This week on American Inventor the viewers are treated to yet another 2 hours of American Inventor. I
assume that great ratings are the motivation. The first hour is just a
rehash of the footage that has mostly already aired in the form of some
sort of top ten.
Proving the point that while inventors have to create
new inventions that are inventive and marketable, the reverse is not
true. Marketable does not have to be the least bit inventive as long as
it sells or brings in the ratings. No wonder inventors have a tough
time in not only the real world, but also reality television.
My final comment on the first hour is that it is getting taped over next
week with American Idol. I have no need to see it again.
The real television begins with the second hour of Mary Lou's group of
three. Just like Ed last week, Mary Lou will choose one of three
finalists from the final 12 to advance to the truly final 4. I am
surprised by her group. Mary Lou was so passionate about speaking up for
Jodi Pliszka, the headliner inventor and Sharon Clemens, the restroom
doorclip inventor. I was expecting them to be in her group, but they
were not. I was especially surprised to see two men in her group since
she specializes in a business aimed at women. Her three contestants are
Darla Davenport-Powell, the Here Comes Niya inventor, Francisco Patino,
the double traction bike inventor, and Jerry Wesley, the EZ-X Portable
Gym.
They are shown developing their products, testing their products, they
all have people who support them in their inventions. Basically, the
same format as last week. I am curious if another judge would have
chosen a different final 4 finalist, however I think who Mary Lou
chooses would have been chosen by any of the judges based on their
previous reactions that were aired.
I am going to take the inventors out of order so that I can rant quite a
bit about the doll inventor. This time, not as someone who wants to be
an inventor. I am also a doll collector and doll enthusiast. A doll is
not just a doll to me. I was not happy with the reasoning that Mary Lou
gave Darla. Darla did follow a doll format with songs and stories, but
the individual story of the Niya doll is different and special. Much
like each inventor has a different story tell, even if the stories of
all inventors have similarities. Niya is a doll that was more than just
African-American and multicultural, but spoke three languages, and was a
still new way for people to relate to a doll, and also a way to bring
African culture to all kids. She was rejected because a black doll was
considered to just not be inventive or needed enough for her to continue
to the final 4. However, even though I like the final 12 inventions, it
is not like the final 12 that were selected were the more inventive
ideas that were auditioned. So to suddenly use the more inventive logic
at this point is just hypocritical.
I was incensed at the lame reason given, but I doubt that few non-doll
enthusiasts would understand. I think that Mary Lou was really just
trying to be polite and she just really liked another contestant more,
but she had to try to give an analytical reason for her decision.
By coincidence, I thought there was a relevant message board discussion
about the Bratz (instead of Niya) that illustrated my reaction better
than I ever could do myself. This discussion, while it had nothing to
do with the Niya doll, seemed to fit perfectly my reaction to how Niya
was treated on the show. Better to let doll fan speak for themselves.
So I am going to share some quotes that I lifted from an actual current
discussion at Bratz World (www.bratzworld.tv), a Bratz Dolls Fan Club.
"AA" represents African-American and "IMO" represents in my opinion
in the discussion.
(First doll collector fan) "I understand darker people just don't like
darker dolls, I am one of those darker people. I enjoy the dolls that
are different from my skin tone as well, but the fact that there are SO
MANY dolls that DON'T look like me, when I DO see a darker skinned doll
I run to it first because it's a rarity, making it more special. My 4yr
old little cousin is infatuated with Princesses and fairy tales and was
excited at the fact that there were Bratz Princesses. She ended up
getting a Fiana because of her hair being similar, but was initially
very upset and couldn't understand why there was no Sasha. She just kept
looking up at me asking me "Is there a brown Princess?" Cute, but it
still made me upset so I gave her one of my older Sashas so she could
put the princess clothes on it. The point I'm trying to make is that as
long as people feel represented or "included" then they are less
likely to notice or care that someone else has been left out. There will
always be a Caucasian appearing doll, multitudes of
them, blond, brunette, with moles, without, whatever, because according to
blah blah statistics, they are the majority consumer, so they will NEVER
feel misrepresented or left out. I'm sure countless Bratz fans feel
indifferent about there being no AA boy in the lineup, but if it were
reversed with no Caucasian boy I have no doubt people would understand
what I'm saying. So to have ONE dark skinned doll in the line always isn't
going to hurt anyone, it will also look more balanced, and offer
customers a better variety and more realistic selection from the oh so
standard. Last but not least, This wasn't meant to start an argument and
I don't want this to be taken the wrong way. I respect and think every
opinion is valid; mine just wasn't understood clearly at first. "
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