After years of nihilistic and pessimistic films coming out of Hollywood, people were ready for a rousing, uplifting movie like Rocky. People are ready now for a dose of patriotism and renewed pride in their heritage. They'll get what they're craving from Mad About US with booster shots from Mad About US II, III, IV & V!
Hooked on Phonics taught children to read; Mad About US will get them "hooked on history," by telling the story of America in an exciting new way through lively songs, dramatic pictures, and inspirational accounts of our country's greatest leaders from George Washington through Martin Luther King. Mad About US teaches the basics of American history to children between the ages of 8 and 12 through an imaginative CD and reader. The CD opens with a rousing music video of kids rapping about American history in lyrics written especially for this project. This interactive CD/reader (the latter serves as a source guide) propels young readers along through the basics of American history with short, compelling vignettes, designed to infect them with the desire to learn more. This CD/reader offers an imaginative approach to learning American history and civics. Mad about US is designed so that kids from all walks of life can learn about the values, men and women, and institutions that have made America the land of freedom. Children can listen to and read Mad about US by themselves, with their parents, or with their teachers. It is intended for both home and classroom use.
Both the CD and the reader offer short, compelling songs, stories, and graphics. The CD opens with a musical video of kids jumping rope, tap-dancing, and rapping the History Chant. The chorus captures the excitement of our history and the enthusiasm of American youth: "Tell us more, tell us more/About US. U.S.,/That's US. Tell us more./We're mad, we're mad/About history, U.S. history,/Hopping mad,/Rap US up, Rap US up./Who can tell us more/Of our history?/You can. I can/American. American!" The outline of American history is provided by forty-five, easy-to-remember, two-line verses, such as the following: "On July the Fourth, 1776,/The colonies declared their independence." Each two-line verse features a different single child and is followed by a group of kids singing the chorus. As the song continues and the verses progress through American history, the jumping and tapping become more sophiticated and the beat more insistent.
The chant is the spoonful of "sugar" that makes the "medicine" go down. The book/CD is the "medicine," broken down into easily digestible doses. Any kid who memorizes the chant will have in his head a vague but comprehensive outline of American history and a superficial awareness of the unique characteristics of our governmental system. Any kid who completes the book/CD will know more about America than most college graduates.
The chant exploits a music form (rap/jump-rope chant) that is extremely popular among our target audience (8-12) to make history seem fun and exciting, to get kids "hooked on history, hooked on civics." The video version will feature kids of all shapes and colors from the targeted age cohort, jumping rope and tapping and having a blast as they recite the chant, concluding with a scene of a giant playground full of dozens and dozens of kids all jumping and tapping and chanting at the same time (a la the conclusion of Riverdance). The hypnotic rhythm and the simple rhymes are the perfect mnemonic devices to get this message to this audience. Kids will sing "The History Chant" in classes all across the country, while they jump rope on the playground, in tap recitals performed by dance studios, in talent shows, etc. Radio and music-television air play are likely. "Rap US Up" could become the catch phrase of the year, with at least three distinct meanings: 1) sing a positive upbeat tribute to the U.S.; 2) we're crazy about America; 3) buy this product, wrap it up, and give some kid the gift of American heritage.
[NOTE: The chant is infinitely expandable: kids and teachers can add their own verses to pay tribute to their own personal heroes or memorialize events in American history that are of particular significance to them.]
Following the music video, the CD moves readers through a series of dramatic recitations of excerpted songs, speeches, poems, and documents that convey the story of America. These excerpts are kept short, no more than a half page in the reader, followed by a short description of how the song, speech, or document was written. In this section, children will hear the opening words of "The Declaration of Independence," the opening stanza of the "Star Spangled Banner," the first stanzas of Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," the chorus of Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic," the opening lines of Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and his "Second Inaugural Address," the last paragraph of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and inspirational parts from John F. Kennedy's "Inagural Speech" and Ronald Reagan's "First Inaugural."
The final section of the book contains famous quotations from American leaders and heroes, with short, one-page descriptions of when and why these statements were made.
Market: Mad about US is designed for a mass audience. Mad About US targets both the entertainment and the educational market. This project captures the new patriotic spirit that has followed the WTO bombing and the deep desire on the part of parents to teach their children about the America history and civics. This project is designed to be used both at home and in the classroom. The music video, "The History Chant," the CD, and the reader can be sold separately and within a single package. Clearly there is a potential for Mad about US to become a series aimed toward younger and older children.
In addition to being a sensational commercial venture, Mad About US is a great public service project with two vitally important objectives: 1) it will go a long way toward overcoming the average student's antipathy for and remediating his ignorance of history; and 2) it will help to unify our country by reminding everyone of our common heritage. In the 1970s we all went searching for our roots; now, at the dawn of the 21st Century, we will recognize that they all flow into the same tree: "U.S., that's us!"
Authors: Donald T. Critchlow is a professor of history at Saint Louis University. He is the author of ten books, including a college history textbook, America: A Concise History, which will appear as a revised second edition by Rowman and Littlefield. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame, Warsaw University, and Hong Kong University; and he has lectured throughout Europe and Asia. F.R. Duplantier is a free-lance writer with more than 25 years' experience in journalism, advertising, and publishing. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and six children.