Research & Analysis of Children’s Programming and Commercials
Research & Analysis of Children’s Programming and Commercials
Watch a children’s cartoon(not an adult cartoon)or children’s program,andwatch thecommercialsaired before, during and after the show. You can stream a children’s cartoonor program,and commercials,online if you do not have television. The only parameter isthere must be actual or animatedpeople as the maincharacters and actual or animatedpeoplein the commercials.Cartoons such asLittle Bill, Little Einstein’s, Caillou,Magic School Bus, Recess, Rugrats, Phineas & Ferb, Fairly Odd Parents, Avatar, Doc McStuffins, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Gravity Falls& Speed Racer are children’s cartoons with animated “people” as characters.You are not bound by these, they are simply examples.I want you to pick a children’s cartoon or children’s show with real actors, because theseare some of the earliest television parents find appropriate for theirverysmall children. After completing this assignment,you should be able to recognize how media, using children’s programmingand commercials as a forum, start to socialize people from a very young age. Look specifically for race, class, gender, sexand age portrayal. What roles are portrayed? What stereotypes are perpetuated? What messages are being taught or conveyed? Why were certain actors/characters chosen to portray a role instead of ones with different characteristicsor attributes? What themes emerge& are embedded in the context or message? You may also find lack of portrayal. What stereotypes are broken? Make sure your paper is not a simple summary of the program you selectanditscommercials instead ofan analysis of race, class, gender, sex andage portrayal, stereotypes and roles. You should noticethe visual cues (color of clothing, how dressed, ornamentation-such as hair bows, accessoriesor baseball caps) used on the different characters that display class, ageand sex roles. Hairstyles also portray sex. The house size and decor, as well as people’s dress,also display class. Whichsex ofchildren are playing with what toys, and how they play withthe toys, display’s sexnorms.What a “normal” family looks like (mom, dad, kids) according to the show and commercials.How a particular character’s room is decorated (if they go into their room) typically shows whether the bedroom is for a boy or a girl.These are the type of cues that teach children how they should act, dress, play or behave and what is “normal” and conversely “abnormal”. What one views as normal and abnormal and most of the preferences one has are taught to them through their culture. People are not born knowing how they should look/not look, behave/not behave, dress/not dress,prefer/not prefer,etcetera. Nor do people know what a “normal” family looks like (single mom, single dad, two moms, two dads, mom and dad, extended family living in the home considering themselves a family unit, same race or mixed race, poor or middle class, etcetera). We are taught these things. The point of this paper is for you to see how influential the media is in socializing our children to the norms of society. Even when their own households and families look very different than what their programming presents to them, they end up viewing the programming ideal of “normal” as what normal is. Your paper should be 800-850words, typed, double-spaced,standard1 or 1.25-inch margins and 10-12 point font. Include what you watched, what you found and your reaction to what you found.
