By Mariana Figueredo and Camila Rico
“Sometimes a baby`s gotta do what a baby`s gotta do,” main character Tommy, from the animated TV series Rugrats, proudly announces. And that means not only napping and wetting diapers but also smashing some universally fixed gender ideas. Of course, little Tommy and his friends are not alone along the way; they have their families to back them up. After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Imagined and created at the beginning of the 90´s, Rugrats is one of the three original series broadcasted by the North American TV station Nickelodeon. After being on the screen for thirteen years, its last episode aired in 2004. The programme focused on the toddler’s gang made up by Tommy, Chuckie and the twins Phil and Lil while they are discovering the world. Angelica, a bit older than the rest, is the evil cousin who is always looking forward to every opportunity to scare and bully the babies. Last but not least, the parents of the kids play an important role in the construction of the children’s personalities. The success and the millions didn’t take long to arrive for the show... and neither did the critics.
Rugrats is not just another 15-minute TV programme about kids, but one of those TV programmes defying dominant conceptions and seeking for a different perspective. It represents a non-conventional idea of social and family roles in which roles are not clearly fixed but interchangeable. In this sense, Rugrats clearly breaks with the gender stereotypes symbolically imposed in our society.
While the playpen does all it can, neither material nor symbolic limits are enough: limitation is a foreign word for the babies. In the episode "The Clan of the Duck", Phil and Chuckie decide to wear dresses since it is hot and dresses make everything easier. Girls wear dresses, so why can’t they? At first, both babies are mocked by two kids in the park. But then, more importantly, they are cheered up by their parents who let the boys keep the dresses. For their parents, these limits don´t reach them either: Betty, Lil and Phil’s mother, wears male-like sport shorts; and Charlotte, Angelica’s mother, is never seen without her black suit. Rugrats doesn't draw the common gender limitations for each of its characters, and the clothes they decide to wear are a clear example of it.
Moreover, dolls and pink are not the only options for a girl: mud, business and joint locks can be too. Female characters such as Lil and her mother are portrayed as “tomboyish”. Lil loves playing in mud and eating worms like her brother. Betty is an old pro-wrestler woman who proudly calls herself a feminist. She wears a blue head band, sneakers and a loose t-shirt with the female symbol on it. Charlotte is Angelica’s workaholic mother. She works as a CEO for a very important company. Both mother and daughter like fashion and shoes, but they also like being powerful and independent. Defying the conception of women as the weaker sex, women’s talents or abilities in Rugrats are not restrained by their sex.
Parenthood is not women’s exclusive work. In episode “Potty-Training Spike”, Tommy and Chuckie claim to teach Spike, Tommy’s pet, not potting near the tree of the garden. For that, Tommy names himself Spike’s father, and Chuckie chooses to be “Spike’s other father”. While some will consider this expression as homosexual, the meaning lies beyond the words: it is in the family examples the babies are exposed to. Fathers in Rugrats have aprons at hand, for dirty diapers or cooking emergencies may arise at any time. Chuckie’s dad, Chaz, is a timorous single parent who loves cooking and working on his greenhouse. Tommy’s dad, Stu, works at home as a toy inventor, but will take as many breaks as necessary to feed, play and take care of his son. That’s why it is not strange that Tommy and Chuckie call themselves fathers of Spike (and not father and mother), since both are taking responsibilities in teaching the dog. Men in Rugrats challenge traditional masculinity.
In a society where many TV programmes keep repeating the lucrative and old stereotypes, it is important to distinguish this particular show that takes risks in showing something different to young audiences. For children have the right to express who they are and who they want to be, and Rugrats is an excellent tool to expand their horizons. So as Tommy says, “Hang on to your diapies, babies,” for there are stereotypes to break.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Nobody Needs a Thneed
By Amilcar Ferrero & Nahir Penelas
A big dazzling advertisement welcomes us to “Thneedville”, a surreal, plastic, artificial and superficial city, where the film ‘The Lorax’ is set. This movie released by Universal Picture in 2012 and directed by Chris Renaud is based on the book with the same name written by Dr. Seuss in 1971. The director and the producers readapted this children’s story into a modern 3D animated movie for kids.
