life, to the point that even the most basic assumptions underlying education and psychology are hopelessly outdated.

Much of modern schooling is premised on the belief that children can be initiated into the adult world through rationally constructed 'stages of development,' with parents and teachers controlling access to the adult world. But television, computers and much of social life in modern consumer societies blurs the distinctions upon which this premise is built. In the postmodern media world, children are often more familiar with adult subjects – even traditionally taboo topics like sex and drugs – than many adults. Parents and teachers in particular still often treat children as essentially protected from the ‘real world,’ even though that world is laid open for all to see by way of the increasingly pervasive electronic media technologies. With an ironic twist on a 1960s idiom, Steinberg and Kincheloe suggest that ‘the revolution... has been televised, brought to you and your children in vivid Technicolor.’

The authors outline their thesis that it is the mega-media corporations who are constructing and benefiting from the postmodern child: ‘Using fantasy and desire, corporate functionaries have created a perspective on late-twentieth-century culture that melds with business ideologies and free-market values. The worldviews produced by corporate advertisers to some degree always let children know that the most exciting things life can provide are produced by your friends in corporate America. The economics lesson is powerful when it is repeated hundreds of thousands of times.’ As an antidote to this corporate indoctrination, Steinberg and Kincheloe recommend a form of ‘media literacy’ for parents and teachers, with the goal of exposing ‘the corporate curriculum and its social and political effects.’ The rest of the book is this thesis put into practice, with essays on various aspects of the corporate constructed childhood (or what they term as ‘kinderculture’), from film and television to magazines and video games.

Professor of education Henry Giroux contributes a chapter asking, ‘Are Disney Movies Good for Your Kids?’ His inquiry into the global entertainment corporation was sparked by watching Disney movies with his own children. Like most parents, Giroux assumed that Disney films were relatively harmless entertainment. But by watching more carefully, he noticed that Disney reproduces many of the more racist and sexist beliefs and practices of modern American society. Giroux’s analysis is sophisticated, and he is careful not to fall into the trap of the American Christian Right, who see all sorts of (often ridiculous) conspiracies in Disney features. Rather, Giroux believes that, due to its power as a cultural icon, Disney ought to be taken seriously by scholars and its productions critically analyzed. After analytically viewing some Disney films of the day, such as ‘The Little Mermaid,’ ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘The Lion King,’ and others, Giroux concludes that ‘cultural workers and educators need to insert the political and pedagogical back into the discourse of entertainment.’ He also suggests that parents and educators make Disney accountable for what it produces, citing the example of Muslim and Arab organizations in the US who protested and succeeded in getting Disney to modify some of its racist caricatures in the animated feature film, ‘Aladdin.’

Like Giroux, educational psychologist Eleanor Blair Hilty takes a cue from her own child’s television viewing habits and provides a critical reading of two popular educational television programs, ‘Barney’ and ‘Sesame Street.’ Concerned about the unexamined perception among parents and teachers that such programs are somehow ‘educationally valuable,’ she found that a major problem with shows like ‘Sesame Street’ is that they promote passive learning. Hilty extends her discussion of educational television by suggesting that parents and teachers ought to engage the current debates on public TV by asking ‘whether public television is functioning for the public good,’ and identifying ‘who determines the goodness and worth of these programs.’

Media scholar Douglas Kellner weighs in with an essay on a popular Music Television (MTV) series of the 1990s, ‘Beavis and Butt-head,’ which continues to air on some MTV clones in Asia. Noticing that his students made frequent reference to the series, Kellner watched every episode for two years, from its premiere in 1993 until 1995. His analysis, versions of which have appeared in a number of books and journals (most notably his 1995 book Media Culture), is erudite and wide-ranging. Like many other authors in Kinderculture, Kellner is careful not to write off popular culture as unworthy of scholarly study. While he sees ‘Beavis and Butt-head’ as a metaphor for the downward mobility of American middle class white youth, Kellner also succeeds in identifying both the reactionary and subversive elements of the series. For example, under all the bathroom humor and adolescent hooliganism of the series, Kellner finds some wry critiques of many of the more repressive and irrational aspects of American society. But at the same time, ‘Beavis and Butt-head’ also reproduces some of the most dangerous sexist and racist attitudes of contemporary American society. To pass beyond this analytic juncture, Kellner utilizes a method which seeks to find a third way of reading corporate media productions, complementing and complicating the ‘dominant paradigms [that] either theorize media effects as direct and manipulative or privilege the role of the audience in constructing meaning.’

The chapters in Kinderculture continue with similar analytical readings of other popular children’s media fare, with chapters on such diverse topics as video games and interactive media, ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ (as an example of what the author of that chapter calls ‘the aesthetics of phallo-militaristic justice’), horror fiction (in particular the ‘Goosebumps’ series of stories), children’s magazines, trading cards and ‘Barbie’ dolls. Each essay contributes a piece to the creation of a clearer picture of corporate America as an increasingly powerful force in constructing contemporary childhood. Taken as a whole, Kinderculture reveals a third force in the media that joins (and even undermines) the traditional sites of child development in families and schools.

