Whacked on Scooby Snacks - Well, I bowed to my partnerly duties and accompanied Jamie to see Mystery Inc. on Monday. I set my expectations low and -- zoinks! -- was mildly amused, at least until the ending got out of hand. True, they cut way back on the stoner / lesbian / slut jokes, but luckily I found myself in a mood to appreciate a good fart scene or two.

More interesting, however, was the subtext of the "college kid" guests of Spooky Island and the way their lifestyle was presented. They were all quite good-looking young men and women, presented in fashionable Abercrombie and American Eagle knock-offs and engaged in decent, clean fun (though one scene did take place in a lounge with adult beverages) with a hip edge to it (think Mark McGrath and Old Navy ads). In one scene at the evil mastermind's training camp, his zombie-like minions are instructed to spout strikingly ghetto-influenced slang as "normal" kidspeak so they can assimilate into youth society. (Oh, the irony.)

What does the intended teenybopper audience make of these images? As a male Gen X'er, I don't recall so much trendy, body-conscious marketing directed at me when I was that age. (Certainly no one could take the MTV stylings of the 80's era metal pop bands as a serious guide.) Today's kids have the the WB, the Disney Channel and others beaming them constant scenes of fresh-faced young actor-models, subliminally teaching them the right way to dress and act. Oh well, I guess 11-year-olds want to be fabulous too...