The main character of the story is Tod, a ten year old boy who lives in Thneedville, a place without trees. Fighting against a superficial and consumerist society, Tod will restore fresh air by seeding a tree in the city again.
Despite the bright colours, catchy songs, and funny characters, “The Lorax” does not just want to entertain children, but it makes a criticism to the capitalist system.
Let’s take for example one of the film’s songs: “Everybody needs a Thneed, a fine thing that all people need.” By singing the lyrics the citizens show their enthusiasm to buy the Thneed, an absurd and useless product. Clearly, the name this product receives is not casual. “Thneed” recalls the idea of basic needs; as if it were something that you need in order to live. Once-ler, the inventor of this product, creates a commodity which everybody wants to have by using an effective slogan. Highlighting the multiple absurd functions this product has (it can be used as a scarf, a hat, a rag and many other things), he seduces people to buy the “Thneed”. Companies in a capitalist system try to infer and cover all the needs people might have in order to make their lives easier, as a strategy to sell products. In this way, the film shows a typical strategy of marketing.
Another problem comes when we are surprised by the method in which the “thneed” is produced. This product is made of a raw material that comes from trees. Instead of using a harmless method to obtain it by using a clamp to collect the leaves from the crown of the tree, Once-ler decides to chop down all the trees. Once-ler’s mom influences his son to work with this easy but harmful method. “You have to do what is best for the company,” she says, representing the common sense of businessmen in the capitalist system and underestimating the importance of nature. We can even hear in one of the songs: “There's a principle in business…It says the people with the money make this ever-loving world go 'round.” The thing is that underestimation and misunderstanding of nature is produced by a system in which money is the most important value. Or at least this is what the movie wants to transmit.
Everything in Thneedville can be sold, even the air. O´Hair Air, the main company in the village, takes advantage of the inexistence of trees, and decides to produce bottles with air. The mayor of Thneedville and head of the O'Hare Air company (power and money go hand in hand), Mr O´Hair says “The more smog, the more people who buy.” This means that in order to sell more “bottled air”, this man pollutes the environment without any guilty feeling. In this sense ‘The Lorax’ shows the ambition produced by the capitalist system where the only thing that matters is becoming rich and powerful.
Luckily, Tod will change this city and its citizen’s perception of their reality by planting a seed, and of course, singing a catchy song! Depicting an extreme consumerist society, the aim of the film is to criticize the capitalist system in order to make the audience reflect upon the world where they live, trying to encourage them to change it. In words of Once-ler (actually, Dr. Seuss’ words): “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
From the beginning up to the end of the story, ‘The Lorax’ shows in a funny but critical way a capitalist society where money and power are more important than nature. Should we follow Dr. Seuss’s advice? At least, let’s give it a thought.
A big dazzling advertisement welcomes us to “Thneedville”, a surreal, plastic, artificial and superficial city, where the film ‘The Lorax’ is set. This movie released by Universal Picture in 2012 and directed by Chris Renaud is based on the book with the same name written by Dr. Seuss in 1971. The director and the producers readapted this children’s story into a modern 3D animated movie for kids.
The main character of the story is Tod, a ten year old boy who lives in Thneedville, a place without trees. Fighting against a superficial and consumerist society, Tod will restore fresh air by seeding a tree in the city again.
Despite the bright colours, catchy songs, and funny characters, “The Lorax” does not just want to entertain children, but it makes a criticism to the capitalist system.
Let’s take for example one of the film’s songs: “Everybody needs a Thneed, a fine thing that all people need.” By singing the lyrics the citizens show their enthusiasm to buy the Thneed, an absurd and useless product. Clearly, the name this product receives is not casual. “Thneed” recalls the idea of basic needs; as if it were something that you need in order to live. Once-ler, the inventor of this product, creates a commodity which everybody wants to have by using an effective slogan. Highlighting the multiple absurd functions this product has (it can be used as a scarf, a hat, a rag and many other things), he seduces people to buy the “Thneed”. Companies in a capitalist system try to infer and cover all the needs people might have in order to make their lives easier, as a strategy to sell products. In this way, the film shows a typical strategy of marketing.
