Is the 'Hour of Code' the New 30-Minute Saturday Morning Cartoon Commercial? 20
Longtime Slashdot reader theodp writes: Past corporate-sponsored Hour of Code tutorials for the nation's schoolchildren have blurred the lines between coding lessons and product infomercials. So too is the case again with this year's newly-announced Hour of Code 2024 flagship tutorials, which include Microsoft Minecraft, Amazon Music, and Transformers One movie-themed intros to coding. The press release announcing the tutorials from tech-backed nonprofit Code.org, which organizes the Hour of Code and counts Microsoft and Amazon as $30+ million donors, boasts of its "decade of partnership with [Microsoft] Minecraft this year, reaching more than 300 million sessions of Minecraft Hour of Code since 2015!"
Interestingly, The Transformers (Paramount Pictures, which released Transformers One in the U.S., is a $25,000+ Code.org donor) is cited as one of the OG's of children's Saturday morning cartoon advertising (aka 30-minute commercials) that prompted the Children's Television Act (CTA) of 1990, an act of Congress that ordered the FCC to put in place regulations to protect children from advertising. Throughout the 1980s, Action for Children's Television (ACT) criticized children's television programs that "blur(red) the distinction between program content and commercial speech."
Interestingly, The Transformers (Paramount Pictures, which released Transformers One in the U.S., is a $25,000+ Code.org donor) is cited as one of the OG's of children's Saturday morning cartoon advertising (aka 30-minute commercials) that prompted the Children's Television Act (CTA) of 1990, an act of Congress that ordered the FCC to put in place regulations to protect children from advertising. Throughout the 1980s, Action for Children's Television (ACT) criticized children's television programs that "blur(red) the distinction between program content and commercial speech."
Arguably more serious (Score:2)
Schoolhouse Rock (Score:2)
80s? (Score:1, Informative)
Throughout the 1980s, Action for Children's Television (ACT) criticized children's television programs that "blur(red) the distinction between program content and commercial speech.
Sheesh, watch old shows from the 1950s. The actors would literally pitch random products, on set and in character.
Re: 80s? (Score:1)
Never stopped (Score:2)
It never stopped. And and I presume you mean by going back that it just showed up again for some reason. Well, whatever that means. It never stopped, lil whippersnapper.
Re: (Score:3)
In the '80s the entire show was about the product. Bad enough Fred and Barney chill with Winston cigarettes in the commercial break, now imagine they are delivery drivers for Winston and every week is a new adventure where they overcome some unlikely obstacle to deliver a truckload of Winston cigarettes to a grateful town and get hailed as heroes. That would be the '80s 30 minute cartoon/infomercial.
Now it' going one further and instead of taking up half an hour after school or on Saturday morning, it is re
I am really mad my parents wont the battle (Score:2)
Not a Sarurday Morning cartoon... (Score:2)
Re: Not a Sarurday Morning cartoon... (Score:2)
By definition, a syndicated show is not on its original run.
Re: (Score:3)
There was never an "original run." In the case of Transformers, they were brought over from Japan, edited and dubbed dubbed, and released directly into syndication. Direct syndication was extremely common for after school cartoons at the time. This was true of basically all the after school action shows of the 80s (GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, etc.)
Indeed, the Transformers Qiki states as its first line:
"The Transformers is an animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro and Takara's Transformers toy line."
Re: (Score:1)
Wrong. There was never an "original run." In the case of Transformers, they were brought over from Japan, edited and dubbed dubbed, and released directly into syndication. Direct syndication was extremely common for after school cartoons at the time. This was true of basically all the after school action shows of the 80s (GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, etc.) Indeed, the Transformers Qiki states as its first line:
"The Transformers is an animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro and Takara's Transformers toy line."
The more you know.
the people have lost (Score:4, Interesting)
the people have lost the battle against corporate influence and control. the legitimacy of law and regulation falls down in front of wealthy and powerful entities. law and regulation are going to continue to become fuzzier and fuzzier until we barely remember how things used to work. we are now in a world where law is only applied if you are disempowered and lack means.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Quite a categorical statement. Laws are only absolute where the absolute in question is zero. Freedom and equality are won daily, moment to moment, and were never otherwise. Words on a piece of paper were never a shield, just a prompt to personal decisions. Anyone who tells you otherwise was born very, very rich, and went to an enormously selective private school that chose its students based on the accomplishments of their distan
Re: (Score:2)
Were all slaves to the system (Score:1)
Obvious scam (Score:3)
$25,000 isn't even a rounding error for Paramount, and they get to indoctrinate generations of kids for that amount of money? They couldn't put the down payment on a single Saturday morning cartoon ad for that price.
Re: (Score:1)
$25,000 isn't even a rounding error for Paramount, and they get to indoctrinate generations of kids for that amount of money.
Could you please explain how teaching kids how to code is "indoctrinate(ing) generations of kids"?