Week Twelve: McDisneyfication: Globalization, Immigration, and Cultural Diversity

The final week of postings!
During this week topics of interest included:

1. Globalization--
2. McDisneyfication--
3. Cultural Diversity--
4. McDonaldization--

The article "Doraemon Goes Abroad" by Shiraishi looks at each of these themes in his article. The article is about the Japanese Character Doraemon and his quest for gloabl attention. The mass merchandizing of the cartoon comic as a cultural export is of concern. The way children from different cultures understand these products is insightful to their reception and use value. Globalization plays a role because the breakdown of boundaries is created and messed it. This raises the question of how do children from the culture of the product react when they see it in another culture and the ways in which it was altered? Again marketers see the potential for success in a global economy and mass market the products. This domain of childhood is becoming eroded as more advertisers take over their intended use and create cross-promotion toys. According to the author, these Japanese comics are helping disseminate the discourse of childhood and Japanesse culture, globally.

According to the encyclopedia Wikipedia the following terms are defined as such":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

McDisneyfication is the concern that one way of life is dominating the way in which children learn to play and think. There is a need to broaden the horizons with different themese and images of childhood.

McDonaldization

McDonaldization is the process by which a society takes on the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. The term was coined by George Ritzer, who wrote the book The McDonaldization of Society. McDonaldization is an extension of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management.
Ritzer highlighted four primary components of McDonaldization:
Efficiency - the optimal method for accomplishing a task
Calculability - objective should be quantifiable (i.e. sales) rather than subjective (i.e. taste)
Predictability - standardized and uniform services
Control - standardized and uniform employees
It can also refer to the replacement of traditional restaurants with McDonald's.

Globalization

Globalization is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that are the result of dramatically increased trade and cultural exchange. In specifically economic contexts, it refers almost exclusively to the effects of trade, particularly trade liberalization or "free trade".
Between 1910 and 1950, a series of political and economic upheavals dramatically reduced the volume and importance of international trade flows. In the post-World War II environment, fostered by international economic institutions and rebuilding programs, international trade dramatically expanded. With the 1970s, the effects of this trade became increasingly visible, both in terms of the benefits and the disruptive effects.

Overall, this course was informative and opened my mind to the issues and concerns children face and educators need to address. However, this served as an introductory class and it would be interesting to continue the search for understanding children, media and culture in the future.

Week Eleven: Mediated Boy Culture: Violence, Imagination and Identification

Week eleven investigated the role of boys in a consumer society. The breakdown of boys as a cohort is interesting especially when compared to girl culture. Some of the issues associated with boy-culture are masculininty, violence, socialization and agression.

"The Unesco Global Study on Media Violence" which focused on five major issues to be addressed they included:

1. Which role do the media, and in particular TV, Play in the lives of children on a global level?
2. Wh are children fascinated by media violence?
3. What is the relationship between media violence and agression behaviour among children?
4. Are there cultural as well as gender differnces in the media impact on aggression?
5. How do violent environments (war/crime) on the one hand and the state of technological development on the other influence the coping with aggressive media content?

Some highlights from the investigation include the following answers:

• TV has become a mjor socialization factor and dominates the life of children in urban and electrified rural areas of the globe.
• By are fascinated by aggressive media heros.
• Half of the children report that they are anxious most most of the time or often. Media heros are used for escapism and compensation of the children's actual problems.
• Many children are surrounded by an environment where "real" and media experiences both support the view that violence is natural.
• The impact of media violence can primarily be explained through the fact that aggressive behavior is rewarded.

Their conclusions state:

• Media violence is universal. It is presented in a rewarding context.
• Media violence can satisfy different needs. For boys, it creates a freame , of reference for 'attractive role models'.
• Cultural differences exist and do play a role in the social construction of reality.
• The sheer amount of violence is a cause of concern.
• The 'normality' and 'reward characteristics' of aggression are more systematically promoted than non-aggressive ways of coping with one's life.

The article concludes by stating the children are continuously searching for role models and socialization from friends and family. In cases when they can not get these needs fulfilled they turn to movies and television and seek out role models. The social and economic factors are important to the success of any growing child.

