Strollerderby : horror movies

Top 8 Disturbing Action Figures Marketed to Boys

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:26:00 GMT

Thanks to Bratz, Strutz and the like, little girls are encouraged to grow up too fast. But the following action figures indicate that toy manufacturers are making equally disturbing inroads into the psyches of little boys. These action figures (because boys don't play with dolls) appear to have sprung from the dystopian imagination of some Dark Overlord of Toymaking.

Here are 8 disturbing action figures marketed to boys:

1. Snoop Dogg Doll - The rapper's likeness is now a children's action figure so your kids can pretend they've been arrested too.

2. Hellboy Action Figure - For a few dollars more, you can buy your kid Hellboy. Imagine the fun you'll have!!

3. Demon of Darkness Horse - Because Hellboy needs a friend.

4. Insane Clown Posse Violent Action Figure - This is the toy's real name.

5. Evil Clown - Stitches is from a line of toys called "Dark Circus." Want some peanuts, little boy?

6. Resident Evil - This thing is going to give me nightmares for a week!

7. Krypt Kiddies - For parents who love the Chuckie movies.

8. Demon Kidz - From the website: DemonKidz are sure to get your heart purring with fantastical emotion.

So ok, the last two aren't technically being marketed to boys. Still, it is clear from this list (or a quick perusal of Amazon or any toy store) that boys are encouraged to be violent just as girls are encouraged to be sexy. If we want our kids to be kids, maybe Waldorf is truly onto something.

[Photo Credit: Marcus Martensen]

When Art and Horror Meet

Kelly Mills — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:32:00 GMT

I consider it part of my job as a parent to expose my child to the Arts, dahling. We have some books of famous paintings, and ever since my child was a toddler I've pulled them out and showed her famous paintings. "Can you find the apple in the still life? Isn't it interesting how the artist used that perspective to make the apple look so three-dimensional?"Crap like that. My husband, however, has to wait until she's older to give her his cultural contribution: A strong background in the finest horror films ever made. Somehow it just doesn't work as well to say to a six-year-old, "Look at how they built tension in this film using that cold daytime lighting. You really start to anticipate the zombie's attack."

So when the better half sent me this link, it seemed like the perfect marriage of art and horror. I have to say, some folks are really friggin' talented with the Photoshop. 'Course most of these are still too bloody and intense to expose my kid to, but then again, so are a fair number of the original paintings. For now, we'll just have to content ourselves with the showing her ascension of the Creature from the Black Lagoon and so on. But the minute she's old enough... Nothing like a little Renaissance art to uplift the spirit and give you nightmares.

The Sadistic (Or Stupid?) Parent: Slasher Films and B.B. Guns

Alisyn — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:19:00 GMT

Peter Hartlaub, over at one of my favorite pop culture/parenting blogs, The Poop, has an excellent post up today about the inappropriate "dates" some parents take their kids on. Peter reviews horror movies for the SF Chronicle, and has witnessed, on more than one occasion, kids whimpering in the aisles, being shushed by inattentive (and incredibly out of touch) parents, at films like "The Hitcher" and "The Devil's Rejects." I KNOW!! The previews for those films scared the shit out of me - and I'm old enough to know better. But a 4 or 5 year old? They're going to have to sleep with the lights on until they're 35.

What is it that compels parents to act like their kids are just one of their buddies? I saw a Dad - who was clearly on a third or fourth date gone horribly awry - growl at his preschool aged son for falling asleep at the dinner table, in a crowded French restaurant at 10:30 last Saturday night. I have also witnessed - I kid you not - a 4-year-old hunting squirrels with his father, and a loaded B.B. gun. Don't ask why. Because you don't want to know. And what about the Chinese woman, who took her 14-year-old son along for her gynocological exam? Or the moms who jumped in on their daughters' rumble - on the front lawn of their high school?

What's the deal with these parents? Are they stupid - or do they just not care?