Another problem comes when we are surprised by the method in which the “thneed” is produced. This product is made of a raw material that comes from trees. Instead of using a harmless method to obtain it by using a clamp to collect the leaves from the crown of the tree, Once-ler decides to chop down all the trees. Once-ler’s mom influences his son to work with this easy but harmful method. “You have to do what is best for the company,” she says, representing the common sense of businessmen in the capitalist system and underestimating the importance of nature. We can even hear in one of the songs: “There's a principle in business…It says the people with the money make this ever-loving world go 'round.” The thing is that underestimation and misunderstanding of nature is produced by a system in which money is the most important value. Or at least this is what the movie wants to transmit.
Everything in Thneedville can be sold, even the air. O´Hair Air, the main company in the village, takes advantage of the inexistence of trees, and decides to produce bottles with air. The mayor of Thneedville and head of the O'Hare Air company (power and money go hand in hand), Mr O´Hair says “The more smog, the more people who buy.” This means that in order to sell more “bottled air”, this man pollutes the environment without any guilty feeling. In this sense ‘The Lorax’ shows the ambition produced by the capitalist system where the only thing that matters is becoming rich and powerful.
Luckily, Tod will change this city and its citizen’s perception of their reality by planting a seed, and of course, singing a catchy song! Depicting an extreme consumerist society, the aim of the film is to criticize the capitalist system in order to make the audience reflect upon the world where they live, trying to encourage them to change it. In words of Once-ler (actually, Dr. Seuss’ words): “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
From the beginning up to the end of the story, ‘The Lorax’ shows in a funny but critical way a capitalist society where money and power are more important than nature. Should we follow Dr. Seuss’s advice? At least, let’s give it a thought.
Colourful minds
Students: María Paula Chao and Mariela Álvarez
Twenty four years ago a street artist created Piñón Fijo, a colourful clown who captivated children and parents. Who could think at that moment that he would become a Latin-American phenomenon? Fabián Alberto Gómez, the man under the mask, chose the name Piñón Fijo connecting his bike and his one-track mind. Like fixed–gear bicycles move easily forward, his career has moved from Cordoba streets to the whole of Latin America.
Music and respect seem to be the keys that this man, whose real face is not known, has found to delight children and stimulate them intellectually. During his shows, Piñón interacts with the young audience exchanging anecdotes with them. While many shows for children underestimate their intelligence, Piñón takes children seriously. Merging music, poetry and dance, he contributes with the development of his little fans fertile imagination.
Baring in mind that, for several years, our children´s minds were contaminated by certain TV shows which were conducted by blond and brainless girls like ‘Las trillizas de oro’ or ‘Panam’, Piñón came to our screen to give the young audience a new breath of fresh air. With an innovative and funny way to entertain, the clown, through his mime routines and juggling, catches the kids´ attention and teaches through play.
Furthermore, the clown employs recreation to amuse toddlers and adults. He has designed a musical instrument, called by himself `Saxo Cloacal´, that accompanies the singer in his shows. Not only with his sax and his guitar Piñón fascinates his young spectators, but also over the lyrics of his songs he transmits didactic messages. For example, the importance of cleaning the hands and teeth, taking care of the environment or learning the vowels.
The originality of Piñón´s acting and music too, helps infants to leave out the pacifiers and the baby bottles. Children could drop them through games, interacting with the clown and listening songs like `Basta de mamadera´ or `Nene, dejá el chupete´. Of course, this is something that parents really appreciate because sometimes it is not easy to convince a child to leave behind the dummy and the feeding bottle.
With a great sense of humour, Piñón Fijo embodies a funny and joker clown who spreads joyfulness in each play, show and presentation in public. He has won through his sympathy and his magic young and old people´s heart. Definitely, he contributes significantly to enrich our children´s mind.
Twenty four years ago a street artist created Piñón Fijo, a colourful clown who captivated children and parents. Who could think at that moment that he would become a Latin-American phenomenon? Fabián Alberto Gómez, the man under the mask, chose the name Piñón Fijo connecting his bike and his one-track mind. Like fixed–gear bicycles move easily forward, his career has moved from Cordoba streets to the whole of Latin America.
Music and respect seem to be the keys that this man, whose real face is not known, has found to delight children and stimulate them intellectually. During his shows, Piñón interacts with the young audience exchanging anecdotes with them. While many shows for children underestimate their intelligence, Piñón takes children seriously. Merging music, poetry and dance, he contributes with the development of his little fans fertile imagination.
