I spent a fair portion of last weekend watching episodes of The Backyardigans with my niece, Maddie. I’m not sure where this show rates in the pantheon of children’s television programming, but it does have a significant effect on people.
Exhibit A: Maddie could be doing anything — playing with her toys, running circles around the kitchen table, or (hypothetically) eating a giant bowl of ice cream — but when that theme music starts to play, she snaps to attention and does this cute little knee-bending jig with a huge smile on her face.
Exhibit B: This capacity to mesmerize is not limited to children. Witness my brother-in-law (my sister calls this the “Backyardigans Trance”):
The Backyardigans Trance, as exhibited by my brother-in-law
What’s going on here?!
Since I am trying to get noticed by prospective employers these days, I have been wondering … can I recreate “The Backyardigans Effect” for hiring librarians when they read my cover letter and resume?
What am I missing? Do I need theme music, or perhaps the willingness to break spontaneously into song and dance? Maybe I just need to take a cue from the Backyardigans crew and use a little more imagination.
Tags: Backyardigans, Resumes, Television
July 21, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I suspect The Backyardigans could be a shelved Government project for mind control. The colors, music and script have things for all ages, and combine them in a way I haven’t seen before.
I now put The Backyardigans on even though my little treasure wants Little Einsteins!