I was looking this week through a listing of some of the top in entertainment in 2008, which included downloaded songs (the top two were Low by Flo Rida and Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis), top albums (Alicia Keys, Josh Groban and Lil Wayne made the list) and best selling DVDs, seven of which were family films.
Such lists remind me of how out of touch I am with things.
I guess I'm like a lot of parents out there whose taste in music and movies is tamed down a little once there are little eyes and ears around watching and listening intently to everything they see or hear.
The music I listen to is a little more G-rated than the songs on the top 2008 list that are about licking someone like a lollipop, making love in a club or a girl kissing another girl to see if she liked it.
When it comes to the movies, I don't make it to the theater often to see anything that isn't animated. In the past six months, the only nonanimated movie I saw in a theater was "W," which I went to see at my dad's request. On the DVD list, I saw six of the top 10, all family flicks, except for "I Am Legend."
Of the top grossing movies of the year, four were animated and four others were billed as family movies, although they were PG-13 with some intense action scenes. Two adult-targeted PG-13 movies finished off the list. Only moms would see movies about panda bears doing martial arts or singing chipmunks instead of the "Sex in the City" movie.
It is nice, though, to see that studios are meeting the demand for family movies. Before the computer-animated films started 13 years ago with the release of "Toy Story," there weren't quite as many family films released.
When I looked at the list of top television shows, it was filled with reality shows and crime-related shows.
It makes me miss the sitcoms of my childhood, like the "Cosby Show," "Growing Pains" and "Who's the Boss?" Those were the days when you couldn't watch cartoons 24/7 or watch any movie you wanted at any time of day. So many of the prime-time shows that are on these days aren't exactly family friendly. You can't curl up on the sofa with the kids to watch CSI.
With a few exceptions, like "According to Jim" and the "George Lopez Show," it seems that family comedy sitcoms are a dying breed, allowing more time slots for murder investigation dramas, singing competitions, dance-offs and scavenger hunts through the jungle.
The opinions expressed are solely the writer's. Carrie Steinweg, the mother of five, lives in Lansing. Her column alternates with that of Schererville mom Rebecca Bailey. Reach her at csteinw@yahoo.com.
