Like many young children, I, too, was a huge fan of the Power Rangers.  Each day after school, I would come home and watch the television to see what predicament Jason, Kimberly, Zach, Trini, Billy, and Tommy would find themselves in, thanks in large part to Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd.  After I finished my homework, I would take my toy weaponry outside and pretend to be fighting off the evil space aliens. 

     Much like Jessica’s little brother, I loved this program, and I certainly had all of the toys to prove it.  My parents and grandparents spent hundreds of dollars on turning my room into a Power Rangers shrine.  The Power Rangers helped me make it throughout my adolescent years.

     Levin and Carlsson-Paige (1995) discuss teachers’ concerns about how the Power Rangers affected children’s behavior in the classroom.  Teachers were given a questionnaire to report these concerns; two main areas involved an increase in levels of violence among children and the impact of Power Rangers “fighting” affecting the way children play.  While it is true that the Power Rangers are seen as superheroes, it is important for children to know that the program is completely fictional; there are no such things as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  It is important for teachers and parents to emphasize this point again and again.

     I found this to be an extremely interesting perspective on a group of five teenagers I idolized as a child.  The Power Rangers were my friends, and often times, I wanted to be just like them.  This article reemphasized the point that teachers need to establish guidelines for student conduct within the classroom.

 

 

Levin, D.E. & Carlsson-Paige, N.  (2003).  The mighty morphin power rangers: Teachers voice concern.  In G. Dines & J.M. Humez (Eds.)., Gender, race,

     and class in media: A text reader (2^nd ed.). (pp. 359-366).  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.