wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on May 22, 2006 9:52:16 GMT -5
I'm a really big Gymnasts fan, too, and they are good at being multiracial without being blatant. Don't forget, as well as Darlene being black, Lauren is also at least part Hispanic, and that seems really natural, too.
I always thought that Claudia being Japanese-American seemed pretty natural and not like, "Okay, we need to be ethnically diverse and Teach Kids Lessons." All the references to "almond-shaped eyes" might have been a bit much, but it seemed more like a clumsy attempt to show that Claudia-the-artist was "exotic," as opposed to "Claudia isn't white and That's Okay." When they talk about Jessi being black and Abby being Jewish, it's more like, "This is our Token Black Character and our Token Jewish Character." It's not that I don't think Jessi or Abby have personalities apart from that, because I think that they do. I just think that it's blatantly obvious that Jessi is black and Abby is Jewish because the writers wanted to Teach Kids Something.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on May 22, 2006 17:45:27 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Ha, just shows you how subtle those books really are. The BSC would be referring to it every other page.
I also think the "almond-shaped eye" thing was a gentle way of explaining that Claud was "of Asian appearance" in the obligatory Chapter Two description. But it was left at that, there was no "of course that doesn't matter to us..." etc.
Also, ITA about Abby and Jessi. Particularly the books about their cultural traditions.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on May 23, 2006 0:23:10 GMT -5
^ And the "almost white blonde hair" - is that supposed to be a referrence to how bleached hair gets when it is exposed to the sun way too much, indicating that Dawn is from California?
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on May 23, 2006 22:36:47 GMT -5
^ speaking of which, I hated the way all Dawn's friends were blonde. How realistic is that, anyway? Even if they are from California.
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Post by buffykay70 on May 24, 2006 8:16:23 GMT -5
yeah, and they were all different types of blonde, with varying shades as Sunny was strawberry blonde and Jill was dark blonde and Dawn white blonde, i think AMM had a thing for blonde hair maybe??
and remember how they always used that Sun Lite stuff to make their hair even blonder? i remember Stacey having to hide it from her mum or something.
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Post by lovelylemontree on May 25, 2006 13:28:05 GMT -5
This is one of the things I dislike most about the series and why, even as a kid, I wasn't a Dawn fan. The series totally misrepresents California. We aren't all blonde, tan vegetarians who live by the beach. Hadn't Ann M. and the ghostwriters ever been to California, or more specifically, Los Angeles? It's like the "Jessi Is Black" thing. They play up every possible stereotype and in doing so, create one-dimensional characters.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on May 25, 2006 20:56:13 GMT -5
Yeah, but her mum was perfectly happy with Stace wearing a string bikini at age 13. Makes sense.
Ann seems like one of those dumb people who think kangaroos are hopping randomly down the city streets in Australia. For books as PC as the BSC (all those female doctors and police officers etc) it's odd how accepting she is of every other stereotype.
As far as I know, naturally blonde hair is pretty unusual.
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ktag
Junior Sitter
Posts: 694
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Post by ktag on May 25, 2006 21:10:15 GMT -5
Hahaha, I can so see it now: The BSC Down Under! Mallory gets carried off by a pack of wild kangaroos, never to be seen again. Mary Anne tries to smuggle a koala out of the country. Kristy believes it's her duty as a baby-sitter to swear revenge on all dingoes. Oh, and Jessi accuses someone of racism! ;D
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Post by booboobrewer on May 26, 2006 2:05:58 GMT -5
And Mal starts a children's story about all of this and does nothing else during the vacation?
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ktag
Junior Sitter
Posts: 694
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Post by ktag on May 26, 2006 20:54:04 GMT -5
This is one of the things I dislike most about the series and why, even as a kid, I wasn't a Dawn fan. The series totally misrepresents California. We aren't all blonde, tan vegetarians who live by the beach. Hadn't Ann M. and the ghostwriters ever been to California, or more specifically, Los Angeles? It's like the "Jessi Is Black" thing. They play up every possible stereotype and in doing so, create one-dimensional characters. The thing that bothered me the most was that they always called her a "typical California girl" when describing her as blonde, blue-eyed and vegetarian. And what does "California Casual" even mean?? I just found this in #32: "Maybe because of California (or maybe not) Dawn is also a health-food nut." That's the only time I've read where they say California might not be the reason Dawn is who she is. There's a thought.
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Post by lovelylemontree on May 27, 2006 2:27:54 GMT -5
I never understood the "California Casual" thing either. I imagine Dawn wearing a lot of loose-fitting cotton shorts and baggy t-shirts. And flip-flops. Lots of flip-flops.
The "all Californians are vegetarians" thing really confused me as a kid. I didn't know any vegetarians. I live in a big farming county that borders the desert. It in no way resembles Ann M.'s magical fantasyland of blonde haired, tanned vegetarians and surfers.
Blonde hair tends to darken around middle school-age. That's when most blonde girls I knew began bleaching their hair.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on May 27, 2006 21:49:46 GMT -5
I think that's pretty much what she did wear. Also lots of those flourescent colors. I never understood California Casual, but I always figured that was because I was Australian. I thought maybe California had a very distinctive dress code that people from the US recognised immediately. Interesting to find out I was wrong ;D
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2006 10:15:24 GMT -5
There's a chain of stores called PacSun, mabye she dressed like that.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on May 30, 2006 2:24:10 GMT -5
I think that I sort of have an idea about what "California casual" is, although I'm probably wrong. I think it is clothes that seem plain and are not at all brand-names. In where I live it seems that brand-name clothes are popular but a lot of people don't wear them.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on May 30, 2006 9:00:35 GMT -5
Hahaha, I can so see it now: The BSC Down Under! Mallory gets carried off by a pack of wild kangaroos, never to be seen again. Mary Anne tries to smuggle a koala out of the country. Kristy believes it's her duty as a baby-sitter to swear revenge on all dingoes. Oh, and Jessi accuses someone of racism! ;D Someone please write this.
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