Post # 12. Influencing Cartoons
Since the television was created there were cartoons. The average American watches around four hours of t.v. everyday, and around nine years of their lifetime in front of the t.v. (The SourceBook for Teaching Science). When growing up there are children’s cartoons to keep them entertained. Not only do these cartoons keep children entertained they also influence their way of thought and actions. These two cartoons teach children different things, one about washing your hands and the other about the dentist.
Obviously cartoons play a major role in children growing up today, as mentioned above an average American watches around four hours of t.v. a day. Cartoons can influence children either in a positive or a negative way, but which type is it? I believe that it is a gray area, as shown by the two short cartoon clips above.
The second cartoon shows animals using the potty and going to a water fall to wash their hands. But the cat does not participate. All of the other animals look in disgust and the cat gives in and washes his hands. This shows young children that washing your hands after using the bathroom is good. The first cartoon is an example of teaching young children to be afraid of the dentist. This is bad because if you teach children at a young age that the dentist is scary and will hurt you, they will carry that with them their whole life. They will cringe at the thought of the dentist.
A study shows that violence in cartoons will increase violent behavior. That one hour of violent television will increase their aggression by 3x in a child(suite101.com). So if violent t.v. can increase aggression then so can cartoons about washing hands and scary dentists. Cartoons do influence children shown by many studies, because of this I think that children’s cartoons should be highly monitored not only by the broadcaster but by parents too. Cartoons can influence children in a good way, like to wash your hands, but also make them learn to be scared of something that they necessarily wouldn’t have been if not learning it from television.
I commented on Michael Griffith’s Post and Brittany Alberrry’s Post
Cartoons have been used as a source to influence kids for years. They become very persuasive because they are the medium that the majority of children view. This influence seemed even more gripping back in the mid-1900′s. Many advertisers used beloved cartoons to sell their products. These ads were often made into small cartoons themselves in order to pull kids in and have them focus.
By: mgriffi5 on April 19, 2010
at 10:07 am
[...] commented on Megan’s Blog and Brittany’s Blog. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)What is [...]
By: Post #12. Street Stop Motion MUTO « Mike G. Blog on April 19, 2010
at 10:18 am
I agree with your post and I like the two cartoons you chose to make your point. They are really effective and catchy. The first one was a bit horrifying and does send a false message about visits to the dentist. And, as for the second which tells everyone to go with the flow and wash your hands can also be good and bad. While it encourages the sanitary act of hand washing it also encourages one to follow the crowd which isn’t always a good thing.
By: ericarose311 on April 19, 2010
at 11:10 pm