legoman19892 Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) http://www.theguardi...ting-toys-shell A child expert made this article about how LEGO is harming children in more ways than just the current topic of Shell. Edited August 22, 2014 by legoman19892 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Brickalot Posted August 9, 2014 *sigh* The press really don't like Lego at the moment do they? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Boratko Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) http://www.theguardi...ting-toys-shell I am convinced that no matter how far Lego bends over backwards to make people happy, there is still going to be a small percentage that just wants to attack them... You'll see this with just about any big company that is on top... People are so miserable that they get their enjoyment from trying to bring others down into their misery... Some people just don't like to see success... Edited August 9, 2014 by Paul Boratko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L@go Posted August 9, 2014 Make sure you read at least a few of the comments below the article, too, if you bother to read the article. Right now, there are 444 comments. I've skimmed through about 100 of them, and I found three that agreed with the 'expert'. Which is interesting, as the majority of people who comment on your average Guardian article are not LEGO fans. It says something about how misinformed the author is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyDalton777 Posted August 9, 2014 So The Guardian are now picking at LEGO when they have previously commissioned people to make LEGO animations of things like the World Cup and the Olympics. Also, there is no right way to play with LEGO. Some people like building with instructions, some don't. Some may like licensed themes, some may not. Some people prefer sets while some prefer building from brick buckets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plew2000 Posted August 9, 2014 It seems everyone is picking on Lego, saying that Lego is "Forcing" a new way of playing. What is this world coming too? There are more important things to right articles on like politics and world, but picking on a kind of toy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fred67 Posted August 9, 2014 I am convinced that no matter how far Lego bends over backwards to make people happy, there is still going to be a small percentage that just wants to attack them... You'll see this with just about any big company that is on top... Yes. And I'd refer you to several other ongoing threads, and also point out that with such an enormous number of customers, you will always have people demanding a company operates how they see fit. I know this is the internet, and its just how it is, but I personally am getting tired of all the whining... and it seems to have gotten worse here at EB lately. No matter what TLG does, people will complain, and in a way, when TLG capitulates, it's like giving into terrorists... they just end up with more complaining. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andythenorth Posted August 9, 2014 Oh the scandal, Lego have just done a deal with Shell. http://brickset.com/sets/325-3/Shell-service-station Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutchiedoughnut Posted August 9, 2014 Well if you stay to the predetermined play sets maybe. But as a kid, I honestly can't remember any instruction books or whatever? We just had this massive box of lego's and we grabbed the bits we needed at the time. Even today Lego is giving me the tools to express my creativity :). Meanwhile how can offering kids a fictional environment, inspiring them to think beyond what's in front of their noses, be harming their creativity. There are some points being made - Lego doesn't need to enforce gender stereotyping (such as pink is for girls), but overall this article seems to be a political instrument for Greenpeace as they oppose Lego on their deal with Shell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
legoman19892 Posted August 9, 2014 But play testing with girls determined they wanted those colors. Pink isnt even that dominant in the Friends line... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obsidianheart Posted August 9, 2014 Yes. And I'd refer you to several other ongoing threads, and also point out that with such an enormous number of customers, you will always have people demanding a company operates how they see fit. I know this is the internet, and its just how it is, but I personally am getting tired of all the whining... and it seems to have gotten worse here at EB lately. No matter what TLG does, people will complain, and in a way, when TLG capitulates, it's like giving into terrorists... they just end up with more complaining. This is how I feel also. Especially the middle part. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
legoman19892 Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) double post Edited August 9, 2014 by legoman19892 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
62Bricks Posted August 9, 2014 "Lego was formed in the 1930s by philanthropist Ole Kirk Kristiansen." Philanthropist? You mean he was just giving toys away? He was a businessman, and a very successful one at that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rollermonkey Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) Oh the scandal, Lego have just done a deal with Shell. http://brickset.com/...service-station The sarcasm is strong with this one. Edited August 9, 2014 by rollermonkey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lind Whisperer Posted August 9, 2014 From a long usage of Brickset, I believe that The Guardian may lean a bit towards the side of 'tabloid-that-people-know-is-a-tabloid'. I'd try to give an American equivalent, but I'd have a bit of trouble - mostly because I don't follow tabloids He was a businessman, and a very successful one at that. Actually, if you a while ago on Ole's life story, successful isn't exactly the word you might use at first, seeing as how there were times when he was literally trading toys for food for his kids. But, he kept on fighting, and he actually became one of the few cases where someone just wouldn't give up their dreams till they won. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
62Bricks Posted August 9, 2014 From a long usage of Brickset, I believe that The Guardian may lean a bit towards the side of 'tabloid-that-people-know-is-a-tabloid'. I'd try to give an American equivalent, but I'd have a bit of trouble - mostly because I don't follow tabloids Actually, if you a while ago on Ole's life story, successful isn't exactly the word you might use at first, seeing as how there were times when he was literally trading toys for food for his kids. But, he kept on fighting, and he actually became one of the few cases where someone just wouldn't give up their dreams till they won. Yes - Nobody is successful immediately. He succeeded by adapting the product and changing the way he marketed and sold it until he succeeded. LEGO still does that, but some people, like the author of that Guardian piece, imagine it should always be exactly as they remember it as a child or else it has been ruined. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lyichir Posted August 9, 2014 Ah, the old "Lego forces kids to follow instructions" argument. I would have thought The Lego Movie would have highlighted the idiocy of that mode of thinking, but I guess not. The instructions are there to get you started, and have been that way for decades. I've drawn more inspiration and learned more about building from official sets than I ever could have with an open-ended bucket of bricks. I think the only people who would consider the inclusion of one set of instructions to restrict creative play are those who are too small-minded to move past them. The idea that established worlds and characters also restrict creative play is equally ludicrous. To say so is to deny the creativity of ALL works that derive from predecessors, including fanfiction and fan art, and, looking further, entire genres including science fiction and high fantasy that have built upon established tropes and motifs since their establishment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
