Chicken Fat

Monday Motivation on Wednesday

Chicken Fat by Robert Preston

Recommended by Michelle K.

"It's a social and political issue from the JFK administration, and it's even bigger and much more weighty today in 21st century America (no pun intended). Please listen to President Kennedy's speech where he starts with how unfortunate it is to see fat chubby...etc. Chicken Fat was commissioned as part of a President's Council on Physical Fitness.

The song is entertaining but not in any mainstream context.

What's funny is my gym teacher played this for us, and our PE period was AMAZING!!! We climbed ropes to the ceiling of the gym over 30 feet high. It was part of preparation for the President's Physical Fitness test. We were all very fit and, from my perspective, happy. I'm incredibly sad to learn the Presidential Physical Fitness is no longer implemented in PE programs. It meant a lot to receive the medal, patch, and certificate signed by the president.

Anyway, no way would any verbiage used by President Kennedy or the lyrics of the song be near PC today."

Wow, when did they take away the Presidential Physical Fitness test? I definitely remember doing that in elementary school, and I'm not that old yet.

I omitted this from Michelle's quote, but she mentioned that the composer who JFK commissioned to write this song - Meredith Willson - was also behind The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. So he's got some composing chops, which is probably why this is so dang catchy.

It was meant to be "an anthem that would inspire school children across the United States to whip themselves into shape" (x).

And yet, here we are.

While I appreciate the mission to get kids across the country more active, I don't know about this method necessarily.

As Michelle said, this wouldn't be politically correct today. I know everyone makes fun of my generation for being oversensitive, but I mean...I'd much rather see encouragement that focuses on fun and the benefits of exercise rather than the negative consequences of not exercising.

Look at Pokemon Go! We've got kids walking 5 or 10 kilometers a day, and they barely recognize they're "exercising." And there's no one telling them they're fat, which is associated with body image issues.

Anyway, this catchy jingle was played in gym classes across the country, especially during the 1960s and '70s, so I'm not surprised you remember it fondly. Time heals all wounds, and all that. See? Baby Boomers are just as nostalgic as '90s kids.

Apple actually resurrected this track for an iPhone 5 commercial to tap into the trend toward healthy living in its target market.

It's an interesting choice. I like that they end the ad with the quote "You're more powerful than you think."

When the song was originally released, in came in the context of JFK's speech on the "unfortunate" chubby children in the country, so I think it was negative despite the bounciness. However, Apple used it in a way that was more empowering.

Maybe I'm looking too far into it, but those are my thoughts.

Thanks for the song rec; it's definitely a new one for me.

Overview:

Genre:
Broadway? Propaganda?

Favorite Lyrics:
Higher! Higher!
Wait, not too high!

Verdict:
Ineffective, probably, but a lot of fun