Comments on: The Verdict on the new Dora the Explorah https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/ Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:16:49 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 By: teresa https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532951 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:16:49 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532951 The original Dora had a backpack and a monkey, she had boot-like explorer shoes, sensible clothing, what looks to me like a watch with a compass built into it, a very sensible haircut, and a thirst for knowledge. When Julia saw the new Dora, she was a bit shocked. “No backpack. What about the monkey? Pockets? How can you be an explorer with no pockets? They turned her into a Barbie.”

]]> By: bob the explorer https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532950 Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:48:52 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532950 My 3 year old will be the ultimate test for this
But Dora now matches her cousin Diego in style
And he still knows talking animals and has atalking bag

So there is hope – we’ll see

]]> By: zachary https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532949 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:44:37 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532949 so ugly

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532948 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:57:08 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532948 Sheril, excellent point about the monkey, I had not thought of that, and thanks for the links.

And it is true that everything will depend on what Dora ultimately does. I just hope she can take the pressure!!!!

]]> By: José https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532947 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:44:27 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532947 @Brian X

The original Dora show was stupid, stupid, stupid — painfully repetitive crap that somehow managed to not even measure up to some of the most basic children’s books.

I disagree. While watching show like Dora, Diego, and Blues Clues makes me want to shoot myself in the head, I can’t deny they’ve had a positive effect on my son. They’re interactive, keep kids engaged, and do teach them some surprising things. I remember on my sons 2nd birthday, we pulled into a parking garage, and my son said, â??Look! We’re in a cave! Echo! Papa, did you know that bats use echovucation to see in the dark.â? It turned out he had learned that from one of those horribly repetitive Diego sequences.

]]> By: Brian X https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532946 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:03:04 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532946 Can I be brutally honest about one thing? I want to at least hope that there’s some upgrade in the programming. The original Dora show was stupid, stupid, stupid — painfully repetitive crap that somehow managed to not even measure up to some of the most basic children’s books. There is an astonishing amount of potential in that character that has never even come slightly close to being realized.

In conclusion, bring the monkey back and lose the shoes — give the girl, you know, some boots. Flat heels. I don’t much care about the clothes.

]]> By: Sheril R. Kirshenbaum https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532945 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:35:42 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532945 Come on Greg, to be fair we ought to wait and see what Dora is up to.

Furthermore, it’s good she lost the monkey. Sends the wrong message to kids!

]]> By: The Chimp's Raging Id https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532944 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:21:59 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532944 Elizabeth | March 20, 2009 11:28 PM

The new Dora is fine. The old Dora was fine. Swapping the old Dora out for the New Dora is icky. This sends a rather explicit message. Kids who related to the old Dora in part because the old Dora was not a classic hotty cute chick are getting a little elbow in the gut with this change. Thank you Mattel.

I agree. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either image of Dora but there’s definitely something disturbing about the transition from the former to the latter. It comes cross as an affirmation of the Barbified image to which girls are expected to conform – both in body image and behaviour.

]]> By: José https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532943 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:13:05 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532943 Are we sure they’re actually dumping the old Dora? My guess is that they’re going to keep the old Dora that’s marketed towards preschool kids intact, and are just creating a parallel Dora marketed towards older girls, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I watch more Dora and Diego than is healthy for an adult (I have a two and a half year old boy who’s nuts for both of them), and the series are so intertwined that I don’t think they could update Dora without updating Diego as well, or abandoning Diego altogether. I can’t find evidence that they’re doing either.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532942 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:56:12 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/03/20/the-verdict-on-the-new-dora-th/#comment-532942 There will be little kids with little eyeballs in them.

]]>