62Bricks Posted August 9, 2014 The criticism about instructions is especially silly. Non-AFOL adults remember their childhood box of LEGO pieces where everything was jumbled together and they built anything they could imagine. They will swear that in the good old days LEGO sets didn't come with instructions at all. This is nonsense, of course, since LEGO sets have included instructions of one sort or another for 50 years. What probably happened is the same thing that happened at my house in the 1970s - all the instructions and boxes were lost or thrown out and all the sets were put into one box. The criticism of instructions is also silly for another reason. While creative, free play is good for developing minds, so is the ability to interpret things like directions and follow the thought process to complete a task. It requires logical thinking, spacial reasoning, attention to detail and fine motor skills. There is educational benefit in building a model from the instructions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AwesomeBantha Posted August 9, 2014 This is just pathetic. The whole Greenpeace thing is understandable-because it's gotten a lot of support and the author is obviously one of the supporters, but the whole thing about licensing is just stupid. Who says you absolutely have to follow the instructions? Which kid would say that today's LEGO sets are more "stifled" or "tell them what to think"? In many ways, IMHO, LEGO has improved by leaps and bounds over the past 84 years. They went from wooden ducks to iconic bricks that so many kids and adults enjoy. The new licensed sets aren't must-have. They aren't restricting play-in fact, with the all the new pieces and bricks play should be easier than ever. 50 years ago, LEGO sets came with instructions and the box had pictures of the play features of the set. Why is this such an issue nowadays? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DPrime Posted August 9, 2014 Ah, the old "Lego forces kids to follow instructions" argument. I would have thought The Lego Movie would have highlighted the idiocy of that mode of thinking, but I guess not. The instructions are there to get you started, and have been that way for decades. EXACTLY. I get the impression that she watched The Lego Movie (or at least read a summary of its plot on Wikipedia or whatever) and wrote this article. I mean, her insight isn't really all that impressive considering that was basically the plot of the movie. :) I do think, however, that the company should start putting pictures of alternate builds back on the boxes. That was a really cool way to encourage creativity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ummester Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) The article isn't entirely wrong. LEGO adapted to succeed. It can be reasonably argued that, as a business, LEGO had to sell some of it's creative 'soul' to profit, by tapping into the franchise market. It's a business - it has to make money. But I do feel that in trying to keep up with the modern market place, LEGO has had to compromise the purity of it's product. It's probably more the fault of the way society has evolved, than LEGO itself. Re the LEGO movie - I do find that it's values do not totally align with the marketing of sets. The message in the film is clear - praise construction and creativity, all creativity - AFOL creativity should inspire child creativity. Yet LEGO sets, including those from the film, are often tailored for collection. Edited August 10, 2014 by ummester Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ummester Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) One other thing on this, re Ole Kirk Kristiansen being called a philanthropist in the article - no, he was not, he was a businessman for his times. Funny though, next to the corporations of the 21st century, he was positively philanthropic. This is the issue, not LEGO itself, I think - the world has changed in a way that doesn't allow LEGO to be a pure toy of creativity for our children. I would not be surprised if some of the conflict in the LEGO movie is derived from the business conflict the LEGO board has regarding it's product. LEGO isn't destroying creative play - it's trying to hold onto it, in a world that is geared towards suppressing a child's imagination with consumption of franchises and products. Edited August 10, 2014 by ummester Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickG Posted August 10, 2014 I, at a very limited degree, think that franchise sets do indeed often have less imagination involved. I would guess that less kids try to build another X-Wing when they already own one and probably keep those sets together more often (at least the good builds). It's harder to take apart an iconic thing like an X-Wing than just a random city set. And it's harder to think up something good for something like Star Wars when they sell most of what you can think of already :P. I'm not saying kids don't try to build another X-Wing and stuff. Just that the non-franchise sets are potentially just a bit more creative friendly. You won't feel as much pressure to stay in the universe I don't think. That said this article is bleh. And I love my franchise sets the most! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob De Quatre Posted August 10, 2014 This is a common problem is many other domain than Lego. "I don't know how that work or how it's done, but I'll write or talk about it, and I've no time to do serious research" What is really sad is that those people are read/watched by many... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peppermint_M Posted August 10, 2014 Sometimes I wish I could have one of those Non-jobs, I often recall my English teacher ranting passionately about columnists amd other feature writers (oh, her envy was great) and can seee where she is coming from when I trudge along my 37 hour work week wondering if I could dribble some rubbish into a text file and get paid. Everyone is as creative with LEGO as they want to be. I am a MOCist first, I'll buy a set and dump the instructions into a file-box and empty the parts out to mix with everything else, then build whatever. My brother-in-law buys and builds Star Wars ships and things from Middle Earth. A friend of mine improves techinc sets to look/function better or mimic the real world machine more closely. My friend's five year old has Batman vs Spiderman X-wing races... Ah, I would so love to get paid to write nonsense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
