Teen Wolf & The "Bad" Alpha

Last weekend, my family had a small barbecue with another friend-family (those kind of families where the whole family is friends with your family). In this group, I was in the age-range between the adults and the teenagers, so obviously I spent my time with the younger crowd: my brother, the two brothers, and their younger sister who's in middle school. During the barbecue, the teenagers talked a lot about pop-culture shows, specifically MTV network's Ridiculousness and Teen Wolf. What I found interested was that they ranted about how bad MTV shows are, and how MTV doesn't produce shows that interest them or represent teenagers. One of the shows they thought was ridiculous was Virgin Territory, and in their discussion they wondered why MTV would make a show about virgins, and why was it so bad to be one. They felt uncomfortable with that and told me they would rather watch violent shows with good story-lines than shows about sex. Right off the bat, I knew these boys were shedding light on "teen television" without even knowing it.

During our class discussions and readings, a lot of violence and sex in shows have been dubbed "teen television." Yet, these young teenage boys thought a show about someone's sexual choice was uncalled for and not interesting. "It's their business, not mine," said one of the teens. Yet, a series that these teenagers thought was interesting was MTV's hit-series, Teen Wolf. This series was on one of those "free on-demand" channels which encourages viewers to binge watch series until the last aired episode. This kind of "free on-demand" stunt has been seen other networks like BBC's series Orphan Black. When you think about it, a lot of networks let their series go into free on-demand, which is rather clever since on-demand channels are easily accessible. Furthermore, on-demand is seen as a fast way to make new fans since fans of the series will make their friends and family members watch a few episodes with them. For me, this was the same case.

Being late into the Teen Wolf craze, I listened to how the teenagers quickly explained what had been happening before the intro credits were even finished. Before each episode of Teen Wolf there is a recap of the major events that have happened prior to the new episode. Afterwards, the show begins with a dark setting and a catchy moment of either a murder or a machismo line from one of the male werewolves with their eyes glowing their Alpha/Omega status (ex. red means Alpha). As we watched the episodes, there was a lot of attention on the "bad" Alpha, Scott McCall, whose looks remind me a lot of Aladdin. The biggest complaint of Scott was his inability to defend his friends as an Alpha should be. Scott is too soft. He doesn't assert his authority, making the Omegas get themselves and others into trouble. Now, this isn't one of those "hyper-masculinity" issues where the teenage boys wanted someone who was mean, authoritative, and emotionally cold. They actually disliked those male characters and told me they thought those characters were "assholes" who needed to get over themselves. What they didn't like about Scott was that he has an important job as Alpha: protect his werewolf clan and make sure no other (non)supernatural impeded on their safety and well-being. Yet, Scott is somewhat submissive to others (non)supernatural creatures, he wasn't clever at problem solving as he should be, and he couldn't protect his clan as an Alpha should. During high-tension moments, he focuses too much on wanting to understand the enemy than defending himself and others, and leaving the understanding till after everyone is safe from harm's way. Yet, the teenagers still liked Scott's "human" side: he is caring and always there for his friends, and he stumbles over the girl he likes and (later) being the caring boyfriend he should be.

These three teenage boys contrast the stereotypes that surround "teen television." Not all male teenagers like hyper-masculine characters, sex, and violence. Male teenagers also want good and engaging story-telling. True, there is violence and sex in Teen Wolf, but the teenagers are more focused on the fighting and moral aspects that lie within the fighting. The fighting was more of a survival aspect they admire. Furthermore, the teenagers said that the violence and story-telling keep things more interesting. It was action. And the romance stuff in between wasn't too much to take away from the action of werewolves, banshees, and other supernatural creatures.

The Idealized Alpha:

1. Assertive, but not demeaning

2. Fair & Just

3. Brave

4. Protective, but not overly-protective

5. Clever at problem solving

6. Successful in protecting his clan and (non)supernatural allies

7. Physically strong

8. Emotionally available and not emotionally detached

9. Asks for help when he needs it

Toys and Chaos

"Boy Books"

"Girls Books"

 When I entered Toys R Us the first aspect of the store that struck me was gender roles. I overheard several employees directing customers to the "girls section" (where Barbie can be found) and the "boys section" where Star Wars and Jurassic Park are located. As a I wander through the story I remember in Seiter's article about how the girls section was closer to Arts & Crafts, and walking over I did find the "Books" section which was relatively close to the Barbie House section. At the book section I noticed there was a huge variety of "girl" books compared to "boy books." Pink is definitely associated with female though I would say Green is more associated with males. Like I said earlier, the books weren't far from the Arts and Crafts section which was definitely geared more towards women. I wouldn't say all the toys were necessarily Arts and Crafts but more

"How to be a Lady." Back when I was younger the Arts and Crafts section had more DIY sets and kits but now I see more junky

Why?

