About Us! About Us Hello, I am KIS and I am a current Junior at GCE lab school, I am interested in production, such as iMovies, videos, etc. I am a very busy person because I am involved in many activities in school and outside of school and I have two dogs that I adore. I am thrilled to be writing on the issue TV shows because I believe TV shows from my childhood are more interesting than the ones that are being showed right now. I contributed the pieces Tiny Details Make Big Difference and Teamwork. Hi! I’m JM and I am a senior at GCE! I am a musician, writer, and professional actor. I spend a lot of my time doing homework that I enjoy (go figure), creating music with my fellow musicians, and working on dance and theater productions with my theater company Albany Park Theater Project. I was very excited about this literary journal because it is focused around television entertainment and I feel like most people in the world today connect with television on a huge level. I wrote the haiku Saturday Morning Cartoons , focusing around how most kids growing up would watch Saturday morning cartoons and how those shows meant so much to them but now all of the channels that used to show Saturday morning cartoons have stopped and it feels as if the spirit of our childhood has disappeared alongside them. Hi I’m JR and I am a Junior at GCE. I enjoy spending time with friends and traveling around the world. I love going out to places and experiencing new things and learning from other different cultures. I am a very hard working person and like to be on top of things. I am very happy about the literary journal I was a part of because I wrote a very inspirational poem that will maybe make you cry.
Acknowledgement
We want to dedicate this to Chicago Public Library’s and to writers everywhere.
Ta bl e O f C on te nt ● Saturday Morning Cartoons by JM…pg.1 ● Childhood Memories by JR………… pg.2 ● Choosing the Past & Missing Montana by JR ………………………………… pg.3 ● Tiny Details Make Big Difference by KIS…………………………………… pg.4 ● Teamwork by KIS…………………… pg.5 ● Disney Shows VS Cartoon Shows by JR …………………………………… pg.6 ● Fear by Enid Strauss ……………… pg.7 ● Totally Spies by JG ………………… pg.8 ● 5, 187, 9 by MM …………………… pg.9
Saturday Morning Cartoons by JM
Where did they all go? Saturday Morning Cartoons? My childhood’s gone, too.
JR. 2015. Bringing Back Old TV Shows
Childhood Memories By JR
As a child, I remember watching Spongebob SquarePants , That’s So Raven , Curious George , Hannah Montana , Hey Arnold! , Ed Edd & Eddy , Tom & Jerry , Fairly Odd Parents , Arthur , The Rugrats , and plenty of other TV shows. I loved every second I spent watching those shows. They filled me with so much happiness and joy. The colors were so vibrant and bright; they sort of made me feel alive. I liked that every kid’s channel had all my favorite shows. So every time one would have commercial breaks, I would change the channel to another one and watch until it started.
Choosing the Past By JR
I really wish they’d replay or continue the TV shows from when I was a little kid. I want to be able to watch a TV show and feel the same way; how I felt when I was a kid. Sometimes it’s good to feel old feelings and that’s one of them. I want to feel like part of the show, feel cool that I watched one of the Spongebob episodes that my sister and I would watch every morning and on the weekends. This really helps people connect with others and talk about different TV shows and how they’re good. If I had to pick past and future TV shows, I would most definitely choose the past for the ways they made me feel and the entertainment. One TV show that I really dislike is Johnny Test ; his parents are jerks and the show never makes sense and he is also rude to the citizens that are part of his community.
Missing Montana by JR TV shows are meant to be entertaining and fun. Everything has changed and now people show no love. Now parents watch TV without their sons. We want our old TV shows back, but not the wack ones. If only we had... If only we had the power to go back and see one favorite show on TV our worlds would be filled with joy and happiness and so much to see. I hope to watch my old shows with family and friends. Just like old times, when I was excited to head home to watch Hannah Montana . Now every Christmas I make that wish to Santa How much I want those TV shows.
KIS. Girl Power. 2015.
Tiny Details Make Big Differences by KIS
This TV show, The Powerpuff Girls, is a childhood memory for many people because it was very popular in the 1998-2005. This show is about three girls, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, who were created by accident by the scientist Utonium. These three girls came out having the power to fly, so they used their power for good to save Townsville from villains. They are the superheroes of their city; they protect the city from evil and especially from Mojo Jojo and many others. The funny thing about this TV show and maybe applies to many other TV shows, is that the villains always wanted to take over the world. I believe that this is a great show because it has a simple plot to always choose good over bad. In some situations you hesitate and things may not turn out the way you want them to be and that sometimes you need to receive help from the people around you. Another important thing in this show is that the main characters are little girls and that shows little girls have the power to do anything and become anything.