Baring in mind that, for several years, our children´s minds were contaminated by certain TV shows which were conducted by blond and brainless girls like ‘Las trillizas de oro’ or ‘Panam’, Piñón came to our screen to give the young audience a new breath of fresh air. With an innovative and funny way to entertain, the clown, through his mime routines and juggling, catches the kids´ attention and teaches through play.
Furthermore, the clown employs recreation to amuse toddlers and adults. He has designed a musical instrument, called by himself `Saxo Cloacal´, that accompanies the singer in his shows. Not only with his sax and his guitar Piñón fascinates his young spectators, but also over the lyrics of his songs he transmits didactic messages. For example, the importance of cleaning the hands and teeth, taking care of the environment or learning the vowels.
The originality of Piñón´s acting and music too, helps infants to leave out the pacifiers and the baby bottles. Children could drop them through games, interacting with the clown and listening songs like `Basta de mamadera´ or `Nene, dejá el chupete´. Of course, this is something that parents really appreciate because sometimes it is not easy to convince a child to leave behind the dummy and the feeding bottle.
With a great sense of humour, Piñón Fijo embodies a funny and joker clown who spreads joyfulness in each play, show and presentation in public. He has won through his sympathy and his magic young and old people´s heart. Definitely, he contributes significantly to enrich our children´s mind.
Woody, let it go!
Students: Castillo, Gabriel. Vega, Jessica.
Remember this dialogue from Toy Story 3: “And this is Buzz Lightyear, the coolest toy ever. Look, he can fly, and shoot lasers. He’s sworn to protect the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg. To infinity and beyond! Now you gotta promise to take good care of these guys. They mean a lot to me” says Andy, one of the main characters in the film and Buzz and Woody’s owner. “My cowboy!” cries Bonnie, a 4-year-old girl and future owner of Andy’s toys. “Woody? What’s he doing here?” Andy asks confused. Most of us remember this sorrowful scene from the film Toy Story 3 and probably all of us have had the same heartbreaking feeling, and why not some tears in between, when seeing that Andy is giving his beloved toys to Bonnie.
Toy story is a Pixar three-film series not only known by children but also by adults. The films make all of us feel identified with the emotions, situations and themes presented in them; and that is why these films are thoroughly appealing. The most sympathetic theme is abandonment, since it is an inevitable aspect to face up and go through in our lives. Despite its painful connotation, the films deal with it in a strong and evoking way that lets us affirm that Toy Story prepares children for abandonment in life.
Toy Story 1 portrays a clear example of abandonment in friendship. This film shows that Woody is Andy’s favorite toy and that their friendship goes beyond a simple owner-toy relationship. The breaking point in their friendship comes along when Buzz Lightyear, the astronaut toy, is introduced and changes Andy’s world. Andy becomes keen on Buzz and shows a fanaticism which goes from posters on the wall to spatial-homemade costumes, leaving aside Woody. Children will see how best friends may not have a lifelong friendship since people move on in their lives and meet other people in their way.
Take a look at Emily's story in Toy Story 2. Abandonment starts when the other person changes, in this case, Emily, who is Jessie’s owner, grows up and those changes affect people around her. Emily goes from having cowboy’s hats, Jessie’s launchboxes, horse-cover notebooks and an acoustic guitar to colorful manicure, girlish make-up, music records and pop-band posters. Emily leaves behind all her child-stuff to move on to a teenage-wave. Jessie, the cowgirl doll, suffers her owner’s growth since she belongs to her past child-world now. With just two deep verses from the song “When She Loved Me” sung by Sarah Mclachlan, Jessie shows her hollowness of heart: “So the years went by, I stayed the same. And she began to drift away, I was left alone”
A profound focus on abandonment can be noticed in the characters’ dialogues. In most of crucial scenes, they utter totally significant and comprehensible phrases regarding abandonment as a frequent situation to confront in our lives. The most clear example of this is found in the second film of the series when Stinky Pete, the prospector, assures Woody, the cowboy toy and main character of the films, “How long will it last, Woody? Do you really think Andy is going to take you to college, or on his honeymoon? Andy’s growing up, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s your choice, Woody. You can go back, or you can stay with us and last forever. You’ll be adored by children for generations.”
