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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2017 Memories of Children's Cartoons: A Look into the Relationship between Nostalgia and Parasocial Relationships in Movie Adaptations Joshua Aaron Baldwin Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION MEMORIES OF CHILDREN’S CARTOONS: A LOOK INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NOSTALGIA AND PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN MOVIE ADAPTATIONS By JOSHUA AARON BALDWIN A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science 2017 Joshua Aaron Baldwin defended this thesis on April 14, 2017. The members of the supervisory committee were: Arthur Raney Professor Directing Thesis Russell Clayton Committee Member Laura Arpan Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii This thesis is dedicated to my wife, Caitlyn Baldwin, who has been the most patient and vigilant through my academic journey. You are delightful, wonderful, and intelligent, and I thank you for continuing to inspire new ideas for my curiosity and research. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to my committee chair, Dr. Arthur Raney, for all of his help and advice that he has gifted me over the course of grad school and for this thesis. I was first inspired to go into Communication research when I took his Introduction to Mass Media course as an undergraduate, and I thought to myself, “I wanted his job.” Thank you for your wisdom and example, and I couldn’t have gone this far without you. I also want to express my appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Russell Clayton and Dr. Arpan, who have taught me valuable lessons in Communication theory and research within media effects. Both have introduced me to important concepts in the field that I keep a hold of everyday and elicit my curiosity. Lastly, I want to thank my family for all of their support throughout my academic journey. My father serve as a mentored as to how to become a productive graduate student, and my mother continues to sacrifice her time and talents for the best for me. Most of all, I give my full gratitude and honor to my wife, Caitlyn, for all that she have done to support my physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... viii 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Justification for Study ................................................................................................ 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Remakes, Rereleases, Adaptations, and Sequels ......................................................... 4 2.2 Movie Adaptations..................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Parasocial Interactions/Relationships ......................................................................... 6 2.4 Nostalgia ................................................................................................................. 10 2.5 Interactions Between Parasocial Relationships and Nostalgia ................................... 14 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 17 3.1 Study Design ........................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Stimuli ..................................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Participants .............................................................................................................. 19 3.4 Procedures and Measurements ................................................................................. 20 4. RESULTS ............................................................................................................................. 23 4.1 Parasocial Relationships .......................................................................................... 23 4.2 Nostalgia-Proneness................................................................................................. 30 4.3 Interactions Between Parasocial Relationships and Nostalgia ................................... 35 5. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................... 38 5.1 Overview of Findings .............................................................................................. 38 5.2 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 45 5.3 Suggestions for Future Research .............................................................................. 46 5.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 47 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS .............................................................................. 48 APPENDIX B IRB APPROVAL LETTER AND INFORMED CONSENT .............................. 53 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 55 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ..................................................................................................... 61 v LIST OF TABLES 1. Descriptive Statistics for Knowledge for Potential Children’s Cartoons for Stimuli ............. 18 2. Pearson r Correlations Between PSF and Dependent Variables in the Combined Treatment Group .................................................................................................................................. 23 3. Pearson r Correlations Between PSF and Dependent Variables with Kim Possible .............. 24 4. Pearson r Correlations Between PSF and Dependent Variables with The Fairly Oddparents.......................................................................................................................... 24 5. Pearson r Correlations Between PSF and Dependent Variables in the Combined Control Group .................................................................................................................................. 24 6. Pearson r Correlations Between PSF and Dependent Variables with Teenage Spy ............... 25 7. Pearson r Correlations Between PSF and Dependent Variables with Greek Out ................... 25 8. Results of t-test and Descriptive Statistics for PSI between High and Low PSF Groups in Treatment, Kim Possible, and The Fairly Oddparents Groups ............................................. 26 9. Results of t-test and Descriptive Statistics for PSI between High and Low PSF Groups in Control, Teenage Spy and Greek Out Groups ....................................................................... 27 10. Results of t-test and Descriptive Statistics for Enjoyment between High and Low PSF Groups in Treatment, Kim Possible, and The Fairly Oddparents Groups ......................................... 27 11. Results of t-test and Descriptive Statistics for Enjoyment between High and Low PSF Groups in Control, Teenage Spy and Greek Out Groups ................................................................... 28 12. Results of t-test and Descriptive Statistics for Viewing Intentions between High and Low PSF Groups in Treatment, Kim Possible, and The Fairly Oddparents Groups ...................... 29 13. Results of t-test and Descriptive Statistics for Viewing Intentions between High and Low PSF Groups in Control, Teenage Spy and Greek Out Groups ............................................... 30 14. 14. Pearson r Correlations Between Nostalgia-Proneness and Dependent Variables in the Combined Treatment Group ................................................................................................ 30 15. Pearson r Correlations Between Nostalgia-Proneness and Dependent Variables with Kim Possible ............................................................................................................................... 31 vi 16. Pearson r Correlations Between Nostalgia-Proneness and Dependent Variables with The Fairly Oddparents ............................................................................................................... 31 17. Pearson r Correlations Between Nostalgia-Proneness and Dependent Variables in the Combined Control Group .................................................................................................... 32 18. Pearson r Correlations Between Nostalgia-Proneness and Dependent Variables with Teenage Spy ...................................................................................................................................... 32 19. Pearson r Correlations Between Nostalgia-Proneness and Dependent Variables with Greek Out .....................................................................................................................................