The only limitation i have found with this weeks readings are the emphasis of violence in terms of analysing boys. I think that researchers should consider issues of body image the thoughts boys have. Due to the bombardment of social ideals and stigmas it would be interesting to study feminine males and understand the thoughts and situations they deal with on a daily basis. By feminine males i mean, less masculine, obesessed with sports and the 'stereotypical male.' This choice of words does not imply any negative connotation.

The article "Distress and delight: Children's experience of Horror" interviews children and looks at the ways in which children understand violence. Provided an insightful look at some of the thoughts children experience when watching such films.

Overall, the readings for this week approached the topic at different angles and highlighted the fact that boys are affected by images of aggression and violence.

The comparison of boys and girls is important and a major component to the study of children. The ways in which each gender is approached and interrelated with each other is also notable.

However, my only weakness was my (documented) absence from lecture and the inability to encorporate Kline's discussions and analysis into this journal log.

Week Ten: Mediated Girl Culture: The Barbie Factor and Sexual Object-ions

This weeks focus was on marketer's influence on children aged 12 and under. Children have become suseptable to advertisers persuasion power and can be seen as vilnerable. In tutorial we were asked to reflect back to our childhood memories and see the techniques and tools we used to persuade and influence our family to buy certain products.

As a child when i wanted something, i knew that i had to go straight to my dad and not my mom inorder to get what i wanted. My dad wanted to give us anything that we wanted and needed, probably because as a child he did not have the ability to get the things he wanted. My mom however, believed in working for goods. She believed that we should do chores or save our own money and buy the things we wanted.

The article entitled "Betwixt and Be Tween" looks at the subject of tweens as a marketers dream. The power of the female tween age group can be seen in advertisments, television programs and entertainment. Hillary Duff, Lindsay Lohan and other teen actors have sold their image to these young girls and boys who are looking to find a piece of themselves. Hillary Duff for example, who is an actor also sings and has sold out concert stadiums. A tween is considered a kid between the age of 7 to 14. The tween is an aged-based category used to discribe children and marketing. The study of 'girl-culture' will reveal the girls socialize more and discuss current event topics such as celebrity, style, toys and accessories. The power that these girls have to shape discourse amongst their friends is powerful and insightful. However the questions that raise discussion include a variety of concerns. Such as are the images presented in advertisements, videos, movies and such relay thoughts about how girls should be and look like. Many girls want to grow up sooner than they should, "the buyer is elaborating a commercial persona-in a sense, constructing a 'consumer self'- of the subteen girl, a construction that performs the cultural work of personifying a market realtion by giving a face and personality to a market category."(Cook et al.)
Barbie is a subject that is often related to girls progress and construction of identity. Barbie is said to be a sterotype image of the perfect women and researchers want to know the effects this has on young girls.

"Barbie was just suppose to be a teenage girl or adult who had a nice figure..

It's all gotten way out of line. It angers me. It was really just meant to be children projecting themeselves when they get older. Teenage situations, career things. It was very innocent."

Daughter of Ruth Handler defending Barbie.

http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/

Other issues that look at branding, clothing, identity, playing dress up, socialization etc. are some of the concerns highlighted by the article "Doing and Undoing: The Everyday Experience of Subject-ivity." These articles each highlight the importance of understanding or at least learning about children's culture and the complexities of each. Because girl culture is always changing and shifting along with society it can be hard to understand how girls are feeling today. The need for investigation is clear and will always be an issue of concern for these children are our futures.