When it comes to Toy Story 3, the audience finds itself divided regarding emotions. This is because the younger audience does not feel identified with the abandonment feeling introduced in the film in the same way than the older one does. In particular, Woody will evoke the parents’ figure since he perceives Andy’s abandonment just like parents feel when their children leave home. Andy’s departure to college in the third film marks the saddest instance of abandonment in the film series and allows children to be aware of their parents’ feelings when they will be the ones who abandon their own homes.
After seeing the three films, children may conciously or unconciously internalize the concept of abandonment as a natural aspect in life and the only possible way to go through it may beby facing it up just like Woody did. He knew that there was only one left thing to do: endure abandonment.
Remember this dialogue from Toy Story 3: “And this is Buzz Lightyear, the coolest toy ever. Look, he can fly, and shoot lasers. He’s sworn to protect the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg. To infinity and beyond! Now you gotta promise to take good care of these guys. They mean a lot to me” says Andy, one of the main characters in the film and Buzz and Woody’s owner. “My cowboy!” cries Bonnie, a 4-year-old girl and future owner of Andy’s toys. “Woody? What’s he doing here?” Andy asks confused. Most of us remember this sorrowful scene from the film Toy Story 3 and probably all of us have had the same heartbreaking feeling, and why not some tears in between, when seeing that Andy is giving his beloved toys to Bonnie.
Toy story is a Pixar three-film series not only known by children but also by adults. The films make all of us feel identified with the emotions, situations and themes presented in them; and that is why these films are thoroughly appealing. The most sympathetic theme is abandonment, since it is an inevitable aspect to face up and go through in our lives. Despite its painful connotation, the films deal with it in a strong and evoking way that lets us affirm that Toy Story prepares children for abandonment in life.
Toy Story 1 portrays a clear example of abandonment in friendship. This film shows that Woody is Andy’s favorite toy and that their friendship goes beyond a simple owner-toy relationship. The breaking point in their friendship comes along when Buzz Lightyear, the astronaut toy, is introduced and changes Andy’s world. Andy becomes keen on Buzz and shows a fanaticism which goes from posters on the wall to spatial-homemade costumes, leaving aside Woody. Children will see how best friends may not have a lifelong friendship since people move on in their lives and meet other people in their way.
Take a look at Emily's story in Toy Story 2. Abandonment starts when the other person changes, in this case, Emily, who is Jessie’s owner, grows up and those changes affect people around her. Emily goes from having cowboy’s hats, Jessie’s launchboxes, horse-cover notebooks and an acoustic guitar to colorful manicure, girlish make-up, music records and pop-band posters. Emily leaves behind all her child-stuff to move on to a teenage-wave. Jessie, the cowgirl doll, suffers her owner’s growth since she belongs to her past child-world now. With just two deep verses from the song “When She Loved Me” sung by Sarah Mclachlan, Jessie shows her hollowness of heart: “So the years went by, I stayed the same. And she began to drift away, I was left alone”
A profound focus on abandonment can be noticed in the characters’ dialogues. In most of crucial scenes, they utter totally significant and comprehensible phrases regarding abandonment as a frequent situation to confront in our lives. The most clear example of this is found in the second film of the series when Stinky Pete, the prospector, assures Woody, the cowboy toy and main character of the films, “How long will it last, Woody? Do you really think Andy is going to take you to college, or on his honeymoon? Andy’s growing up, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s your choice, Woody. You can go back, or you can stay with us and last forever. You’ll be adored by children for generations.”
When it comes to Toy Story 3, the audience finds itself divided regarding emotions. This is because the younger audience does not feel identified with the abandonment feeling introduced in the film in the same way than the older one does. In particular, Woody will evoke the parents’ figure since he perceives Andy’s abandonment just like parents feel when their children leave home. Andy’s departure to college in the third film marks the saddest instance of abandonment in the film series and allows children to be aware of their parents’ feelings when they will be the ones who abandon their own homes.
After seeing the three films, children may conciously or unconciously internalize the concept of abandonment as a natural aspect in life and the only possible way to go through it may beby facing it up just like Woody did. He knew that there was only one left thing to do: endure abandonment.
