Field Theory by Hadyn Green

There were some parts that made me angry. ... If you are a child of the 70s/80s and you think it's cool to buy your kids the toys you used to have (Transformers, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake) you are a "Heritage Parent" and they are targeting you.

Did that make you angry because you are exactly one of those people?

Man, that new A Team movie looks awesome.

Did that make you angry because you are exactly one of those people?

A little bit.

Man, that new A Team movie looks awesome.

A little bit.

I actually watched the first episode of the original Transformers TV show with a friend's 6yr old son. It was the kid's favourite DVD. I found it weird that he would have the same childhood memories that I do.

I found it weird that he would have the same childhood memories that I do.

I get that a bit with my kids. For instance, my daughter loves the Muppet Show.

Then again, my dad did the same thing with me. I grew up reading books and listening to radio shows he loved as a kid. I worked my way through all the William and Jennings books, and listened to a lot of Goon Show. Never did me any harm, and it means that we can connect over a shared set of media. Not too different to the young 'uns being told the traditional stories by the clan elders, really. One of my favourite moments was watching Snow White with my kids; a movie that came out in 1937, meaning she's not just going to have the same childhood memories as me, she's going to have the same ones as her grandparents. The escape scene in the woods scared her, just as it scared me, just as it scared my dad.

Plus, they're getting new stuff as well. They didn't have Shaun the Sheep or the Madagascar Penguins when I was a kid; both of which are incredibly fun shows, both of which I can sit down and watch with my kids and enjoy. Culture rolls on. It's not like they're repeating my childhood: there's vast swathes of crap that I sucked up in the 80s that has been left to die a reasonable death.

Plus, kids are often engaging in media in ways you may not expect. My 5-year old daughter's exposure to Star Wars was by way of me being given some Star Wars lego for my birthday. She got hold of the set, put it all together, and spent a lot of time playing with the little Darth Vader. Now, I was obsessive about Star Wars when I was a kid; but I wasn't sitting there with a toy Darth Vader telling it "Look, there you are on the TV... I'll help you find that princess!"

And as regards the toys: why get angry that the cynically marketed injection moulded plastic your kids want is based around the cynically marketed injection moulded plastic you wanted in the 80s?

It annoys me when people I know who are heavily into music almost seem hell bent on only letting their kids only have the same music that they like. People who only played The Beatles and various 60s California rock or whatever who end up with kids who listen to the same stuff and don't have any interest in their own contemporary music culture, crappy or otherwise.

I'm a total music fascist but made up my mind early on that our kids could listen to whatever the hell they wanted to. So we've been through garbage like Good Charlotte and My Chemical Romance and a host of other stuff that we didn't like, with smiles on our faces.

And ended up at Pendulum and Conchord Dawn, somehow :)

Peter, I declare your sentiments admirable, and sure, let the kidlet musical explorations run rampant, but I'm just saying: if mine doesn't like the Beatles, I am going to have a heart-attack-level-serious talk with him. And there may be some discussion about cutting him out of the will. ;)

For instance, my daughter loves the Muppet Show.

And that's a show that'll give a child a really broad twentieth-century musical education, to boot. Music hall, American songbook, disco, singer-songwriter - they did everything! Bless those beardy stoners.

Peter, I declare your sentiments admirable, and sure, let the kidlet musical explorations run rampant, but I'm just saying: if mine doesn't like the Beatles, I am going to have a heart-attack-level-serious talk with him. And there may be some discussion about cutting him out of the will. ;)

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against bringing up your kids bathed in the most righteous sounds the planet has to offer, from any time, any year. Goodness knows, ours have practically lived through the Studio One back catalogue since day one! But don't restrict it to the stuff you like *only*, which is what some people I know have done.

Knowing your musical tastes Danielle, I doubt your child will be lacking for chunes, young, old and everything in between.

So - when introducing a kid to Star Wars, do you start with Ep I or IV? Or the Christmas special?

The answer is IV, BTW.

My 17 month year olds' fav tunes are Octopus' Garden and Maxwell's Silver Hammer ATM, but given the chance to pull a CD from the shelf, it's always this one. He seems to enjoy the music when we play it, which surprises me no end.

The answer is IV, BTW.

It's just tricky explaining to them why the three Star Wars movies are numbered 4 5 and 6.

This explains the problem quite well.

I'm currently watching the X-Files (the circus freak episode) and I'm struck that if things are classics there's no reason they won't be picked up by the next generations.

Goodness knows, ours have practically lived through the Studio One back catalogue since day one!

Our older boy entered the world to the sweet, sweet sounds of Sonia Pottinger and the Treasure Isle catalogue.

For instance, my daughter loves the Muppet Show.

And that's a show that'll give a child a really broad twentieth-century musical education, to boot. Music hall, American songbook, disco, singer-songwriter - they did everything!

Even Steve Martin playing the banjo!

But does anyone else remember the Muppet Show being an hour long? I really thought I did, and so did one of my flatmates, but the DVDs tell me otherwise...

Our older boy entered the world to the sweet, sweet sounds of Sonia Pottinger and the Treasure Isle catalogue.

We had a soundtrack sorted out for the birth of our eldest. My wife wanted the delivery to be to the sound of The Darkness' (it was 2004) classic track "Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman, Motherfucker".

In the end, she had an emergency c-section and we got the musical choice of the surgical team. Bloody Dido.

I've already voiced my opinion on the Strawberry Shortcake issue. I still own the Plum Pudding from my childhood - the geeky one with glasses who has since had laser eye surgery and started hanging out with the cool kids. At least their ankles are still fat...

Despite all that technology, nothing ages faster than a VFX movie....

Despite all that technology, nothing ages faster than a VFX movie....

I was pleasantly surprised to re-watch 2001: A Space Odyssey the other day. Given it's over 40 years old, it still looks (and sounds) stunning, IMHO.

Wow, that Digital Emily clip is pretty amazing, in that it's such a good facsimile that it doesn't make me feel that I am visiting uncanny valley.

Despite all that technology, nothing ages faster than a VFX movie....

Well, the ones where the strang und durm of the VFX are the entire point, maybe. Otherwise, where the VFX are used to support the storytelling, not so much. And one of the interesting things about contemporary VFX is how subtly they're often used, as Haydn says.

Anyway, there's a charm to some outdated effects. The Seven Voyages of Sinbad is still an excellent movie; yes, the skeletons are obviously stop-motion, but it's still a breathtaking fight scene, even if you do know how they did it.

What a victory!

Mark Paston: "o its fucking awesome" -Radio Sport.