December 11, 2006

QUOTE: "It will be interesting to see what Christian movie buffs in particular make of [Mel Gibson's Apocalypto]. When The Passion came out, there was much speculation that Gibson had become 'one of us,' and there were many requests for Gibson to follow it up with a movie about the Maccabean revolt, St. Francis, or any of a number of other biblical and religious subjects. Instead, with a budget rumored to be over $70 million—much of it amassed with The Passion's profits—Gibson has made a bloody flick about death and social decay in a pagan culture, and he hints ever so obliquely that the world has not fared any better under Christians. After watching Apocalypto, some people may find they cannot watch The Passion the way they used to." —Christianity Today movie reviewer Peter T. Chattaway [christianitytoday.com, 12/8/06]

A few years ago Fox pushed the envelope with a TV show called Playing It Straight, in which a single girl had to select a date from a group of guys without knowing whether each man was gay or straight. The show lasted all of three episodes. But given the influx of alternative lifestyle-centric shows recently hitting the tube, it may have stayed on the air longer if it had debuted today. In January Lifetime will premiere Gay, Straight or Taken, which repeats a similar premise as Play It Straight, but also tosses in some people who are already dating someone else to up the "drama" factor yet another notch. Meanwhile, ABC's All My Children has broken new ground with the first transsexual-in-the-making character to be incorporated into a soap opera. [AP, 11/26/06; zap2it.com, 11/21/06]

QUOTE: "I think that people find people and need people, but I just don't think it's absolutely necessary to walk down an aisle in a white dress and sign a piece of paper. For me, it's spiritual. It's about whether two people have that commitment to one another." —actress Cameron Diaz, offering her explanation for why she and her boyfriend of four-plus years, Justin Timberlake, have no intention of marrying in the near future [hollywood.com, 11/29/06]

QUOTE: "When it comes to relationships, I don't like to hurt people, but I can't say I'm a good boy. I'm a ladies' man, and I love women. I mean, being an international superstar, and being known to be a wealthy one, sex is one of the easiest things to get, so there is a point where you get tired of it. But I just like being around women ... Sex is my hobby. But one woman [model Kim Porter] has my heart, and she don't be having no bulls---, and I'm trying to be the best I can be. But I got that contradiction. And to be honest, it's problematic for me." —hip-hop impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs [Rolling Stone, 11/16/06]

Two years ago MySpace captured the public's imagination as the online service du jour. This year it was YouTube. For 2007 the buzz is pointing toward Second Life, a virtual world where people create 3-D digital copies of themselves and interact with others. Members can chat with other Second Life participants, play virtual games or go shopping online together and spend real money. Compared to established social networking sites, Second Life's membership is modest at 1.5 million, but it's currently growing at about 10% to 12% per month. [Billboard, 12/9/06 stats]

The National Institute on Media and the Family has released its 11th Annual Video Game Report Card. All 10 games the organization warned parents to avoid this year come with an M rating. They are: Gangs of London; The Sopranos; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories; Reservoir Dogs; Mortal Kombat: Unchained; Scarface: The World Is Yours; The Godfather: Mob Wars; Saints Row; Dead Rising; and Just Cause. Eight of 10 titles recommended for children and teens are rated E: Mario Hoops 3-on-3; Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz; Madden NFL 07; LocoRoco; Dance Factory; Brain Age; Nancy Drew: Danger by Design; and Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. Two other recommended games come with the E10+ rating: LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and Roboblitz. In addition to scoring the year's best and worst games for minors, the detailed, 12-page report also summarizes a wealth of the most recent research regarding how video games affect young players. [mediafamily.org/research/2006_Video_Game_Report_Card.pdf, 11/28/06]

According to the third annual 2006 Teen Trends study conducted by the Harrison Group and sponsored by VNU Business Media, teenagers today spend more than 72 hours a week using, absorbing or interacting with the following electronic media: cell phones, the Internet, television, music and video games. The survey of 1,000 teens ages 13 to 18 also asked participants about their usage habits with regard to specific media. While more than half reported owning Sony's PlayStation 2 console and a third have Microsoft's original Xbox, a full 75% reported playing video games regularly. Music-wise, a third of teens own an iPod, and 75% of those surveyed spend two to three hours downloading music or listening to it online each day. Half consider unauthorized downloading of music for free illegal, but another 41% weren't concerned about downloading digital tracks illegally. The survey also found that 68% of teens have created a personal profile on a social networking site such as MySpace, Xanga or Facebook. Twenty-five percent use these sites to keep in touch with friends daily, and the average teen chats via Instant Messaging with 35 people about three hours each week. Jim Taylor, vice chairman of the Harrison Group, summarized the study's findings this way: "This generation is unique. Teen life has become a theatrical, self-directed media production." [news.com, 12/7/06 stats]

Another survey commissioned by video game manufacturer Activision and administered by the Harrison Group found that a majority of parents surveyed (58%) play video games with their children. Seventy-four percent of parents reported being comfortable with video games as a part of their family's life. Said Harrison research expert Paul Lundquist, "We're really seeing an emerging generation of parents who are also gamers. For the most part these parents have been playing since they were teenagers themselves." [washingtonpost.com, 12/7/06 stats]

Following the trend set by reality competition shows such as Dancing With the Stars and American Idol, Disney has decided to capitalize on High School Musical's soaring popularity by sending it out on the road as a live stage show. But you'd better call today if you want seats. According to production company AEG Live, nearly all of Musical's 40 tour dates have already sold out. [Billboard, 12/9/06]

QUOTE: "Our entire popular culture's about high school. It's this thing that most people suffered through terribly or like to think they did." —Frank Portman, author of the book King Dork [Time, 12/4/06]

A recent Harris Interactive online survey sheds some light on the ethics of teens today. The survey of 787 13- to 18-year-olds (sponsored by financial services firm Deloitte & Touche and Junior Achievement Worldwide) asked participants about their choices in the last year. Sixty-nine percent reported that they had lied, 34% said they had downloaded music they hadn't paid for, and 22% indicated that they'd cheated on a test. Some teens, however, believe those percentages are probably low. Jake Medwell, an 18-year-old high school senior in Seattle, thinks teens may not be telling the whole truth even in an anonymous survey. "People don't really want to admit to the fact they do these things," Medwell said of the survey results. "I think they're conscious of it but don't want to admit they take part in it." [usatoday.com, 12/5/06 stats]

A study issued by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse has found that 15- to 19-year-old Canadians who smoke are significantly more apt to use illegal drugs and abuse alcohol. Of smoking teens in this age group, almost 98% drank alcohol in the past year, while a whopping 91% smoked marijuana (compared to 75% and 29% for nonsmoking adolescents, respectively). In addition, 31% of the smokers had used cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, ecstasy or hallucinogens over the past 12 months, as opposed to just 3.5% of nonsmoking teens. Said Rita Notarandrea, director of research and policy for the centre, "This research clearly shows that tobacco use among youth ages 15 to 19 is a powerful and effective marker of other substance abuse. There is a strong message here for parents and educators to recognize the correlation between tobacco and other substance use." [cbc.ca, 12/6/06 stats, c&e]