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Compare And Contrast Smart House And The Veldt

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During the late 1990s and early 2000s, many Millenials were creating childhood memories from a popular form of entertainment: Disney Channel Original Movies. For them, a sense of nostalgia may elicit a connection between one of those movies, LeVar Burton’s Smart House, and Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Veldt.” Labeled as science fiction, both of these works share the common theme of a dependence on technology, as illustrated by the lives of the Hadley and Cooper families. In particular, these cautionary tales convey to the audience the consequences of too many advancements: severed relationships within families, a lack of responsibility, and a new, irreversible way of life. Dependence on technology can negatively affect the relationship between parents and their children. For example, the moment in “The Veldt” when Peter and Wendy “had televised home to say they’d be late, to go ahead eating,” illustrates the spoiled, undisciplined nature of the children; they inform their parents of their plans rather than ask for permission (167). Later on, the Hadley’s psychologist, David McClean, blames the Happylife Home and its nursery for such behavior: “You’ve let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children’s affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents” (171-172). A similar phenomenon occurs in Smart House when Ben Cooper starts spending less time with his widowed father, Nick, in favor of

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