What Makes Them So Special?
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research 24/2011/E 27 Maya Götz What makes them so special? The utility value of children’s favourite heroes and heroines How does a “normal” television Montana is the leading character become a favourite tele character, followed at a vision character among children? good distance by Bar- The answer lies in the utility value bie and Kim Possible which it has for children’s everyday (cf. table 1). Regarding life and their identity work. This the 23 most frequently article summarises the results of mentioned characters, studies on children’s favourite TV clear age and gender characters, their “usefulness” from affinities can be made a kid’s perspective and intercon out (see ill. 1). For nections to market dynamics. young children, char- acters like Benjamin Tab. 1: Children’s favourite TV characters in Germany (612 years) the Elephant, Bob the very week at least 900 main Builder, and Bibi Blocksberg are at- ters can be found in the middle of the characters from children’s tractive, while for older ones Homer affinity graph which means that they Etelevision are available, but and Bart Simpson or Dieter Bohlen are more or less equally attractive for children only choose specific ones (the juror of the German version of girls and boys. Among them are, for as their favourite characters. Who are Pop Idol) are appealing. Storytelling, instance, the Mouse from the Show they and why are kids so attracted aesthetics, themes, values, and genre with the Mouse, Germany’s 40-year- by them? In face-to-face interviews, are understandable reasons for these old icon for high-quality children’s 716 representatively selected 6- to tendencies. TV, Bugs Bunny, or Dieter Bohlen 12-year-olds were asked about their The evaluation of gender affinities (Pop Idol). Compared to the data of favourite characters in the last month is especially interesting. In 2010, a 2007, 2006, and 2005, an interesting of 2010, providing data for a rank- clear splitting of the market becomes tendency becomes apparent: 3, 4, and ing of the most popular characters in apparent: most of the favourite char- 5 years ago, the market of children’s Germany1 at that time. acters are clearly positioned on one favourite TV characters was much Among the boys, SpongeBob is the or the other side in terms of gender less gender-divided, and many more most frequently named character, fol- affinity, which means that they were characters were located in the middle lowed by Ben 10 and the cheeky Bart mainly mentioned by either girls or of the affinity graph (cf. Götz, 2007, Simpson. Among the girls, Hannah boys (cf. ill. 1). Kim Possible or Bibi p. 23; Götz, 2011). Blocksberg, for example, are named predominantly by girls and only by TV characters as brands a few boys. Mr. Bean or Scooby Doo are mainly boys’ favourite TV The current favourite television char- characters, and only a few girls men- acters have entered the TV market- tion them. On top of that, there are place in quite different ways. Bob “boys-only” and “girls-only” charac- the Builder, Kim Possible, or the ters. Those are, for example, Bob the Simpsons were successful series first Builder, Batman, or Homer Simpson and were then followed by various on the boys’ side, and Lisa Simpson, licensed products. Batman and Spi- Hannah Montana, or Princess Lillifee derman are based on comic books. on the girls’ side. Only a few charac- They were extended to different se- research 28 24/2011/E successful while many other brands do not enter the status of a frequently mentioned favourite TV character; a turn towards the children’s side is needed. These brands are meaningful for the girls or boys in everyday life and have a “utility value” for them. Excursus: IZI studies on “utility value” An understanding of the utility value of media characters is a logical turn towards the chil- dren’s side. In the centre of the perspective is the Ill. 1: Age and gender affinities of the 23 favourite TV characters girls’ and boys’ inter- pretation and view of ries, but their current prominence in “only” a doll which then, beginning the character, the way they develop children’s culture is due to the feature in 2001, became successful as an ani- a relationship with them, and what films and various licensed products. mated film in which Barbie “plays” a this means for their daily lives and in At the beginning, Bibi Blocksberg leading role in fairy tales and fantasy terms of their identity development. was mainly popular and successful stories; with her TV films and series Measuring the utility value is a core through various audio-plays. Finally, she has been gaining an increasing theme in IZI research, which the IZI a cartoon series followed that made percentage of the television market has been working on for nearly a de- her increasingly and permanently im- among primary school girls. In ad- cade (Götz, 2002, 2007, 2011). portant to children. Hence, most of dition, Barbie is also successful as The starting point were 80 individual the “older” favourite TV characters a licence theme for clothes and ac- case analyses of children as well as which were already present in the cessories, even though she looks dif- international case studies with teen- studies of 2005 to 2007 found their ferent from a graphic point of view. agers examining the significance of way into the TV marketplace more A great surprise in the current data children’s favourite television charac- or less trough a traditional analysis is the frequent reference to Princess ters in everyday life and in the context chain (cf. Hofmann/Schmid, 2002), Lillifee. The brand is based on a book, of identity development. It became namely from a TV series to a licence but is mainly a licence theme that clear how profoundly the favourite topic, or from a book to a TV series includes, among other things, a mu- tele vision characters enter the identity to a licence topic. sical, an animated feature film, and construction of girls and boys: their The connections become even more 6 additional 10-minute episodes of favourite characters repeatedly reflect dynamic and complex in the case of a live-action dance education series. their philosophy of life and self-con- “new” favourite characters. Hannah She is still not a television character cepts. Sometimes they represent an Montana was, from the very begin- in the traditional sense, but is, none- expression of what is felt but cannot ning, conceived by the Disney Com- theless, perceived as one by many yet be articulated. But sometimes the pany as a media and event arrange- girls. All of these “new” TV char- favourite character also symbolises ment in which the television series, acters with complex analysis chains the things the children are not sup- concerts, corresponding reports in are “girls-only” or “nearly girls-on- posed to do and in that way confirms the teeny press, a separate magazine, ly” characters (see ill. 1). They are their own self-image. and various licensed products would “new”, market-driven brands, which Parallel to these story-related aspects, mesh together (cf. Bulla in this is- are purposefully targeted at girls. It is children’s favourite programmes sue). Over many decades, Barbie was necessary to understand why they are shape part of their coming-to-terms research 24/2011/E 29 with everyday life. Often, the recep- ing the show, spending time with the presence in children’s everyday lives tion acts as a place of retreat for chil- character, and having fun with her besides TV, for example through li- dren, one in which emotions may be or him arouses a really good feeling. censed products. Here, smart market- experienced which balance or comple- The triggers that provoke this feeling ing departments step in and fulfil the ment everyday life. It can also help, for with girls and boys can be very differ- children’s desires: to have something example, to shape the communication ent and depend, for example, on the which goes beyond TV, sticks to the within the family. In discussing the children’s sense of humour. Often, same values, styles, and stories as the series among peers, a sense of com- the favourite television character is show, and which offers opportunities munity is established with friends, one imagined to be a very good friend to for identity work and possibilities to can distance oneself from others, etc. play with or an ideal elder sibling. make the result of this inner process These typical meaning-making pat- For the children in front of the TV visible. From the child’s perspec- terns with the favourite TV charac- screen the favourite character is of- tive, it is not just the character Bart ter can be found among children and ten the “connecting character” to the Simpson, that is shown on a T-Shirt, young people in Germany, but became story. The children view the stories, but rather a representation of their also apparent in international studies own development, i.e. something in South Africa, India, or the USA (cf. highly individual, something that McMillin, 2009). can be seen and recognised by oth- On the basis of these findings a stan- ers through the licensed product (cf. dardised method for the analysis Ekström and Cada/Götz in this issue). of the utility value was developed, From a pedagogical point of view or tested, and refined on over 2,000 chil- a public broadcasting perspective, we 2 dren. Meanwhile, we have employed may not like this at all, but we have this “utility value system” in various to acknowledge that licensed products format developments and have used foster the utility value of a TV show it to analyse the current favourite for the children.