Discussion of Assignments

Assignment # 1: 2 partsi) Design analysis:

ii) Product Review:

Assignment # 2: research projects

Researching the Cultural Industries

• Regulation: CRTC, Codes and Regulations, Panics: Hearings and Committees, Advocacy Groups -- ie McDonalds, Via Com, Coke

• Stabilizing Taste: creativity and production economics– cartoons: $, simplification (Hanna Barbara), labour, computers)– developing genres (what do kids like to watch?)– Business models, financing

• Programming: producing a children’s audience: – programming choices and time schedules: sitcoms and cartoons -– targeting for advertisers (segments -and the rise of syndicates and gendered

programmes) – Advertising, audience flow and intertextuality (ie Ranging with Power-Kinder)

• Creation of a TV production aesthetic– Values and tastes of producers, who controls family choice, differences between

parents and kids taste (Van den Voort study - kidfluence)

Yugi-dough

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Sponsored Research Projects

• 1) A comparative analysis of advertising on children's time TV in the USA and Canada

• 2) A study of children's understanding and use of money

• 3) Children's brand preferences and discretionary purchases: what they buy for themselves

• 4) Family negotiation over food: children's strategies for getting what they want?

• 5) Children's advertising skepticism: what do they understand about marketing?

Research Ethics

• Informed Consent and Parental Permissions

• Respect for subjects - not make them feel bad or frightened

• Safety and Confidentiality• Terminate the research at any time• Deception is not advised concerning the

objectives of the research

Taking a Historical Perspectives on emergence of KidVid

• Emergence of a Cultural Industry– Disney, Lucas, Viacom (synergy)

• Construction of an Child Audience– Cartoon, Superhero

• Definition of the Cultural Form– Character Toys

• Perils, Panics, and Policies– Mass, violent, commercial

• Impacts and Research – Himmelweit to Robinson

Reisman: historical changes in the matrix of socialization

Child

Children’s Culture

Schools

Parent

Peers

State Policy

BooksComicsMovies

TV

FamilyMedia Industries

Lessons of History-avoid same mistakes-imagine beyond givens-look at whole to identify key issues

Rhetorics of War: “FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN”

• TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON NATO AIRSTRIKES

• Ending this tragedy is a moral imperative. It is also important to• America's national interest.

• It is this challenge that we and our allies are facing in Kosovo. That• is why we have acted now -- because we care about saving innocent• lives; because we have an interest in avoiding an even crueler and• costlier war; and because our children need and deserve a peaceful,• stable, free Europe.….the challenge of ending instability in the Balkans• so that these bitter ethnic problems in Europe are resolved the force of argument, not the force

of arms; so that future generations of Americans do not have to cross the Atlantic to fight another terrible war.

• Our thoughts and prayers tonight must be with the men and women of our• Armed Forces who are undertaking this mission for the sake of our• values and our children's future. May God bless them and may God bless• America.

Make Poverty History: Are we a child oriented culture?

• 20% of total population (0-14)

• 1.2 million children live in poverty (18 %)

• 1:13 richest to poorist 10%

• 1/3 of ‘racialized families’ live in poverty

UN convention on Human Rights of the Child includes right to “enjoy leisure,

recreation and cultural activities” or the children’s media charter.

Early TV• McLuhan: through the rear

view mirror (medium in search of a message)– Puppets, clowns, circus,

talent shows; game shows

• Hanna-Barbera: the rise of the kid cartoon

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From Rabit Ears to Mouse Ears: Transformations of Story-telling

• Why Stories?– Moral compass of a society– Cultural identity of a people– Psycho-social development of a child

(identification and modelling)– Literacy and cognitive competence– Social bonding and cultural capital

(peer and family)

• Lost in Translation? – Oral to Literate to Electronic

Storytelling (Narnia? Rings?)

