
 |
|
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Feb. 27, 2007
/ 8 Adar, 5767
Sandra Dee and Britney Spears
By
Suzanne Fields
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Long ago and far away
In a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan
Or the dawn of Camelot,
There lived a race of innocents
And they were you and me,
Long ago and far away
In the land of Sandra Dee.
The playful poet Leland Waldrip captures the nostalgic significance of Sandra Dee, the poster girl for the grandparents of the Britney Spears generation. Britney was a Mouseketeer; Sandra played Gidget. She was the original wholesome girl next door. Her real life was anything but she was anorexic, and had "issues" with alcohol and drugs.
But for the teenagers who grew up with her, she was "queen of teen" demure, perky and radiating innocence. That was then and this is now, and it's harder to be a symbol of inexperience when no one has any inexperience.
We hadn't seen enough of jets
To talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left
At the bottom of the bag.
And hardware was a box of nails,
And Bytes came from a flea,
And rocket ships were fiction
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
Every generation has its heroes and heroines reflecting the culture. Celebrities once worked to be part of that reflection. But everything runs at double time now, and Sandra Dee was in the public eye a long time ago. Cultural expectations ain't what they used to be.
A Newsweek cover story asks: "Girls Gone Wild: What Are Celebs Teaching Kids?" Well, probably not much. The entire media is saturated with sexual images that would have put a blush on Sandra Dee's perfect cheek, leaving celebs with nothing new to say. Britney attracts attention by showing the whole world that she's not wearing panties, but the appeal to vulgar sexiness is only one small drip in the drip, drip, drip of influences gone wild.
High-tech images have outrun the cultural groundings that were once part of what "All-American" was all about, even when honored mostly in the breach. Privacy was a virtue, and of course there were girls in Sandra Dee's high school who did "it," but they were terrified that someone might find out about it. Now girls advertise their sexuality on Internet websites, detailing intimate details of their lives to faceless strangers.
Such premature exposure in public changes the context for growing up. Authentic experience pales in a virtual world writ large in word and image. Transparency and nudity become interchangeable. Such tawdry homemade celebrity eliminates the need for discipline or talent. Baseline standards for aesthetic and moral measurements disappear. Notoriety is all.
Internet diaries of young women include all manner of sexual experiences, described with no inhibitions in word and few in action. Instead of simply running at the mouth, these young women write barely coherent run-on sentences to create cut-and-paste relationships.
In "Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both," Laura Sessions Stepp of The Washington Post describes a searing picture of sex life in college today. "Young woman have changed not only the way they relate intimately to young men, but also the way they think about intimacy." The young girl who once yearned to be told "I love you" by her boyfriend now wants anything but that. Intimacy equals impermanence, a dichotomy that spills over into goals for jobs and life plans. A hookup does not hold a lock on love, but if it did, the passkey would be passed around (and around). Even middle-school girls offer guys oral sex to be "liked," not loved. They usually don't get either.
College students and young women in their 20s are described as "girls" because that's how they refer to each other, particularly in middle- and upper-class families who have been protected and coddled to the point that they can't (or won't) think of themselves as adults. Adulthood requires passing through certain life stages, which definitely includes moving away from the protection of family, into a job, with thoughts toward making a family of one's own. Postponed milestones beget postponed adulthood.
New York magazine tells of adolescent adults who take pleasure in being known through their online diaries and posted photos. They have grown up with computers, and many see themselves as public figures, virtually if not literally. The generation shift is huge.
Oh there was truth and goodness
In that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges,
And Peyton Place was porn.
For Ike was in the White House,
And Hoss was on TV,
And G-d was in his heaven
In the Land of Sandra Dee.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Suzanne Fields' column by clicking here.
Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
A. Barton Hinkle
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|