According to Thompson (2009) the two forms of children’s culture that influence the theory and practice of art education is the peer culture and the artifacts and practices created by adults for children. The one I am most interested in is the form of childhood culture created by adults for kids. These include TV shows, movies, toys, books, and any other form of media that makes the child into a consumer. The example of this used in the article is the success of Pokemon. What makes this part of children’s material culture so unique is how Pokemon crossed boundaries of age, gender, culture, and geography. Children in Japan enjoyed this craze just as much as American children creating a common culture across nations. Thompson (2009) cites Buckingham and Sefton-Green in stating that Pokemon also helped children develop social and communicative skills in negotiation, self-confidence, and even tolerance of others. That’s a lot being accomplished by a single franchise!
I am not sure what to think of this. On one hand, I have discussed these same things in an earlier post for this course and I am impressed by what a positive effect pokemon/anime have had on children worldwide; on the other hand I have observed something different in my own students regarding this media: it hinders willingness to create something new. Every student I have had that saw himself or herself as proficient at drawing based off of their incessant copying and plagiarizing of Japanese and Disney characters have been very difficult to teach new things to. They only want to do things in this one style and will not be swayed. If we are drawing portraits from observation you would think they lived in an anime! They will draw themselves or their peers as cartoons completely ignoring all my instruction. It can be maddening.
Connected but not completely related, I would also like to talk about kids and video games. The students I have had that engage in constant game play are also hard to teach. The younger they got into video games the worse it is because they cannot separate the events that take place in an rpg to events in the real world. They are like teaching little robot soldiers. They make all the same things off of the same themes and have a very difficult time thinking outside the box. Students of the same age who do not own these technologies are the opposite; they are innovative, have an open mind, and create something out of anything.
What have you guys observed in your classrooms regarding this?
I am not sure what to think of this. On one hand, I have discussed these same things in an earlier post for this course and I am impressed by what a positive effect pokemon/anime have had on children worldwide; on the other hand I have observed something different in my own students regarding this media: it hinders willingness to create something new. Every student I have had that saw himself or herself as proficient at drawing based off of their incessant copying and plagiarizing of Japanese and Disney characters have been very difficult to teach new things to. They only want to do things in this one style and will not be swayed. If we are drawing portraits from observation you would think they lived in an anime! They will draw themselves or their peers as cartoons completely ignoring all my instruction. It can be maddening.
Connected but not completely related, I would also like to talk about kids and video games. The students I have had that engage in constant game play are also hard to teach. The younger they got into video games the worse it is because they cannot separate the events that take place in an rpg to events in the real world. They are like teaching little robot soldiers. They make all the same things off of the same themes and have a very difficult time thinking outside the box. Students of the same age who do not own these technologies are the opposite; they are innovative, have an open mind, and create something out of anything.
What have you guys observed in your classrooms regarding this?