A medium in search of a form• evolution of genres- puppets, circus and

variety, talent shows, drama, action adventure, comedy, super-hero

• The Sat morning cartoon ghetto: From comic book to cartoon :– Visual language (comic)– Slapstick Humour– Episodic Plots– The child as character vs the superhero as

character

Medium in search of its audience• Live action and adventure - Sky King, Davy Crockett, Captain Midnight

• Family Life/ Soaps: Luci, Father Knows Best, Beaver,

• Nature- Wild Kingdom, Lassie,Sargent Preston

• Tiny Talent, Kids say the darndest things

• Children’s specials - wizard of oz, shirley temple

• Science - Mr Wizard

• Nursury -Mr Dressup, Howdy Doody

• Frontier families

• Game shows

• Disneyland/ Mickey Mouse Club

• Sesame Street, Electric Company, Edutainment

• School Drama -Degrassi etc.

Reaganomics: Cable and the

Americanization of Kids’ Culture

The Mandate of Canadian TV

To tell Canadian stories

To represent the diversity of Canada

To educate, inform, or entertain.

Canadian Broadcast Mandate• Perched at the northern edge of the American Empire,

Canadian legislators were particularly sensitive to the precariousness of its broadcast system: we funded a national broadcaster, the CBC, to be an exponent and guardian of those Canadian values and standards and we mandated the whole mixed broadcast system with encouraging the “development of Canadian expression through programming that reflects Canadian attitudes, opinions ideas, values and artistic creativity.”

• children were specifically mentioned as a key mandate of the broadcast system: “Serve the needs and interests and reflect the circumstances and aspirations..be varied and comprehensive providing a balance of information enlightenment and entertainment for Canadian men and women and children of all ages, interests and taste.”

The Canadian production of children’s TV programming

• Underfunding -The economics of children’s TV industries in Canada (trans border broadcast; cable industry policy in 1970’s)

• The financing to encourage Canadian children’s TV production:– Protection from American culture– US-Canada production - cable – subsidy and licensing of specialty channels

The Canadian production of children’s TV programming

• The policy context:– Spicer Violence Watershed (not apply to advertising)– Protection from American culture - CBC, Educational Networks (but need cable!)– US-Canada cable issues: transborder flows and cancon (different advertising regs) – subsidy and licensing of specialty channels- fragmentation and funding

• Have we effectively developed a policy framework for children’s TV? If not what needs to be done to improve the role that media play in children’s lives.

• Cancon Blues -The economics of children’s TV in Canada - Nelvana, Cinar, Reboot as leading industries or Telefilm scams?

• Educate inform and entertain: evaluating TV’s window to the world?

issues in kidvid industries: cynicism of finance?

Channel One, Treehouse, YTV, Education, Transborder?

Children’s Share

Shaw has a keen interest in children's programming as evidenced by theestablishment of its $27.5 million children's programming fund("SCPI"), itsacquisition of YTV and the launch of its new service for pre-schoolers,Treehouse TV. Canadian children's programming has become a highlysuccessfuland internationally recognized sector of Canadian production. Despitethissuccess, the genre needs continuing recognition by the Commission as anunder-represented category of programming and continuance of thetraditionalavenues of funding support for this category. YTV and Treehousecurrentlyspend more than three times the total of private conventionaltelevision onchildren's programming. Ongoing support is required for this genrehavingregard to the levelling off of young audiences, their migration tocomputer-based content, competition from U.S. media conglomerates andtheimportant influence of this programming on the educational andattitudinaldevelopment of children.

The Canadian Approach: Enlightened Self Interest?

The rise of KidVid: Growing Up in a Media Saturated

World

Audience by age

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Average hours per week of television viewing

  Fall 1996

 Total

population children 2-11adolescents

12-17men 18 and

overwomen 18and over

  hours per weekCanada 22.8 17.9 17.3 21.9 26.5Newfoundland 24.0 21.9 18.9 21.8 28.0

Prince EdwardIsland 21.3 17.1 18.9 20.3 24.4Nova Scotia 24.5 19.7 18.1 23.5 28.3New Brunswick 24.2 20.0 17.3 22.6 28.5

Quebec  Total1 26.0 20.1 18.3 24.6 30.7

  English2 22.5 18.2 18.3 21.6 25.4  French2 26.6 20.5 18.3 25.2 31.7Ontario 21.8 17.6 17.2 21.0 25.0

Manitoba 22.3 16.1 18.0 21.7 26.2Saskatchewan 22.5 17.4 16.4 21.3 27.3Alberta 20.3 16.5 16.0 19.6 23.7

British Columbia 21.0 15.5 16.0 21.1 23.71. Includes respondents who did not indicate a language spoken at home or who indicated a languageother than English or French.

