Effects on the Childrens Perception of Social Roles and Genders Essay Example

Effects on the Childrens Perception of Social Roles and Genders Essay Example Effects on the Childrens Perception of Social Roles and Genders Essay Effects on the Childrens Perception of Social Roles and Genders Essay The cartoon Kim Possible(2002) by Disney is one of the more popular cartoon shows in the country. Featuring a spunky heroine named Kim Possible and her ever present team of Ron Stoppable, his naked mole rat Rufus, and the genius Wade, Kim goes on missions around the world to wave the world before bedtime.Cartoons and childrens shows have long been the erstwhile companions of a young childs life. Every grown man and woman have memories of jumping off beds with blankets or towels tied round their shoulders as capes and pretending to be the nest Superman or Wonder woman.Children usually dream of becoming like their heroes. They imagine themselves in the same scenarios their heroes are in. If Superman and Wonder woman taught kids then about the special quality of being a superhero, what then are kids learning from the modern childrens shows like Kim Possible?The audience of Kim Possible falls under two age groups. The first group is kids aged 4 to 6 years old, while the next group is that from 7 to 11 years. From the perspective of cognitive development advanced by the biologist/educator Jean Piaget (Evans 14), these two groups can best be described by two stages: The Intuitive Stage and the Period of Concrete Operations.Children in the Intuitive Stage (Flavell 122) typically have a tendency to focus on one aspect of an object and almost completely ignore others. Logic is rudimentary at best. This is why children in this stage find the concepts of magic, invisibility and superpowers highly believable. Judgment takes a second place to perception.Kids in the Concrete Operational Stage (Flavell 165) on the other hand, show greater ability at demonstrating logic and organized thinking. The have a better understanding of classifying concepts and actions as well as establishing relationships between events and human interaction. Categorical labels such as number or animal, and in this particular paper, cool and not cool are now available.It is important to note that in either stage, children are only just starting to recognize relationships and causality in events. Even then, logic skills are just rudimentary. They may recognize certain characteristics and relationships but not completely understand the whys and the hows. It is also in these stages where the pretty much lap up everything in their environment unquestioningly. Now as they say, On with the Show.Kim Possible is a hero. She fights villains and can engage in fight sequences using agility, skill, brainpower and some of the coolest and most advanced gadgets provided by her genius friend Wade. In addition to this, she is also the pretty and popular captain of her high school cheerleading squad as well as the daughter from a family of over-achievers with a dad who is a rocket scientist and a mom who is a brain surgeon. Her two brothers, albeit mischievous, are also mechanical and electronic geniuses in their own way. She is pretty much everything that every girl dreams of becoming with the exception that shes not a tiara-wearing princess.Her friend and now boyfriend Ron Stoppable on the other hand is at the other end of the spectrum. He is average looking, freckled and talks with a high-pitched and often whiny voice. While he almost always accompanies Kim on missions, he more often than not ends up making a fool of himself and needs either Kim or Rufus to rescue him. He gets bullied at school a lot.Often, he is seen try to act cool and fit in with the more popular kids. This he does to the point of making Kim feel embarrassed for him. So far the only achievement he can claim full credit for is his invention of the Na-Co (Bueno Nacho) or a combination of the nacho and taco. Perhaps another thing to his credit is his ownership and friendship with the cool naked mole rat Rufus but then again, it depends who is looking at it. He can be so awkward that even the villains make fun of him. Even their number one enemy Dr. Drakken keeps forgetting his name.He is pretty much the quintessential loser who continually tries so hard to get out of his loser status. In fact in some episodes where there is a chance where he can have something cool like slicked back hair and cool clothes or even instant muscles, he is seen giving in to these promises of instant acceptance and coolness.The character of Kim introduces kids to the concepts of what is cool and what is desirable. This probably has even ore effect on young girls especially as Kim is portrayed as being a strong, independent female in addition to all her already desirable qualities.Ron Stoppable is practically the anti-thesis of Kim in her status of cool. And because he is bullied often, his interactions with other kids in Middleton High also introduces the concept of bullies and who they usually are. The characters who are shown scorning Ron are Bonnie, Kims co-captain of the cheering squad and resident mean popular girl and Brett, the tall, stupid muscled guy who is captain of the football squad as well as the other typical, mean school bullies so beloved of detention rooms.(Tick Tick T ick)The mean cheerleader and the muscle bound jock†¦ stereotypes, yes. But then most kids watching Kim Possible are only now starting to form ideas of stereotypes and society.The possible concepts that could develop from this particular relationship are :1. If one is a cheerleader or a big jock, one can push around the other kids at school and 2. It is far better to be mean and popular like Bonnie and Brett rather than be the one pushed around like the nice but loser Ron.Kims behavior as a teenager is also reflected in the show. She likes handsome boys and dresses in cute fashions with preference for trendy brands. In one particular episode (Low Budget) where she and Ron faced the budget villain and Smarty Mart employee Frugal Lucre, Kim is seen getting highly uncomfortable about being seen in the discount store SmartyMart. This discomfort becomes even more apparent when alligators tore Kims pants and she had to resort to wearing jeans from SmartyMart. In most episodes, Kim is usually shopping at or poring over catalogs from Club Banana.Even when Kim finds out that Club Banana and SmartyMart are sister companies and therefore share the same supplier, she still doesnt think that SmartyMart pants are acceptable enough. This is a bit strange since the only difference between the jeans from SmartyMart and Club Banana are the prices, name of colors (with Club Banana, SmartyMarts black becomes onyx) and that little banana logo sewn on to the pocket of Club Banana jeans.Brand conscious is the theme in this scenario. Basically same jeans, same quality, different brand sewn on the tag. It is only towards the end of the show that Kim gains an appreciation of SmartyMart and is seen browsing the stores catalog.In the same episode, Ron is seen as a frequent shopper at SmartyMart. He tries to makeKim see the value and savings of shopping discount. Ron is being frugal and practical in his own way. Yet because children do not yet understand the distinction between practi cal and un-cool the most likely conclusion is that shopping discount is for losers.In the episode The New Ron, Ron ditches his usual comfortable outfit of baggy shirt and jeans and suddenly becomes the cool guy at school due to a snazzy new hairstyle and new sleek and stylish clothes. Even the villain Junior acknowledges Ron with a certain respect for the first time. He becomes a burden to Kim in this particular episode because he always lagged behind, slicking his hair back and taking care not to rip his clothes. He becomes in and at the same time, vain and annoying. Still, what it teaches kids is that it is much preferable to dress according to what is expected by the in-group rather than be just ones self.Television has become one of the more potent and ubiquitous ways a child is introduced to societal concepts in his or her formative years. The educationalist John Locke (Henson) describes the mind of a child as blank slates upon which experiences and knowledge picked up from the environment become written. Young children according to him, are so malleable that diligence must be exercised in educating children as to what they see rather than letting them form their own perceptions and interpretations. Children usually have very little recall or understanding of a storys plot. More often they take scenes one at a time based on how a particular scene appeals to them. Kims eventual appreciation of SmartyMart for example may be lost on children given the almost 30-minute long show where she was more often seen being embarrassed in being at the discount store. Parents should remember that not because its a kids show or its cartoons mean that their children wont pick up or learn anything from it. Unfortunately, unfiltered learning includes with it all the bad along with the good. Parental discretion and guidance must not simply be limited to shows that specify the need for it.