Week Nine: The Canute Complex: Commericalization of Schools

This week's topic continued the debates and issues of researching the controversies of children and the media. In tutorial we were asked to reflect on the rights and research ethics of children according to the UN convention. Having attended the consumer literacy group pilot project meeting, i was unable to listen and contribute to the discussions in tutorial.
Based on the readings for this week, my ideas and thoughts are as followed.
The first article by Heather-jane Robertson "Hyenas at the Oasis: Corporate Marketing to Captive Students looks at the peril of control corporations have on 'resource-hungry' schools.
The article begins with her attendance at at marketing show that is selling the ideal of marketing to children within the school system. The clear message suggested by the marketers is as followed, "we are told that children represent three markets...they control enviable amounts of disposable income...kids influence approximately $1 trillion of their parents's spending...children are consumers -in-training, imprinting constantly as they prepare to take their place as full adults."(18) As marketers realize that children are one of the most important target makrkets and do everything they can to achieve this by pleasing their captivated market. Marketers must fulfill their needs while fulfilling their own. The author goes through different examples of companies and resources that use children to make a profit. Her concern is woven through the article as well.
The article that i found interesting was "Captive Audiences" by Juliet Schor.
It is alarming to think that in public institutions that strive to foster creative and individual thought, such as Education systems, that advertisers have been welcomed into the classrooms with arms wide open. Advertising as social communication has the ability to convert and distort the minds of students with propaganda programming that children are forced to watch. As advertisers quickly realized children are a valuable market and the possibility to target them from within social institutions should be taken advantage of as soon as the possibility arose. With programs such as “Channel One” in the United States, advertisers offer schools necessary resources such as computers and televisions as long as the ensure the 10 minute promotional messages be delivered to the children. Corporate influence in the school system ranges in reason. Coke, Pepsi and other branded snack foods have been in the schools for many years and with recent debates regarding advertising in the schools, fact is they are there to stay. Schore notes that "schools are selling ad space on buses and stadium walls, even inside school buildings and classrooms."(89) Channel One is a mandatory daily viewing of advertisments and propaganda. As Schor suggests, "from the beginning Channel One has been controversial, teachers, parents' groups and conservative religious organizations have opposed the practice of forcing kids to watch." When i think about the positive aspects this program can have on children it is actually hard to image what they are. THe only possible conclusion would be that students need the technological tools such as computers, audio-visual devices and other necessities. Because government funding is being reduced teachers have less access to simple things such as paper. The sadest part of Channel One is the involvement of the military in the programming. Another sad factor is that corporations write the curriculum, if we are just feeding the lies and ideas of money hungry corporations why even bother sending children to school. Why not just make them go straight to work so they can please corporations, PR firms and such and start feeding into the consumerist cycle at an earlier age. Yes, these rants are particularly exaggerated and distorted and mellowdramatic. The question remains, when will consumers wake up and realize that we are living a lie based on the images and propaganda of advertisements for corporations and begin to questions our future as a united community of citizens and not as consumers. The children are our future and if we continue to let corporations dictate them how life is suppose to be lead, we will definitly have a consumption problem in the future. Which is scary when today's society is already at a level of uncertainty.
http://adstandards.com/en/clearance/childrencode.asp

Week Eight: Marketing Lifecycles-Whose Rocking the Cradle?