2. Language spoken at home.

Source: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 87-211-XPB.

If you have any questions or would like to obtain more information, contact infostats@statcan.caCopyright © 1999 Statistics Canada

Children’s audiences - what are kids watching?

• Examine breaks for

• 2-6

• 7-11

• 12-18

Boys N total

Girls N total

Children

50% 33 66 16% 9 58

Family 12% 8 66 40% 23 58

Teen 35% 23 66 30% 17 58

Adul 3 2 66 16% 9 58

Children’s audiences - what are Canadian kids watching?

• Examine breaks for age and gender in BBM’s

• Examine preferences by age and gender

• 2-6• 7-11• 12-18• Review Data

Boys Girls Total

1. Bugs Bunny 17 14 31

2. Bart Simpson 12 2 14

3. Homer Simpson 8 2 10

4. Scooby Doo 1 6 7

5. Yu-Gi-Oh 6 0 6

Children’s audiences15.3 Favourite television characters

It was of no surprise since The Simpsons and Yu-Gi-Oh were some of the top rated shows that 11% of the boys selected Homer and Yu-Gi-Oh character as their # 1 favourite shows. Bart Simpson was the second favourite with 10%.

Of the 87 girl respondents 7% selected Lizzie McGuire and 6% chose Lisa Simpson. Bart Simpson was also seen as a favourite with 5% of the girl selecting him.

15.4 Reasons for why they liked these television characters

The students were asked to give 3 reasons why they liked the television character they had chosen, some of most popular characteristics of the boys included; their first choice were characters who were funny 37%, second choice was funny again at 18% and stupid at 15% and finally their the third most popular choice was cool at 28% of the students.

The 33 girl respondents also selected funny (70%) as their first choice and pretty/nice/soft hearted as their second choice at 24% and pretty once again as third choice 44% followed by cool and smart/solves mysteries both at 17%.

15.5 Favourite television show characters gender

Character gender preferences revealed a tendency for the 69 male students to select male characters 94% with only 6% choosing female characters. The 57 girl respondents again selected a variety, with 44%

selecting male characters and 56 % selecting female characters at 56%.

corresponding Ratings Boys

N total Girls N total

Children 50% 33 66 16% 9 58 Family 12% 8 66 40% 23 58 Teen 35% 23 66 30% 17 58 Adult 3 2 66 16% 9 58

Leisure and Media Preferences

Leisure Activities

0 1 2 3 4 5

Shopping

Doing something with family

Playing Video Game

Talking on phone

Using Internet

Music, hobbies

Watching Movie or TV

Playing sport

Listening to music

Hanging with friends

Scale: 1=no way to 5=really enjoy

Moral Panic, Taste and the Quality

• Have we effectively developed TV as a children’s medium? (educate, inform and entertain vs selling audiences?)

• The vast wasteland debates -– Sanitized Aesthetics: simple,

unproblematic, constrained and middle class cultural traditions? (class disappears - Tramp)

– Adultified Childhood: Homogenization of culture

• Postman and growing up too soon.• visual and popular culture is inferior?

– Escapist Imaginary - the scope of children’s imagination broadened but also became ‘uncritical’ (passive)

The impact of TV:Debates• Content Effects: The new curriculum-

tv culture/ mass culture as common knowledge and ideology in a globalizing society:– sexuality, violence, gender identity,

cultural identity, amoral behaviour

• Displacement of Time – (children attracted to new medium-

effects on schooling, growth in time spent)

– (trade off with play and family conversation, exercise)

• Commercialization effects – development of marketing to kids -

are kids capable of being good consumers

– scripting the imagination

– Total consumers

Children’s TV Policy• 1950’s: As the world turns: educational vs

commercialized mass society– Equality vs. Individualism

• 1961 Vast Wasteland: high culture vs. popular culture – Passive viewers, America falls behind,

educational standards

• 1969 PBS: Project Headstart - Sesame Street• 1970’s Media Panics:

– Grow up to soon– Parents loose control

• 1981 Deregulation - time and content limits dissolved

• 1995 Children’s TV Act:• 1997 V-chip and 3% ruling