Tag Archives: Family

Chore Wars

Posted on August 7, 2011 by irina.tyumentseva

This week we were discussing how household work changed in 20th century. In the article “Twentieth century Changes in Household Technologies.” we traced how housework changed qualitatively and quantitatively. We also discussed how technological sphere in household becomes another field of work. In our days people bring their household chores into internet space! The game Choir Wars is free online game that allows to turn real-life chores into points that are used in the game. Players can make a list of chores together and then game assigns certain rewards for them.

As one father was saying in his blog, the game helped to motivate kids in doing their house chores. He mentions that even though kids still got the same tasks and rewards as they did before the game, now they felt as they earned those rewards more then before.

I think what can be interesting for our class is that transformation that game makes of routine physically performed tasks into online game. It shows how much technology means in modern households and how it can be used in stabilizing relationship between family members.  Players report that they have less conflicts about who should do what and in what time. for those who have kids this game became powerful motivational tool.

The Choir Wars also can be seen as an epiphany in child marketing.  It manages to “sell” kids work that they usually don’t want to do. It employs media of computer game to make housework cool and attract kids by experience points and rewards they can redeem online after they finish real-life task.

P.S.:  If you know kids who spend all they time online, this may be the way to make them do something for their family on chorewars.com.

Posted in Assignment 3 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Modern kitchen of late 1950s

Posted on July 28, 2011 by irina.tyumentseva

I found this marvelous video archive of TV commercials of 1950s glorifying modern kitchen.  I would say that it is extension of the ideas expressed in Nickles Shelley article and the way marketing strategies evolved throughout 50s.

The first commercial I find specially significant because it sells to both working class and middle class families. First it shows working class family and the way how they can make their kitchen more modern, by buying new appliances one at the time. Ad-makers in a way show working families that they can afford their products. They also prove to families that up to date kitchen saves a lot of time and turn chore of cooking into pleasure, thus appealing to a working class housewife who perceives her chores as work. I especially admired how ad was describing old refrigerator as “too small for present day supermarket shopping habits”, so family had to buy new bigger one to fit more goods in it. Ad also showed some details, like flower-printed curtains, that working class people could relate to, which was probably based on conclusion about working class taste drawn on researches described in article we read. It also showed families prospective purchases on their way to a new shiny modern kitchen, and named it “envy of the neighborhood”, reinforcing the connection between goods that family owns and their status among peers.

Next that commercial shows the kitchen of middle class family, that is already equipped with necessary appliances.  To sell products to this family, ad makers emphasize the “look of tomorrow” that women allegedly want. They cater to middle class taste with charcoal grey appliances, using words ‘sophisticated” and “efficient”.

Clearly there is no limit to desire, families are pushed to buy newer, latest, better and in more quantities.

 

 

 

Posted in Assignment 2, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Donor Insemination, a Difficult Decision.

Posted on July 26, 2011 by ylukovsky

I wasn’t really familiar with the topic of DI until taking this course and reading Katrina Hargreaves article on it. I came across some interesting clips, and also found out there was a major Hollywood film starring, Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore about this topic that was released just last year (2010), here is a preview:Film Preview.

The film is about a lesbian couple who choose to use DI to have children, when the children get old enough they decide to get in touch with the man who donated the sperm, technically their biological father and inform him that they are his children. The more time the children want to spend with the man, the more jealous their “mothers” become. Of course in Hollywood you can always expect the happy ending, everyone will get along and they will become one happy family, but that is not how it always turns out in real life.

Whether to tell the child about their biological parents is a very difficult decision. A lot of factors have to be taken into account, the psychological ramifications of such information, the biological parents interests or lack their of in the child’s life, the possible strain that telling the child will put into your relationship with them, and things of that nature. So many things can go wrong, the list is endless, this is why some couples feel it is better to just leave the child in the dark and have them continue to think that you are his birth parents, to avoid any confusion and the avalanche of emotions that come along with dropping such heavy information on the child. Personally I feel they have a right to know, but every couple has a right to approach it whichever way they deem fit.

Posted in Assignment 1 | Tagged , , | 16 Comments