Week 8 Exercise:
Discretionary Spending: Reflect back on your own childhood consumer behaviour. How much allowance were you given and how did you spend it. What were the major influences on your choices (friends, advertising, parents etc.)
Spending among children is such an interesting topic. Children have a significant amont of power and influence in the purchasing world. As a child i did not receive an allowance on a weekly basis but i would get change or lunch money from my paretns when i asked or if they did not make us a lunch. My parents gave me a lot as a child and i am thankful but always wished that they had set up an allowance system where i would have had to have worked for my money, such as doing chores etc. As a child i was not one to save my money but spend every last penny possible and the things i would buy...why? Looking back i can say i was a frivolous spender if i saw something and i liked it i would buy it. Not thinking about the uses or benifits of a product. Not that most children comprehend these ideas but i should have been aware as teenager at least. Children's consumption patterns are of concern in this weeks lecture and readings.
The reading "The development of a child into a consumer" by Valkenburg and Cantor looks at the role advertisers, marketers and children play in the event of consuming. The economic factor is important to this study and evidence of this can be seen in each of the articles read. The aspect of this article that was refreshing was how the authors divided the sections of this paper to discuss the age groups. They notes that children"have considerable amounts of money to spend on needs and wants of their own"(1) and that children are the future markets of tomorrow. Also, the dynamic of childs brand loyalty.The first age group, birth to 2, examines feelings of wants and preferences. Children according to this article, have preferences to smells, colours, objects, sounds and images and their behavior can be altered due to these things. children, experience "their own wants and preferences, whihc is an important characteristic of consumer behavior, they cannot yet be considered as true, goal-directed consumers."Age 2-5, preschoolers, experience nagging and negotiating during this period. Children at this age have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy. They believe what they see is the truth. They believe that the messages and images from TV, such as commercials are true. Their cognitive abilities, in psychological terms, is not fully developed and children do not know the reality of many situations. As well, centration is notes as a negative affect on the reality of children. It is defined as the tendency to center attention on an individual, striking feature of an object or image, to the exclusion of others, less striking features. The supermarket effect is described as well, "when they see an attractive toy or snack, they center their attention on the desirable aspects of the stimulus and have great difficulty resisting it."(205) This explains why young children throw fits at grocery stores and how these 'scenes' decress as children grow into the next phase.The third group aged 5-8, early elementary school looks at adverture and the first purchase. The characteristics of each age group do blend into one another. At this station children begin to realize the falsities of television programs and commericals. At this age group children begin to make independent purchases and as consumers they grow. The final age group examined, 8-12, looks at issues of conformity and fastidiousness. Peer pressure is a factor in this age group, altering the minds and decisions of children. Children become critical of what they see and what they are told, especially from television. Children look for the informative and detailed section of products, they want to know the functions and uses of such tools.The need for research on children's consumption habits is needed from a parent and educator based, too much research is done by marketers. Children as an interest group is intriguing especially when they are consumers.

Week Seven: Digital Domesticity and technified 'Spielraum'

During the seventh week, we focused on the role of digital delights in children's lives. The exercise for tutorial asked to look at Playdium arcades and the internet as areas of entertainment for kids. There is no lack in choice for children in terms of entertainment. Many children have access to the internet and computers either in their homes or in their schools and this allows them to reach beyond the limits and boundaries of convential entertainment. Online sites use different means to captivating the child audience. Sites such as Barbie, use visual, audio and hooking aspects. By hooking i mean, asking children to give their names and email addresses so that Barbie can send birthday wishes for example and other things, causing the child to form a bond with the site.
The Video game industry is huge, it is a billion dollar industry that is continully growing. Originating in the arcade and spawning into the hand held portable world of gaming, children and adults have the ability to play video games in a multitude of settings. The issues that video games create are do children become more agressive when playing games. What are the skills that children learn? What are the positive and negative effects of video games and children?
Craig Anderson answers some of these questions in "Violent Video Games and Agressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior." Anderson provides a background analysis of the video game industry noting that the violence quotent in games has exploded. Violence use to involve 'shooting' object and aliens. Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers game a favorite among many, was not as violent as games today. The premise involved jumping, running and climbing over objects to get to the end of the level to advance. Anderson notes that access to games is easier even though rating systems are in place. Often parents do not realize what games their children are renting or buying. Parents do in fact need to pay more attention and become involved in the purchase of video game products. Changes in personality, aggressive behavior are concerns parents must face. Exposure needs to be monitored in order to secure that children do not become over exposed to violence.
Stephen Kline and Greig de Peuter critique video gaming in "Video Gaming and Postmodern Childhood." They investigate the cause and effects that children experience when watching video games. They note that video gaming is a masculine symbol where imagery and virtual empowerment meet. The issue of normalacy is raised often neglected in the discourse. The message presented to children is one of confusion and over-sensation. Youth culture is bombarded with advertisements selling products and it is no doubt the reason for childens obsession with video games. The influence to achieve aspects of life unattainable in the real world appeal to children. Kline and de Peuter look at the male gamer as an address of concern. The role of marketers, Gaming companies is important when understanding the way in which children fall for such messages and beliefs.
Video games give a sensationalized way of reality for children and they need to be able to distinguish reality from the hyper-real. Becuase there are no consequences for video game killings, it is important to inform children that consequences in the real world do exist.
Again, it is vital for parents to be involved in the actions of their children and monitor what their children play and watch.

Curious