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Surprised-Mishpacha Jr



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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 8:30 pm
I do not regularly read Mishpacha. A neighbor gave my daughter a pile of juniors and I decided to take a peek.


I was very surprised by the serial at the end, called Out of Step.

A quote:

"I pull on my Champions sweatshirt, slip my feet into Adidas...I'm really rocking the "activewear ensemble look". Then her friend "slips on a pair of kenzos."

Several paragraphs later she is stunned to realize "my perfect sister in law isnt perfect" because she used to use extensions, her real hair was thin and brittle.

More chapters reveal the same thing. Lots of brand name dropping, very busy with appearances, "going out for Chinese" and ordering everything on the menu.


I'm truly surprised. This is not about frumkeit, but about values. (I have no problem with my daughter reading (prescreened for r rated material) secular books.) What surprises me is that Mishpacha has no problem with a serial portraying such type of values.

Any thoughts?
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amother
Pumpkin


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 8:37 pm
I was in florida and I saw fifty teen age girls lined up waiting to get into a expensive restuarant
called soho yeshivah week it looked like they all had the same kind of outfit on
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 8:53 pm
I would have to read the story to know if the brand name dropping was eventually shown to be a negative.
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allthingsblue




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 8:55 pm
So I also don't like it but he author does a good job describing what teens in some frum communities face these days.
The author wrote another serial with a lot of this as well- in that serial, the protagonist had to learn how to appreciate simplicity and tone down the gashmius. That doesn't seem to be the theme here, it seems the author is saying these things are normal/ok etc, and I'm the last person to subscribe to fads, but if that's what today's teens face... they can read about it.
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r1




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 8:56 pm
zaq wrote:
I would have to read the story to know if the brand name dropping was eventually shown to be a negative.


Even if it is it’s much.
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amother
Brown


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 8:56 pm
Are those name brands still in?? Seem pretty dated to me. Nobody I know is showing off their Adidas sneakers lol. Or a Champion sweatshirt.
Seems very 90s.
Even going out for Chinese is not a big deal anymore.
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cnc




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 9:01 pm
amother [ Brown ] wrote:
Are those name brands still in?? Seem pretty dated to me. Nobody I know is showing off their Adidas sneakers lol. Or a Champion sweatshirt.
Seems very 90s.
Even going out for Chinese is not a big deal anymore.


Adidas is back in. Everything has its cycles.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 9:04 pm
Perhaps that is the lifestyle for many of their teen readers. In my opinion, that's not the point. The exact same story can be written without all that name dropping. I dont see how its furthering the plot. It seems to me that the author is trying to portray the character as "hip" and "cool"-which is exactly why it bothers me. I just find it so incredibly shallow.

I just cant see a secular well written YA novel written like this.

To me, it was a huge turn off.
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fmt4




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 9:21 pm
amother [ Brown ] wrote:
Are those name brands still in?? Seem pretty dated to me. Nobody I know is showing off their Adidas sneakers lol. Or a Champion sweatshirt.
Seems very 90s.
Even going out for Chinese is not a big deal anymore.


How old are you? If you are at all in touch with the trends today you would know that adidas and champion are very in for teens.
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allthingsblue




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 9:28 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Perhaps that is the lifestyle for many of their teen readers. In my opinion, that's not the point. The exact same story can be written without all that name dropping. I dont see how its furthering the plot. It seems to me that the author is trying to portray the character as "hip" and "cool"-which is exactly why it bothers me. I just find it so incredibly shallow.

I just cant see a secular well written YA novel written like this.

To me, it was a huge turn off.


Some secular YA novels (Gossip Girl for example) definitely do drop brand names like this.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 9:36 pm
allthingsblue wrote:
Some secular YA novels (Gossip Girl for example) definitely do drop brand names like this.


Exactly. The characters in Gossip Girl are being portrayed as obsessed with materialism. It is essential to the plot.


I dont think that's the authors point here. It is being portrayed as normal for a regular teen to be "stunned" that her sil "is not perfect" because gasp...she used to have thin hair. And for her not to think, "let me get my bag" but let me grab my "insert name brand bag."
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allthingsblue




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 9:39 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Exactly. The characters in Gossip Girl are being portrayed as obsessed with materialism. It is essential to the plot.


I dont think that's the authors point here. It is being portrayed as normal for a regular teen to be "stunned" that her sil "is not perfect" because gasp...she used to have thin hair. And for her not to think, "let me get my bag" but let me grab my "insert name brand bag."


I hear you.
In the previous serial it was definitely integral to the plot. I haven't figured it out yet but it may end up becoming important here as well- in this week's installment it's discovered that she has an eye for fashion so maybe that'll play a big role.
Either way the protagonist does come across as a bit immature/self centered so I imagine she's going to learn something lessons, perhaps the non-importance of materialism is one of them...

You can always write in to them and let them know your thoughts!
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ectomorph




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 10:07 pm
Nothing surprises me. https://www.imamother.com/foru.....64933
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amother
Denim


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 10:46 pm
It really bothers you, don;t leave off your steam here, contact them so your words can be heard and perhaps they can explain themselves.

I had a similar disappointment with a different kids magazine that took the liberty of writing "expecting a baby" now theres nothing wrong with per se but did not feel like its not so necessary to have that in a kids magazine lets leave the expecting articles for the adult magazines.
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amother
Mustard


 

Post Sat, Jan 25 2020, 11:39 pm
I actually wrote a letter to the editor a couple times, over the years, about different things, and got no response.
Hamodia won't print letters, but at least they'll respond or have the author respond.
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