Petra Best
The Teletubbies in parent counselling
The Teletubbies seem less
suited to answering why-questions
How do the Teletubbies go down with
younger children at pre-school age, with the three- and four-year-olds?
The FLIMMO1 wanted to obtain leads on this by questioning
children in several children's groups in July `99. Through participative
observation during the reception of a Teletubbies instalment
and in subsequent conversations and play activities we obtained
the views and assessments of the 3- and 4-year-olds. "I thought
that bit with the vacuum cleaner was so funny. How it kind of blew
out the ball again."
While the Teletubbies were playing
a ball-game the vacuum cleaner, Nono, joined in in his own way,
and this is what 3-year-old Jan, like all the other children as
well, enjoyed so much. The short film insert, in which the kindergarten
children put on a competition in blowing cotton wool, was also well
received. The repetition of the film, however, did not arouse much
interest. "I know that now," Paul (4) echoed the views of most of
the children. The sun with the baby-face, at first gleefully welcomed,
also lost some of its popularity after it appeared on the screen
for the third time. "Not the sun again," sighed Jana (4). The "Bye
bye" at the end did not appeal to Fabian (3). That is something
for "babies", he explained. He would have found a simple "cheerio"
better.
The younger pre-school children pay attention
in Teletubbieland to what is familiar to them from their
children's world, what is funny or exciting. They especially like
mini-stories which, like the episode about Nono, have a recognisable
beginning, climax and a consistent ending. On the other hand, elements
which are obviously thought up for young children do not meet with
much approval. That is not surprising. Children at pre-school age
have outgrown the phase of pure "watching". They have why-questions
and are looking for explanations. And they want to be faced with
a challenge, in the form of little stories with which they can go
along and think about. But the Teletubbies have not a lot
of that kind of thing to offer. Here the world is made very simple
and provided with elements which, although they catch attention,
do not get to the bottom of things. A lot simply happens or comes
and disappears as if by magic. So in conclusion it has to be presumed
that pre-school children can certainly enjoy the Teletubbies,
but that, the older they get, their curiosity and their desire to
discover is no longer satisfied.
NOTE:
1FLIMMO
- watching television through children's eyes: the FLIMMO offers
parents and educators guidance on television education. For this
purpose the FLIMMO looks at television from the point of view
of children aged from 3 to 13 years. The basis is provided by
research findings and regular interviews. The society "Programmberatung
für Eltern e.V" (Programme Counselling for Parents) is responsible
for the project. The JFF (Institut Jugend Film Fernsehen) has
been commissioned to conceive and execute the project. The FLIMMO
comes out every four months as a brochure and is uPh.D.ated every
14 days on the internet under http://www.flimmo.de
AUTHOR
Petra Best, MA, is a member of the academic
staff of the Institut Jugend Film Fernsehen (JFF) in Munich.
INFORMATION
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