These connections are perhaps most apparent in the last chapter, featuring Kincheloe’s essay on the global junk food conglomerate, McDonald’s. Recalling his own childhood, Kincheloe reflects on how his family was in a sense programmed by McDonald’s ‘regulation of customer behavior’ through its carefully designed facilities and exceedingly enticing advertising. In reading McDonald’s advertising, Kincheloe concludes that the ‘greatest irony of these ads is that even as they isolate the family from any economic connections they promote the commodification of family life.’ This final chapter also includes some concluding remarks in which Kincheloe suggests that the main purpose of Kinderculture is to expose the machinations of power involved in shaping culture and consciousness:

'Few Americans think in terms of how power interests in the larger society regulate populations to bring about desired behaviors. In America and other Western societies political domination shifted decades ago from police or military forces to the use of cultural messages. Such communications are designed to win the approval or consent of citizens for the actions taken by power elites. The contributors to this book in their own particular ways are involved in efforts to expose the specifics of this process of cultural domination.'

Upon first glance, it may seem that Kinderculture might only be relevant to American parents and educators. But with global media networks invading every corner of the planet, American culture is in many ways becoming global culture. This is of concern to peoples throughout the Third World, wherever they may live. Disney films, or television series like ‘Sesame Street,’ ‘Barney’ and ‘Power Rangers’ (which actually originated in Japan) are translated into dozens of languages throughout Asia. McDonald’s has set up franchises in most major cities throughout the Third World. Many satellite TV stations worldwide air MTV (or one of its clones like Star TV in Asia). American media conglomerates are among the largest publishers of textbooks and educational materials worldwide (which besides contributing to the hegemony of Western knowledge also maintains English as a global language). Barbie dolls are marketed throughout Asia and Africa (in appropriately ‘multicultural’ versions). The list could go on but the conclusion is clear: Kinderculture is going global fast. While some parents and consumer groups have quite admirably concerned themselves with the overtly racist aspects of American media culture, there is much less activity toward trying to understand some of the more subtle indoctrinating forces at work on their consciousness. This useful collection of essays will likely provide much needed insight into the more insidious (but no less damaging) aspects of the American-directed corporate construction of childhood. This, in turn, may enable activists and teachers throughout the Third World to develop an array of locally-grounded individual and collective initiatives and responses to what can only be seen as a pervasive affront to human dignity and intelligence.

From the Book
Page 26: What often inhibits understanding of the pedagogical power of popular culture in general and kinderculture in particular involve the society’s failure to recognize that power plays an exaggerated role in the shaping of personal experiences. This relationship is so apparent that it is often lost in its obviousness. Power produces images of the world and the people who inhabit it that make meaning for those who receive the images. The films, books, video games, and TV shows of kinderculture shape the way white children, for example, understand the poor and racially marginalized – and in turn how they a white people come to recognize their own privilege. Language patterns connect with this production of images to reinforce power’s influence, its ability to provide the context in which children encounter the world. The advent of electronic hyperreality has revolutionized the ways knowledge is produced in ths culture and the ways children come to learn about the world. Parents and educators need to appreciate the nature of this revolution and its role in identity formation. Simple condemnation of kinderculture accompanied by calls for censorship is insufficient; equally ineffective is a policy of benign neglect. Concerned individuals should begin with an attempt to understand these dynamics in all their complexity and ambiguity, followed by an effort to involved themselves in the public conversation about them. In this context adults may come to appreciate the fact that postmodern children’s confusion and identity disorientation may be a reasonable reaction to the incongruity between kinderculture’s and schooling’s positioning of children.

Further Reading
Consumers Association of Penang, How TV Affects Your Child’s Development (2007).
Steve D. Derne, Globalization on the Ground: New Media and the Transformation of Culture, Class, and Gender in India (Sage Publications, 2008).
Ariel Dorfman, How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic (International General, 1984).
Henry Giroux, The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence (Rowman Littlefield, 2001).
John de Graaf, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005).
Linda Haas, From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture (Indiana University Press, 1995).
Donaldo Macedo, Media Literacy: A Reader (Peter Lang Publishing, 2007).
Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood (Vintage Random House, 1994).
Eugene Provenzo, Video Kids: Making Sense of Nintendo (Harvard University Press, 1994).
Usha Rodrigues, Youth, Media and Culture in the Asia Pacific Region (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008).
Juliet B. Schor, Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture (Scribner, 2005).
Shirley R. Steinberg, Christotainment: Selling Jesus through Popular Culture (Westview Press, 2009).

[Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood was first published by Westview Press in 1997, with a 2nd edition appearing in 2004 and a third edition due out in 2011. This review is extracted and slightly edited from Books for Critical Consciousness by J. Progler (Penang, Malaysia: Citizens International, 2010), and it is dedicated to the memory of the late Joe L. Kincheloe (1950-2008). Shirley Steinberg is currently the director of The Paulo and Nita Freire International Project for Critical Pedagogy.]