TV Villans: Moral Panics
As a long serving teacher I often advocate the use of both film and television in teaching and learning. Unfortunately when using TV in particular I often have to justify why I use this particular medium “Isn’t a book good enough” TV’s bad for children – they’ll get square eyes. They should be outside being active not inside watching TV!” Sound familiar?
TV Villans: Media Panics is a highly relevant and amusing book chapter from the book Why TV is Good for Kids – Raising 21 century children by Catharine Lumby and Duncan Fine. The chapter deals with several current aspects of television. The aspect of moral (media) panics are managed in an exceptionally well form from the first pages.
“…rational concerns is one thing, blind fear and unthinking prejudiced is another” (Lumby and Fine, 2006, P56)
The chapter focuses on two moral panics around children and TV. The first moral panic asserts that television makes children intellectually passive and the second is that TV makes children physically lazy and thus obese. This blog will discuss these aspects as viewed by Lumby and Fine and include relevant evidence to support the discussion. As a concluding point I will broach the fact of TV not only being the victim of moral panic but also the instigator of many moral panics.
The book chapter deals with several aspects of TV and its many detractors. It seems that despite TV being the most long standing and highly censored modern medium it still has a volume of detractors. The common view is that in modern media, the internet is vital for children but TV is still seen as senseless entertainment and a corruption to children’s physical and mental well-being.
One of the most interesting aspects of the chapter was the discussion around the Teletubbies. As a parent of a 1997 born child, I distinctly remember the controversy of the Teletubbies being encoded with symbolism that promoted drug inspired behaviour (Lumby & Fine, 2006.) One of my other clearest memories of the time was the Tinky Winky Gay Debate in 1999.
In 2011, TV programming continues to be a target for various campaigners attempting to use children’s television to forward their own agenda. Recently Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie has been the focus, with the Lair Scott petition to marry Ernie and Bert, in order to forward the Gay marriage agenda. News.com.au also reported on the fact that a transgender character has been requested to be added in the online petition and Facebook page.
The above campaigns, which may be viewed as morally reprehensible, actively dispute the first moral panic of the chapter that TV makes children intellectually passive. If these activists are trying to influence children through messages on television it stands to reason that children are not regarded as passive viewers. If intellectual messages such as the gay marriage debate are presented on children’s television then obviously TV is seen as a medium that promotes high level thoughts in children - a message that has been recognised by advertisers for many years. These ideals in turn point to the facts that modern society continually turn to TV to deliver appropriate social messages to our children.
And yet the TV bashers are quite sure that TV is injuring our children and “ it’s a device used by Bad Parents to avoid their responsibility to their children”. (Lumby & Fine, 2006, P68)
David Buckingham’s studies have shown that rather being passive viewers, even very young viewers of TV actively engage with TV programs and use them to create their own stories and develop modern literacy skills. His book - Children Talking Television – The making of Television Literacy (Buckingham, D., 1993) discusses how children actively make meaning and take pleasure from television particularly in the context of small group talk. (Buckingham, 1993).Children are even seen to recognise the relationships between special effects and product codes, which are several of the important Digital Media Literacies.
Jackie Marsh in the Digital Beginnings Report actively discounted the myth that children are passive, sitting TV viewers. In her interviews only 5% of children sat quietly and concentrated on TV all of the time. Activities ranged from Singing (77%), Dancing (73%) to Conversation (48%). Ask any parent who is trying to watch a TV program with any 3 year old just how quietly they really sit!
The second aspect of TV in this book chapter is focussed on TV, laziness and obesity in children. This myth is thoroughly discounted as being part of a “media-driven obesity panic (Lumby & Fine, 2006, P76.)
Which then brings us to the point of television and television media in particular being the instigators of moral panics around children and teenagers. Stanley Cohen described this happening in the UK after the series of mild clashes between the Mods and the Rockers. In Australia in 2008 the “Corey Delaney” party was one media event that outraged the upstanding citizens of Australia as the event where “harm included the throwing of glass and bricks, the breaking of letterboxes, the shouting of obscenities, as well as drunkenness and damage to police cars.”
The original story was valid. The ensuing media panic about drunken teenagers and bad parenting was a great example of television creating a moral outrage over an isolated event. With free to air television such as A Current Affair, Current Affair Follow Up, and Big Brother involved, a teenagers party rapidly escalated into the well-known event it is today. The further involvement of You Tube to spread the television interviews created the moral outrage. And so television is not the “root of all evil”, as demonstrated in the book chapter and this discussion. Television is beneficial to children when used as part of a balanced life. But not all on TV and especially the TV news needs to be taken at face value. I like to be conscious of the joys of TV and the pleasure and education I have gained from watching and interacting with it. As adults, parents and educators we all need to be remember this at times.
“reaching adulthood means you acquire selective memory and you start to view the past through a set of very rosy-coloured lens (Brooks, 2008 P 4)
REFERENCES
69anatole69 . (2007, October). Teletubbies. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ichQOqbewA
ABC News. (2008 , January 15). Police not amused after huge rowdy party. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from ABC News: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-01-14/police-not-amused-after-huge-rowdy-teen-party/1012474
BBC. (1999, February 19). BBC News: Tinky Winky Bad for Children. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from BBC : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/276677.stm
Break.com. (2008, January 17). Australian Party Boy Corey back on TV. Retrieved Spetember 22, 2011, from Break.Com: http://www.break.com/usercontent/2008/1/Australian-Party-Boy-Corey-back-on-TV-434820
Brooks, K. (2010). Consuming Innocence: Popular Culture and our Children. Brisbane: University of Queensland.
Buckingham, D. (1993). Children Talking Television; The Making of Televsion Literacy. London: Falmer press.
Facebook. (2011). Bert and Ernie Get Married. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BertAndErnieMarriage
Institute of Education: University of London. (2011). Professor David Buckingham. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from Institute of Education: University of London: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/study/LKLB_7.html
Lumby, C. F. (2006). TV Villians: Media Panic. In C. F. Lumby, Why TV is good for kids: Raising 21st century children (pp. 55-96). Sydney: MacMillian.
Marsh, J. (2005). Digital Beginnings Report. Sheffield: Literacy research Centre: University of Sheffield.
News Limited. (2011, August 11). Bert and Ernie told to get married. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from News.com.au: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/sesame-streets-bert-and-ernie-told-to-get-married/story-e6frfmyi-1226112791054
Nine Australia ACA. (2008, January 15). Nine Australia - ACA - Corey Delaney Party Kid Round 1 . Retrieved September 20, 2011, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-2pVsKRNX8
reid1111111111111111. (2006, January 20). Bert and Ernie: Cookies in Bed. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpozspIMH9E
Scott, L. (2011, May). Let Bert and Ernie get married on Seseme Street. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from Change.org: http://www.change.org/petitions/let-bert-ernie-get-married-on-sesame-street
Socceroo49. (2008, May 5). Corey Delaney . Retrieved September 23, 2011, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwLDSF6Yq54
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