Teamwork by KIS
This TV show is aimed towards preschoolers. It shows them teamwork, problem solving, singing, music, and laughter. This TV show is about Linny the guinea pig, Ming-Ming duckling, and turtle Tuck. They are the classroom pets. When school finishes, they come out of their cages, put on some type of clothing, and build their rocket boat. They travel around the world to rescue animals from any situation or help them in any way possible. When they are finished, they return to the classroom and into their cages. I believe this a good TV show because it helps kids learn their animals, along with learning how to share and be kind to others. I really liked this TV show when I was smaller for those reasons and also it kind of gives us an idea of what animals would “think” in a situation, since we can’t understand them.
KIS. Problem Solvers. 2015.
Disney Shows VS Cartoon Shows by JR
The most favorite TV shows I’ve watched are Hannah Montana and Suit Life Of Zack & Cody . I would rush home after school to just sit on my sofa with a bowl of cereal and watch and watch until it was time to go to bed. Some TV shows I watched were more realistic than the ones we have now. The reason why I think that the TV shows I watched were so realistic was because it was actual people acting which made everything cooler and even more interesting. The shows I watched were sometimes educational and very fun. It made me appreciate learning more and want to continue watching. The cartoon shows kind of don’t grab my attention as much as people actually acting and having real people. The cartoons now are sometimes scary and very boring. Old cartoon shows were very cool and weren’t violent.
Fear
by Enid Strauss
Courage. What an Ironic name for a dog with everything to fear in the world. never safe. Muriel was never safe from the horrors of Courages World. Things beyond anyone's wildest dreams lept out behind every corner, snatched the people who loved and cared for him away. Sometimes it was funny. Sometimes it was horrifying. The scarier it got, the more insane the show became. Slipping between reality and nightmares, the world consumed Courage. Leaving nothing but fear. It was an honest dive into mankind's mind. For “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” For from fear, all Evils emerge. Courage. What an Ironic name.
5, 187, 9 A segmented essay inspired by Jonathan Lethen’s segmented essay 13, 1977, 21
- M. M. th 1. When I was in the 5 grade I watched One Tree Hill , a 9 season long series with 187 episodes, completely out of
order. That is all I wish to discuss here today. I’ll get right to the point. I am in love with this series, the same series that I hear the girls at my school gossip over contently. I repeat once more, that this viewing of the series, my first viewing of the series, which I have now viewed at least 6 times, was watched completely out of order. I would rush home after school, my 11 year old self taking only 5 minutes to get home, which takes me about 15 minutes today. I would rush home, hoping my sister’s laptop was left behind for the day. I was the kid who always had his head pointed down, except for, of course when I was watching an episode. And today, five years later, in a place where I am heard, I can finally express my fondness and appreciation for these 187 episodes. But why on earth would an 11 year old boy who should be playing his Xbox or something want to watch One Tree Hill ? It’s a chick flick. 2. It was one of the million times my sister got sick. She was always sick, she had the immune system of a piece of plastic; it’s nonexistent. It was dinner time. I walked into her room to ask her if she needed anything. She was staring at her laptop, and she said “One second Mike.” So I took a step closer to see what she was so intrigued by. To this day I will never be able to thank my sister enough for watching that show at that exact moment. After a few minutes of me standing alongside her bed just staring at the screen, loving the thrill and dramatic excitement in One Tree Hill , she eventually scooched over and me and her just layed there, in her bed, watching. The next episode would come on and we’d say “this is the last one,” But then 3 episodes later we’re still on our last one. We eventually went to sleep. But the next day after school I was already back on it. I had to keep watching. Within 24 hours of my first viewing, I was already hooked. 3. I will say one last and final time that when I watched this TV series I watched it completely out of order. The day upon which I was introduced to One Tree Hill , my sister and I watched the beginning of the second season. So the next day I continued where I left off, on my own hoping we could watch the next show together, but my sister was always watching at a faster rate than I was. So whatever I missed, I did not care about so I watched this series skipping back and forth from where she was, just to be with her, and watching the parts were I had left off. But why would anyone watch it in this way? It must’ve been confusing. Yes, it was very confusing, I mostly wondered how certain characters got from who they were in season 2, to the life they live in season 6. But One Tree Hill , and all it provided was still everything I needed at the time. It didn’t matter that I was continuing from where I left off, then going forward on the timeline to where my sister was, then back again, then forward once more. Sometimes I’d just continue from where my sister was. Five years later, I can finally see that it was not the plot or themes (which were