Ew

disturbing spa items. One of the toys that was in front with it's own tower of boxes stacked up being sold was "Orbeez Luxury Spa." Why would my kid want to soak their feet in bubbles and sit around and talk about nothing? In my mind, children are suppose to be creative, exploring their imaginations, running around, .. not sitting at home enjoying a "luxury spa." Their feet aren't tainted and gross like us adults yet.  We go to the salon to get pedicures and have professionals remove our rough patches of dead skin. This toy was must less interesting and quite a "fail" in my book compared to the movie-TV show toys. At least the licensed toys could speak to the inner fan-girl in me.

Near the Arts and Crafts, I saw a huge sign for Imaginarium. Excited I ran over and saw nothing but Lego and Thomas and friends except for a little rack. My friend and I both discussed it and decided

that maybe Imaginarium was becoming obsolete and it probably won't take long before the store updates and remove the sign. It was only walking to the Arts and Crafts we saw Imaginarium toys hidden behind a wall near the books, behind Thomas and Friends. We discussed that now a days people have grown more into niche's and Imaginarium might not be keeping up as well anymore. No cult following, and especially since this is the Landmark store, there will more likely be tourist to come here and buy exclusive toys from Lego and other large manufactured and branded toys then boutique toys.

This particular store made it very obvious which toys were licensed toys and owned by media conglomerates. Toys linked to movies such as Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park, Transformers, and Lego Land had large and over the top displays where the only large display I saw that was geared more towards females was Barbie. It seemed that male-oriented toy displays dominated the majority of the first floor. 

Hidden in the corner of the store I saw a tiny display and sign that showed love to our police and Fire Department. This was in the part of the store that was abandoned, with no associates, and very few consumers. The couple of people I did see here were tourist who asked me where the bathroom was. I decided to take my time and show my love to NYC by taking a selfie.  Much like the other popular toys, these toys weren't far off from what the other merchants were selling but no-one was interested.

I couldn't really tell which toys were this year's "hot toys" so I asked an associate why. The past year the store's "hot toy" was any merchandise from the movie "Frozen." The sales associate explained since this was the landmark Toys R Us, people from all over the world come to specially purchase "Frozen" merchandise, leading them to often be out of stock.

AND THIS IS MY "WHAT IN THE WORLD.." OF THE EVENING... 

 

Toys R Us? More like I Want Toys, am I right?

I would be lying if I said I didn't want to be almost everything in Toys R Us, but I can say with confidence that I didn't buy a single thing. I can also say with confidence that the second half of the above sentence makes me sad.

What most excited me, and what likely most excites kids, was the sheer number of licensed products permeating the store. If you have heard of a kids media franchise, odds are there is not only a section of the store set aside for it, but there is probably a giant sized structure indicating it's location. Don't believe me? Ask the giant Spiderman, Star Wars Characters, Dinosaur, Barbie House, Wonka sign, or Minions (of Despicable Me fame) if they agree. This kind of marketing synergy between the franchises and the toys makes it irresistible to kids (and me). Did you guys see the stuffed Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy? I repeat: IRRESISTIBLE.

This idea of over licensing leads me to another interesting idea with regards to the layout of the store. I didn't particularly find that the store was so organized by gender as much as it was by section. These sections were defined by both licensing (like the super hero section or the lego section) and types of toys found therein (like the young kids section and the video games section). Most interestingly, there was an entire section dedicated to Imaginarium, the very thing used as the antithesis of Toys R Us in Seiter's article. It would seem that, at least for this Toys R Us, which may not be indicative of Toys R Us in general, the organization of the store is based around creating atmospheres in which you would buy particular products. If you want super hero things, you are more likely to buy them in a place where there are life sized superheroes dangling above your head and products everywhere, while if you are looking for stimulating toys for your toddler, a section like Imaginarium might be more apropos.

Do I really want to be a Toys R Us Kid?

By now I’ve expressed how I was a bit of a Barbie freak in my youth. So it wouldn’t have been surprising if I went a little fangirly in the Toys R Us Barbie dream house. But my first step into the house was greeted by a disturbing display of Hunger Games and Twilight Barbies. Twilight Barbie? While I’m not a fan of either series, these Barbies upset me more because they represented the complete surrender of Barbie to mainstream culture. In my childhood, licensed Barbie characters were from movies such as The Wizard of Oz and Free Willy and TV shows such as Star Trek. Licensed Barbies shifted from cult classics and American favorites to teen fads.

