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In a recent interview on his upcoming big screen adaptation of “Where the Wild Things Are,” Spike Jonze admitted that he never intended on making “a movie for four-year-olds.” Um, yeah. With a screenplay penned by Dave Eggers and a soundtrack by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, that could have gone without saying. The movie may be based on a children’s classic (one that was read and re-read many times in my household), but with those names attached (not least of all Jonze’s own) there’s no mistaking that big, bright seal of indie approval. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But it did get me to thinking about some of my other recent encounters with pre-school pop culture.

Over the past year in the form of viral videos, I have watched both “Sesame Street” and “Yo Gabba Gabba.” The former was when the indie folk singer Feist appeared on the season premiere and performed her single “1234″ with revised lyrics that transformed the song into a counting exercise. Honestly, I had a mixed reaction. It was slightly amusing, but I wasn’t compelled to watch the whole thing. Of course, that didn’t stop me from sending the video along to multiple friends whom I felt would be alternately horrified and delighted by the guest appearance.

“Yo Gabba Gabba” was a slightly different situation. I heard of the show through a blog put out by my college newspaper. The headline read: This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse: Hipster Kid’s TV Show Is a People’s Park Acid Trip If that wouldn’t pique your interest, what would? For those of you who aren’t familiar, YGG was created by two “alternadads” and constantly features appearances by figures that could be considered hipster icons including bands like The Ting Tings and actors like Elijah Wood.

So what’s the point of this all? Am I being targeted as a future parent who will want my kids to be cool, or as a current Gen-Yer who can be counted on to pass along the clips to friends and co-workers? Or both?

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Categorized under: Collegians, Movies & Music, TV

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