Pink and empty
Students: Roxana B. and Melina A.
Who is the only girl in the world who has dolphins in her Miami mansion? We can find her every day on the TV moulding children’s appreciation of reality through fashion and glamour. A girl whose only worry is shopping and looking pretty is present in almost every field of children’s life, which is more; nearly every girl has a Barbie product.
Nowadays, television is a socialising element which constructs reality and transmits values and stereotypes. In many cases, the stupid box replaces parent’s image and kids adopt TV shows attitudes instead of their parents’. In a completely flooded pink screen, Barbie transmits female, social class and body stereotypes.
Stereotypes are difficult to obliterate when we acquired them during childhood. Imagine what a little girl internalizes as regards physical appearance when watching Barbie life in the Dreamhouse. Barbie is a skinny girl who represents the ideal body which should be desirable to achieve. In her TV show, women are represented with an image that is unachievable without this entailing health, psychological or self-esteem problems. Notice that not only the main character but all of them have a body that does not resemble reality: excessively slim bodies. Barbie depicts a white, blue-eyed girl with blonde straight hair that is successful just because of looking this way.
Superficiality is always present in Barbie’s TV show. In her world, the ideal woman is focused on fashion and appearance. With her obsession about beauty, Barbie represents a horrible stereotype of the traditional female role. She is excessively feminine and her only interests are related to fashion, shopping, and an obsession for beauty. That is why little girls may internalize this concept and grow up believing that this is the way a perfect woman should act.
This stereotype not only represents a problem on girl’s minds but also on the eyes of the boys towards women. The appreciation young men would have about girls is that of a stupid, empty and shallow woman to be but, still they would like them. This imposition might generate a rejection of a completely different kind of woman who does not care about appearance as much as Barbie does.
Barbie lives in a luxurious mansion in Miami, where she organizes parties with her friends who are as rich and pompous as her. You will never see Barbie or her partners working, but you’ll always notice that they are buying clothes in the shopping malls. In her dressing room, which is the same size as any other mortal’s house, Barbie has an uncountable number of dresses and shoes. And guess what colour they are... Yes, you’re right. They are pink! In her TV show this colour represents another stereotype of womanhood and sensitivity.
This non-working high class is the only present in Barbie in the Dreamhouse TV show. It seems that there’s no other social class in her world, or at least she is not aware of that.
In this globalized world in which parents spend more time working than being with their kids, television may act as a babysitter and create stereotypes that will affect our children’s perception of perfection. Definitely, the imposition of a stereotype is something that harms society not only by fixing wrong models of beauty in the unconscious of our future adults, but also generating a lack of awareness of different social classes. Moreover, all these events are surrounded by a frivolous environment which fosters a reality that is quite distant from the majority of children’s life. Most of the times it is better turning off the TV and opening a book.
Who is the only girl in the world who has dolphins in her Miami mansion? We can find her every day on the TV moulding children’s appreciation of reality through fashion and glamour. A girl whose only worry is shopping and looking pretty is present in almost every field of children’s life, which is more; nearly every girl has a Barbie product.
Nowadays, television is a socialising element which constructs reality and transmits values and stereotypes. In many cases, the stupid box replaces parent’s image and kids adopt TV shows attitudes instead of their parents’. In a completely flooded pink screen, Barbie transmits female, social class and body stereotypes.
Stereotypes are difficult to obliterate when we acquired them during childhood. Imagine what a little girl internalizes as regards physical appearance when watching Barbie life in the Dreamhouse. Barbie is a skinny girl who represents the ideal body which should be desirable to achieve. In her TV show, women are represented with an image that is unachievable without this entailing health, psychological or self-esteem problems. Notice that not only the main character but all of them have a body that does not resemble reality: excessively slim bodies. Barbie depicts a white, blue-eyed girl with blonde straight hair that is successful just because of looking this way.
Superficiality is always present in Barbie’s TV show. In her world, the ideal woman is focused on fashion and appearance. With her obsession about beauty, Barbie represents a horrible stereotype of the traditional female role. She is excessively feminine and her only interests are related to fashion, shopping, and an obsession for beauty. That is why little girls may internalize this concept and grow up believing that this is the way a perfect woman should act.