A few interesting things I noticed in the store were the complete changes in atmosphere. The only sections of the store were the really loud and in-your-face ones, such as Jurassic park and Lego. Some sections were pretty deserted, such as the bicycles (after all, who goes to Times Square to buy a bike?) and the video game level. The video game section makes sense in the age of online shopping such as Amazon and reduced price stores like Best Buy. The “educational” sections such as Playmobil, Imaginarium, books and board games were fairly deserted as well. Then again, we did go to the store late in the day, so it was MUCH less crowded then normal, especially considering it was tourist season.

I also noticed how while the store was packed to the brims with licensed products, most consumers that I saw by the cashiers were buying the items they probably can’t find at their local Toys R Us, such as giant and novelty candy items, or touristy products such as I <3 NY Geoffrey the Toys R Us giraffe.  

Exploring Toys "R" Us Aisles

Given that the store is a main attraction in New York City it justifies the high amount of adult tourists. According to one of two of the store employees, the people who mainly visit the store are tourist and for every 2 children there are 3 adults. While I walked through the different floors of the store, I heard: German, Portuguese, Colombian accents, Argentinian accents and Ecuadorian. Most of the adults were taking pictures with the Dinosaur and excited by the doll house. Others had large bags filled with toys. Given that it is not Christmas, it is probable that the toys are gifts for families back home.

When I read the question: Are children “having tantrums”? I was ready to write a number in the double digits. Of course, given the number of adults, this was not the case. Actually, I didn’t even see one. But then again, I was there for only two hours. One of the stationary employees, selling Kinetic Sand, said that she usually kids throwing about 10 tantrums a day, but to take into account that she stays in one place all day so there may be more.

As for where the products are made, most toys are principally from China but also from Sweden, Philippines, and Taiwan. As for the clothing is mostly from India.

The Toys “R” Us in the city is very different compared to those in college point or Long Island City. Giving that Manhattan is the core location for visitors of New York City, the exaggerated decoration only seems appropriate. The Toys “R” Us in the city is characterized by its interior giant Ferris wheel, the bright and all-color lights, the giant dinosaur, doll house, the people dressed as characters; you don’t see this on a regular Toys “R” Us. These characteristics make Toys “R” Us specifically designed to be a tourist attraction. The toys and their set-up in accordance to the rest of the store work in a form that rather than a store it is more like playroom. 

Toys r us

Toys r us is one of the most well know toy stores around. The Toys r us in times square is on a whole different level when comparing one toys r us to the next. The structure of the store is built entirely to attract and amaze kids. Each level of the store is made and narrowed down to an age group and preference of toy. As I walked around, I could see how they built the store environment with the toys in mind. In one area hanging from the ceiling, superman was holding up a truck, then next to the transformer toys was a real 15 foot transformer. If this was not enough, employes would perform with the toys to attract the kids. The amazing part about the store was how they built each level to interact with the kids. No matter what kind of toy you liked, they had it and where you find it would encourage you to buy it simply because of the environment. The barbies were located in a life size barbie house with every barbie imaginable. Their was also wonka candy and ice cream. This toys r us was not just a toy store but a kids fantasy land. It made kids want to keep coming back not just for the toys but the experience.

Visit to Toys R' Us!

The first thing that stood out to me as I walked into Toys R’ Us was the experience they are creating for kids. I was not aware of the “R” Cade strategically placed at the tippy-top of the entire store. I looked over the balcony of the arcade and it is simple to see how much detail goes into setting up the store. Much of it was separated into licensed products, Frozen was something I came across as well as the minions from Despicable Me, which I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about seeing. It was also extremely hot on every floor except for the basement where electronics and bikes were. I actually ran into a women sitting by the guitars in the basement telling Chris and I how worn out she was from her grandkids dragging her all over the store and how it was the only place she could sit where she wasn’t sweating. While walking through the store, I also heard many different languages including Spanish, French, and Russian. There was also a completely different feel when walking from the “toys” section to the “baby” section. In the “Baby’s R’ Us” section there were parents actually shopping for what they needed, appearing as though they have been inside before, not phased by the many distractions outside of that section. There are a lot of strategies Toys R’ Us uses in order to attract their customers, and I didn’t realize how well it worked until we went to visit on Thursday, it truly is impressive.