Selp-Helf
By Andrea Beach,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Funny YouTube advice satire has some edgy sexual references.
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What's the Story?
Through satire, irony, and comic exaggeration, actress/comedian Colleen Ballinger's YouTube persona Miranda Sings points out the inanity, frivolity, and downright ridiculously unrealistic "advice" that seems to be everywhere on social media. SELP-HELF topics include health and beauty, fashion, career, romance, finances, and more.
Is It Any Good?
Fans of her Miranda Sings YouTube channel will love this colorfully absurd satire of the self-help industry. Those who don't already know Miranda may find themselves scratching their heads over the child-like font, photo collages that look like poor cutouts badly taped together, and misuse -- especially with spelling -- of words. Older teens can be encouraged to think about how Colleen Ballinger, the actress and comedian who created the Miranda persona, uses satire, irony, and exaggeration and how those techniques affect the real message conveyed.
Miranda’s kind of an unpleasant character, and her appearance is deliberately off-putting. What looks at first glance like an exercise in self-aggrandizement effectively points out, when taken as a whole, the overabundance and lack of reality in the how-to, DIY, life-hacks, fashion/beauty, career, and romance advice so pervasive on social media.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why Miranda Sings is, or isn't, funny. Did you know she's a fictional persona? Why do you think the actress invented a character like Miranda?
Have you ever tried to follow self-help or DIY videos or books? Did it work like you expected? Did anything go wrong?
Did you use any of the QR codes to see special videos for the book? Why do you think those codes are in there? Did you go right back to the book, or did you end up online for a while after viewing the videos?
Book Details
- Author: Miranda Sings
- Genre: Humor
- Topics: Arts and Dance
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Gallery Books
- Publication date: July 21, 2015
- Number of pages: 240
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: June 13, 2016
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