This stereotype not only represents a problem on girl’s minds but also on the eyes of the boys towards women. The appreciation young men would have about girls is that of a stupid, empty and shallow woman to be but, still they would like them. This imposition might generate a rejection of a completely different kind of woman who does not care about appearance as much as Barbie does.
Barbie lives in a luxurious mansion in Miami, where she organizes parties with her friends who are as rich and pompous as her. You will never see Barbie or her partners working, but you’ll always notice that they are buying clothes in the shopping malls. In her dressing room, which is the same size as any other mortal’s house, Barbie has an uncountable number of dresses and shoes. And guess what colour they are... Yes, you’re right. They are pink! In her TV show this colour represents another stereotype of womanhood and sensitivity.
This non-working high class is the only present in Barbie in the Dreamhouse TV show. It seems that there’s no other social class in her world, or at least she is not aware of that.
In this globalized world in which parents spend more time working than being with their kids, television may act as a babysitter and create stereotypes that will affect our children’s perception of perfection. Definitely, the imposition of a stereotype is something that harms society not only by fixing wrong models of beauty in the unconscious of our future adults, but also generating a lack of awareness of different social classes. Moreover, all these events are surrounded by a frivolous environment which fosters a reality that is quite distant from the majority of children’s life. Most of the times it is better turning off the TV and opening a book.
The functional crew
Students: Evelyn M. and Daniela U.
“Nothing in the world is particularly impossible if it is divided into tasks”, said by Henry Ford, this famous phrase summarizes the essence of the well-known manufacturing system called Fordism. Developed by this significant businessman during the 1940s and 1960s, Fordism was based on industrialized and standardized form of mass production. It was designed to make productivity more efficient. Certainly, hierarchical control, mechanization, specialization and fragmentation of work seemed to be the most relevant characteristics of this economical model. But... Do you have a minute? Have you ever thought that this popular economical method could be applied not only in factory workers, but also in animated trains in a TV show for children?
Division of labour is one of the particularities of Fordism that can be mainly appreciated in “Thomas and friends”. This is an animated children television series that deals with a group of trains and humans working on the railways of the island of Sodor. The tv show first appeared on the IVT network in October 1984. The series displays the tank engines´ adventures. All of them are managed and every member of the group is in charge of one specialized task. Without doubts,” Thomas and friends” reproduces the Fordist philosophy to its young audience.
“Wake up lazy bones! Do some hard work for a change!” This is the sweet way in which Thomas, the train engine leads on his partners when it is time to take on journeys and start work. He exposes leadership over the crew and, as one of the innocent songs affirms, he is the number one. Many times the sweet train is the one who organizes the teamwork. One clear example of this can be seen in one chapter called “Thomas, the manager”. Here, Thomas convinces his mates to push wagons of coal because the railway inspector is supervising their assignments. The devoted tank thinks that if the inspector sees locomotives working hard, then the crew will be consider as useful and efficient. Through this clear sample of Thomas´ attitude, one can notice that hierarchical roles are present behind the useful crew´s performance as it was in the industrial method, Fordism. Top managers, division managers, headquarters, short run coordinators, and longer run coordination were some of the roles executed in the factories in order to operate in the organizational structure of labour. In this case, Thomas would clearly represent a manager.
Take, for example, the figure of Sr Topham Hatt, the fat controller. The locomotives work under his strict and firm control. While we move our heads and sing along we will realize that “Sr Topham keeps an eye on every engine passing by” and that “every tank has to be useful and take care of his supervision”.This is another clue that allows us to recognize the controlling system in the TV programme that was implemented in the Fordist technical revolution. Strict control and discipline were the elements that led to an increment in the productivity. Unfortunately, the song is extremely fun and captivating to let us stop and reflect upon its real meaning.
What is more, catchy and entertaining, the following extract of a Thomas´s song make us enjoy it letting its chorus going round and round in our minds along the day. “All with different roles to play, round Tidmouth sheds or far away, Percy pulls the mail on time, Gordon thunders down the line. Emily really knows her stuff, Henry toots and huffs and puffs. Edward wants to help and share” In this way, the different characters’ roles are stated and so everyone is able to know the precise task that each employed locomotive is in charge of. For sure, this extract of the popular TV show soundtrack resembles functional division of labour and decomposition of tasks that took place in Fordism in order to transform the condition of production.
