When you answer this question, (if you can) could you please tell me your age and whether you live in or outside the US? I am interested in any opinion, of parnets and of teenagers themselves.
Thaks a lot!Do you think brand-dropping in teenage literature is OK?
I think the question is more complicated than you seem to. First, there is the use of trademarked names as generics like kleenex or xerox or coke when you mean tissue or copy machine or soft drink. That's just plain wrong and, in fact, illegal. Name dropping brands in fiction otherwise, is not a specific problem unless it's overdone as a way to push the product. A certain, very expensive, brand of shoes or jeans can be used to reveal things about a character's place in life, ambitions, or attitudes. The opposite is, of course true as well. Some uses are out of place because it doesn't matter to the reader whether the character is drinking Coca Cola or Pepsi and, if it doesn't, the reader stops to wonder about the significance of the choice and you risk losing them.
As far as letting kids read, mine are all grown now but when they were little, I never exercised any control over what they read (TV was different, very limited amounts of time there.) but I read what they read and if I felt there was a problem, (sex, violence, could have been branding but it never came up, or any other thing I thought was questionable), we had to talk about it. They all now write, either as a profession or an avocation, so I guess it turned out ok.
I'm in the USADo you think brand-dropping in teenage literature is OK?
';Literary critics'; generally do not ';make statistics.';
But I'll play along.
The ';brand dropping'; is merely a function of our culture. It is more appealing to a younger audience to say that the characters went to ';McDonald's'; or ';Burger King,'; rather than to suggest that they went to ';Auntie B's Burger Barn.'; Most kids today have little imagination, owing to the onslaught of video games, t.v., dvds, etc. So they have to have images that are familiar to keep their attention.
I do not know a single parent who would go to the trouble for forbidding a child anything. It's far easier today for a parent to give a kid what s/he wants to shut him/her up.
I said something the other day to a friend about how I had always limited the amount of time my kids were allowed to sit in front of the television. She was appalled!
Too many parents today believe that their children should have what they want when they want it (which was yesterday), and then go to incredible lengths to get it.
If you need my age and location, email me.
Well, I don't see a problem with it. It actually makes the books seem more realistic to me than, say, if the author would have chosen to make the Starbucks ';Nick's Coffee Shop'; or the Hollister ';Harbors';. It helps me to visualize the setting more, because if the book is set in the present, I want to recognize things I see in the present. I honestly don't think that teens are so impressionable as to buy at a store simply because it is mentioned in a book. Even if they did, it's not like they wouldn't get the same influence from TV or the internet.
I'm a young teen (duh, internet safety) in the U.S.
Hey SOS (my buddy) wal-mart is this cheap store in the US where they sell clothing, random junk, and sometimes groceries.
If it is organic to the story, it doesn't bother me. If I read about a teen listening to her iPod, no biggie, that's normal teen behavior and gives the book some contemporary credit, I guess... but if the author is going in detail about how the main character is using Gain Ultra Stainlifting to wash her clothes, and it isn't a SUPER important part of the story, it draws me out of the suspension of disbelief and annoys me.
23, Virginia, USA
I read american books and i'm english, and they talk about a load of american crap i've never heard of.
At least Harry Potter is universal...
It would depend on the brands. If an author mentions McDonald's, then I'm fine, because I know what a McDonald's is. But I'm not very fashion-wise, so it annoys me to no end when an author starts dropping clothing labels in the book and expects me to know the difference between the two of them. 14, US
It depends. If were talking about the name of a product, like a Coke, I think thats ok. I think clothing brand dropping is a little annoying, especially if its used to promote sales. I'm 17
It's okay for really big and common brands.
Kleenex, Converse High Tops, Diet coke, etc.
And only sometimes.
15,NY,USA.
Its ok if there isn't a lot.
15, Wisconsin.
Not in excess.
14
Suburb of Chicago, IL, USA
No comments:
Post a Comment