‘The Clique’ Books Taught Hate (?): Books Are Not the Problem
If you’re a parent, you are already well attuned to how television and film affect your offspring. (Or at least how we think they affect them.) Let’s rewind to me appalled at the iCarly episode my daughter was glued to in a Montana emergency room when she was six. Instead of me being fixated on the ring that was lodged in my foot (long story), I was perturbed that I couldn’t change the channel to something less, I don’t know, “teenager-ish.”
TV = perpetual bogeyman.
But what about books?
Pictured is a NYT article by Lena Wilson about a series of books called The Clique, published in the early 2000s. Wilson’s takeaway? These books, written by Lisi Harrison, “taught [her] to hate” and gave her an unrealistic view of life. As a young girl, she was mesmerized by the rich, mean girl behavior — consider The Clique books a literary version of Beverly Hills, 90210. Once Wilson re-read the books as an adult, she realized that Harrison’s books were satire. But to her, the damage had been done.
There are two things happening when we “blame” books. 1) We’re acknowledging that this media worms its way into our psyche & that we’re open to its message. And 2) We’re acknowledging that our behavior is altered by it. If you believe both points, that’s giving books a lot of power! (Personally, I think #2 is rare.)
Parents (and former children) who are upset about, say, The Clique…if you truly believe that books have the power to upend everything you’ve taught them, I hate to say it, but you’re going to have to give parents who are upset about other books some credence. And vice versa. Like the Instagram-favorite bookstore in Brooklyn, I do believe Books are Magic! But I’m not sure they impact in the same clear-cut ways that other media do.
Books > TV? Maybe I’m naive, but I think so. Books aren’t beholden to advertisers looking for kids’ eyeballs. They involve some work on the consumer’s part…it’s hard to passively read. I haven’t read of too many kids who have become catatonic from reading. Am I excusing my onetime histrionic views toward iCarly while simultaneously admitting that I let my young children read anything they saw? Yup.
Books are not the problem.
originally published on instagram