Storytelling, Self, Society ,7:77-82, 2011 Copyright©Taylor &Francis Group, LLC ISSN1550-5340 print /1932-0280 online DOI:10.1080/15505340.2011.530121 Routledge Taylor &Francis Group REVIEW ESSAY "Daddy! Are We There, Yet?" Children's Literature, Progress, and the Demise of Innocence - A Review of Relentless Progress: The Reconfiguration of Children ' s Literature, Fairy Tales , and Storytelling Brian Sturm Zipes,Jack. Relentless Progress:TheReconfiguration ofChildren's Literature, FairyTales ,andStorytelling. NewYork:Routledge, 2009.$34.95. In Relentless Progress, JackZipes offers a collection of essaysthatare both provocative andtroubling. With hisusualbreadth anddepth ofreading andanalysis ,Zipesdraws together opinions andresearch from multiple disciplines tobuild a cogent argument aboutthenegative impact ofglobalization andconsumerism onpeople'sability todevelopcommunity andindividuality. He claimsthat these social forcesare changing ("reconfiguring" to use his term)children, books, and stories intocommodities thatcreatesame-mindedness through simplified andgeneralized narratives ("mereentertainment") thatservethecorporate and media-driven needstoreachthewidest possibleaudience, all tothedetriment of self-actualization anddiscovery. Address correspondence toBrian Sturm, School ofInformation and Library Science, University ofNorth Carolina atChapel Hill, 216Lenoir Drive, CB#3360, 100 Manning Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360. E-mail: sturm@ils.unc.edu 78 STURM Thebookis a masterpiece ofdesign, withthefirst three chapters addressing themostpressing needsandproblems thatarisefrom current, socialpressures andtheculture industry. Chapter four serves as thepivotal moment when thetone ofthebookmovesfrom anemphasis onexcoriating thehegemonic elements of ourconsumerist society toan exploration ofpotential solutions (albeittentative ones),andthechapter itself follows thisform as manifested byitssubtitle, Three Complaints and ThreeWishes. The final three chapters offer thereader thepalliative hopethat all is notlost(as thefirst chapters seemtoemphasize), andthat amidst - andagainst - thetideoftheculture industry, authentic stories (invarious forms) continue tosurvive, replicate, andprovide soul-sustenance tothose willing toseekthem out. Chapter one,"The Reconfiguration ofChildren andChildren's Literature in theCulture Industry," decriesthemarket forces at workinchildren's livesthat transform them intoexpectant andhigh-speed consumers who"assumefunctions within a socio-economic system thatfurthers exploitation ofindividuals of all agesandthecommunities inwhich they live"(3). Zipescontends that children's literature, produced in vastquantities of decreasing qualityandby fewer and fewer international publishing conglomerates, hasbecomemore commodified and inextricably interwoven withcommercial products andsequels.Thebottom line governs mostpublishing choices,andchildren arebeingconditioned toreadin newways:tofurther consumption rather thanenlightenment. Therealdanger to children ofthisdevolution inchildren's literature is lessinthecontent they view (whichis also becoming moreintense andchaotic)andmoreintheprocessby whichchildren becomeindoctrinated andslavishconsumers whowillbe "more docile,flexible, andoperational as plug-in adults"(27-28). Technology hasalso had a significant impacton children's literacies, as imageandthescreenhave replaced writing andthebook.The "slowdeliberate, andreflective processthat complex reading entails isbeing replaced bythequickimages, instant recognition, andnon-reflective viewing ofthescreen, bigandlittle" (25). Chapter two,"Misreading Children andtheFateof theBook,"furthers the argument beguninchapter onewithstatistics on thedeclineinreading andthe negative impact offederal legislation which required accountability intheteachingofreading andconsequently fostered "misreading," orreading forprofit or passingtestsrather thanforexploring theself.Whilethebookis an enduring format (albeitan increasingly homogeneous one), Zipes contends thatunderstanding how and whychildren read is moreimportant thantheirformat or content ofchoice.He supports UrsulaK. Le Guin'snotion ofbooksas "social vectors" thatnotonlyconnectreaderswiththeauthor's mindbutalso build communities ofconversation withother readers. However, he believesthatthe pedagogicalstructure of reading education and adults'unfamiliarity withand resistance tomultimodal literacies (e.g.,alphabetic, oral,visual)arecontributing tothereconfiguring ofchildren andtheir literature and"negating] thepromises oftheEnlightenment" (44). REVIEW ESSAY 79 Chapter three, "WhyFantasy Matters Too Much,"explores theimportance of fantasy andthefantastic as subversive antitheses tothestandardization ofthecultureindustry . Peoplerelyon fantasy to engagewithpossibilities andopenthe doortopotential unlessit,too,iscommoditized tofurther thevaluesofcorporate society. As reality outstrips fiction initsbizarreness andperversity andthemedia andcorporations manipulate what webelievetobepersonal fantasies (what Zipes callsthe"fantastic spectacle"), whatrolecanthefantastic playinchildren's literature andlives?Zipessuggests that"[w]e do notneedfantasy tocompensate for dulllives,but. . . forspiritual regeneration andtocontemplate alternatives to ourharsh realities. Morethan titillation, weneedthefantastic for resistance" (48). Zipesthen showshowvarious children's authors haveusedthefantastic tofoster alternative thinking andoffset theinfluences oftheculture industry. Inchapter four, "TheMulticultural Contradictions ofInternational Children's Literature: Three Complaints andThree Wishes," Zipeslistshiscomplaints about children's literature (andmulticultural children's literature inparticular) as 1)his intolerance ofthebanality in thefieldofchildren's literature anditscriticism, 2) hisfrustration with thegeneral public'signorance ofchildren's literature and multicultural literature, and3) hisconcern that globalization cutspeopleoff from localculture, leaving them marginalized andincreasingly intolerant. Also,"multicultural " literature written aboutother cultures, rather than bymembers ofthose cultures andthen translated into English, actually augments thehegemonic values itattempts toexpose.Zipesthen offers histhree wishes for multicultural literature: 1)itshould evolvefrom critical collaborations acrosscultures that seektoeducate children abouttherealities ofchildren's lives,tobecomemorethan just"optimistic stories that givesuperficial glancesintoother cultures" (75); 2) itshould then...