Flavor Crystals as Brain Food: Unplug TV Commercials in School (original) (raw)

Phi Delta Kappan, 1997

Abstract

Private, vulnerable, and sacred, a human's psyche is not a commodity to be sold. Yet such commerce will continue until we ban TV commercials from our schools, Mr. Fox warns. "What's advertised on Channel One?" "Cinnaburst," replied Eric, a ninth-grader. "You know - that gum with those little red dots and -" "No," injected Lisa, "those are flavor crystals." Eric paused and muttered, "Oh yeah, flavor crystals." He quickly continued describing the other ads he'd seen on Channel One, which beams news and MTV-esque commercials for Skittles candy, Gatorade, and other products to eight million students daily. When Lisa corrected her classmate on the commercial's wording, the others nodded in agreement. Interviewing more than 200 rural Missouri kids tells me that these commercials penetrate deeply into their language, thinking, and behavior. In one year of exposure to Channel One, students can watch 700 commercials,...

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