So, why is it that young children are exposed to this economical system and its characteristics in a TV show that is supposed to entertain? Not all the TV programmes should be consumed as innocent or harmless amusement for our kids. “Thomas and friends” is a reflection of a way of production. Really attractive and by using beautiful colours and charming trains , it goes straight to our children´s minds. This show, full of different characters, inculcates not only how to work always on the same task, but also to be cautious about whom our superiors are. The whole series is a clear example of this, and behind the trains, engineers of their own world, there are many steady and severe ideas that not all parents would want their children to learn, yet.
“Nothing in the world is particularly impossible if it is divided into tasks”, said by Henry Ford, this famous phrase summarizes the essence of the well-known manufacturing system called Fordism. Developed by this significant businessman during the 1940s and 1960s, Fordism was based on industrialized and standardized form of mass production. It was designed to make productivity more efficient. Certainly, hierarchical control, mechanization, specialization and fragmentation of work seemed to be the most relevant characteristics of this economical model. But... Do you have a minute? Have you ever thought that this popular economical method could be applied not only in factory workers, but also in animated trains in a TV show for children?
Division of labour is one of the particularities of Fordism that can be mainly appreciated in “Thomas and friends”. This is an animated children television series that deals with a group of trains and humans working on the railways of the island of Sodor. The tv show first appeared on the IVT network in October 1984. The series displays the tank engines´ adventures. All of them are managed and every member of the group is in charge of one specialized task. Without doubts,” Thomas and friends” reproduces the Fordist philosophy to its young audience.
“Wake up lazy bones! Do some hard work for a change!” This is the sweet way in which Thomas, the train engine leads on his partners when it is time to take on journeys and start work. He exposes leadership over the crew and, as one of the innocent songs affirms, he is the number one. Many times the sweet train is the one who organizes the teamwork. One clear example of this can be seen in one chapter called “Thomas, the manager”. Here, Thomas convinces his mates to push wagons of coal because the railway inspector is supervising their assignments. The devoted tank thinks that if the inspector sees locomotives working hard, then the crew will be consider as useful and efficient. Through this clear sample of Thomas´ attitude, one can notice that hierarchical roles are present behind the useful crew´s performance as it was in the industrial method, Fordism. Top managers, division managers, headquarters, short run coordinators, and longer run coordination were some of the roles executed in the factories in order to operate in the organizational structure of labour. In this case, Thomas would clearly represent a manager.
Take, for example, the figure of Sr Topham Hatt, the fat controller. The locomotives work under his strict and firm control. While we move our heads and sing along we will realize that “Sr Topham keeps an eye on every engine passing by” and that “every tank has to be useful and take care of his supervision”.This is another clue that allows us to recognize the controlling system in the TV programme that was implemented in the Fordist technical revolution. Strict control and discipline were the elements that led to an increment in the productivity. Unfortunately, the song is extremely fun and captivating to let us stop and reflect upon its real meaning.
What is more, catchy and entertaining, the following extract of a Thomas´s song make us enjoy it letting its chorus going round and round in our minds along the day. “All with different roles to play, round Tidmouth sheds or far away, Percy pulls the mail on time, Gordon thunders down the line. Emily really knows her stuff, Henry toots and huffs and puffs. Edward wants to help and share” In this way, the different characters’ roles are stated and so everyone is able to know the precise task that each employed locomotive is in charge of. For sure, this extract of the popular TV show soundtrack resembles functional division of labour and decomposition of tasks that took place in Fordism in order to transform the condition of production.
So, why is it that young children are exposed to this economical system and its characteristics in a TV show that is supposed to entertain? Not all the TV programmes should be consumed as innocent or harmless amusement for our kids. “Thomas and friends” is a reflection of a way of production. Really attractive and by using beautiful colours and charming trains , it goes straight to our children´s minds. This show, full of different characters, inculcates not only how to work always on the same task, but also to be cautious about whom our superiors are. The whole series is a clear example of this, and behind the trains, engineers of their own world, there are many steady and severe ideas that not all parents would want their children to learn, yet.
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