From: Vicki Palmquist <vicki>
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 13:44:28 -0500

I was just thinking this morning, as I walked past aisles of Harry Potter geegaws in Target, that this excessive merchandising waters down the experience of reading and perhaps watching a movie of a beloved story. Items become commonplace and, in result, have lesser value.

Before VCRs, I used to find myself wishing that they would re-broadcast the TV version of *Peter Pan* starring Mary Martin, because I found that to be so magical when I was a child. It held a cherished place in my memory and when it finally was shown once again, I cancelled everything to be in front of the television to relive those memories. I found that it didn't matter that my adult self could see the wires holding up Mary Martin . . . I still admired the story and the way it was told.

Now, because our marketers would like to "cash in" on a good thing, they'll try to "extend the brand" for Narnia and Little House and I'm sure everything else we value. And adults, desperate to interest children in reading, will rush out to buy these things for children who expect their reading and movie experiences to be prolonged.

I had one Barbie doll, who is now locked away in a safety deposit box (poor Barbie). My young cousin has at least 20 Barbies, their hair matted and tangled, strewn all over her bedroom floor. When I ask which is her favorite, she shrugs. It doesn't matter.

Somehow, I don't think this is progress.

-- Vicki Palmquist in sunny and still-cold Minnesota
Received on Mon 04 Jun 2001 01:44:28 PM CDT