quite astonishing) of One Tree Hill that saved me, it was where I watched it and who was next to me. It was my big sister. 4. Considering the number of times completely ruined either her computer or something school related on her computer while watching One Tree Hill , it’s a mystery to me she ever trusted me with it again. Whether her computer had died while I was watching One Tree Hill , causing her school related files (which had never been saved) to be erased or I had downloaded something allowing me to watch One Tree Hill , but resulting in her getting a virus. I messed it up so many times. But each time, she forgave me. Every single time, she forgave me. She may have been mad at first but she forgave me. I was her little brother, and she was my big sister. 5. I can remember a lot of that year, me watching One Tree Hill , my dad coming home to find me watching One Tree Hill , and completely losing his shit about it. Not because of the content of One Tree Hill , or me watching One Tree Hill , but because of my reaction upon his arrival. He yelled “Hi Mikey!” throughout the house, and as he made his way to me, I did not wished to be disturbed as I watched my show. I responded the same way to him every day as I did to everybody else, regardless if I was watching One Tree Hill or not. I would talk to most people in a soft voice, almost monotone, not so animated, only saying what I had to and wishing nothing more of relations. That year I had no friends. I had my family of course, but my dad had quite the temper issue. My brother was in my life too of course, but he was dealing with his own problems. He was hurting at the time too, so he let off a certain amount of anger on his little brother. I didn’t forgive him for years, but eventually, years later, we developed a much better relationship. But during that year, the only three reliable friends that I had were my sister, my mother, and those 187 episodes. 6. I have this memory of the first day back in school after winter break of that same year. If somebody saw me acting the way I did in my current classroom, they’d think I was baked. I walked into class as happy as could be th thinking about the previous Saturday. It was my sister's 16 birthday, her sweet 16. That Monday was the happiest I
ever was in school that year. I remember the girl who sat across from me asking me “Why are you so happy?” I rarely smiled that year, and when I did it was for a very short amount of time. I didn’t understand what a sweet 16 was, or why my sister wanted or even had one, but I followed her around that night laughing, doing what me, an 11 year old called “dancing,” laughing, and for the first time in forever I was happy. I had escaped the darkness and sorrow that had consumed me for all those years. I stayed out of the darkness and remained as happy as could be for a while. But when I returned to my everyday life, that same darkness followed. 7. So when that darkness returned, I did what I always did. I returned to my light, medicating myself with episodes of a 9 season long chick flick--I admit, I like the feels. I advanced towards the end of the series. But towards the end I savored it, sometimes only watching half an episode each time I watched One Tree Hill , because I did not want it to be over. And when it was over, it wasn’t really over. I watched the series multiple times, because that show along
with the love of my sister was my cure. My sister and One Tree Hill together were what stopped me from falling. They caught me and said, “It’s gonna be okay.” 8. It wasn’t until years later that I realized all my sister had given me. Some things she did not even know she gave me, like One Tree Hill. It gave me the strength to willingly hold on until months later were I would separate myself from the world for a whole week, redefine myself and then no longer struggle to hold on to life. But there are many other things I have to thank her for. I have memories of my very young childhood days, like the family bike rides, and when we used to go to the park. It’s not that my mom didn’t watch us at the park, it’s that she didn’t hover over us, she gave us room to run and play, me and my brother. But my sister, she’d watch over the two of us like a hawk. Always looking out for us, on or off the playground. Always there, wanting the best for her two little brothers. Always watching. 9. Even today, although my sister is 8 hours away, she still looks out for me and my brother like nobody else. Asking her friends who live back home to check up on us every so often. And when she’s not here, I still do, and will always have 9 season to fall upon. When I hear the girls at my school talking about One Tree Hill , all I can think is, “If only they knew that this single TV show unified me and my sister.” They don’t know about the nights where I’ve just had it and said “screw homework, I’m watching an episode.” I don’t watch it as much as I used to. They don’t know that if I was never introduced to that show, I probably would not be here writing this essay 5 years later. I admit to still watching many “chick flicky”shows today, many of which I think have amazing stories and great messages, but no show, I repeat , no show , will ever be able to win over my heart. Because One Tree Hill not only unified me and my sister--it saved my life. One might even say that for that one year, while the darkness surrounded me One Tree Hill was my light.