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Comunicar Journal 47: Communication, Civil Society and Social Change (Vol. 24 - 2016)
Values and emotions in children’s audiovisual fictional narratives
Ana Aierbe-Barandiaran
Eider Oregui-González
The aim of this study is to identify which values and emotions are transmitted in the favorite fictional TV programs of children aged between 8 and 12, according to their particular type of structure. Based on the analysis of media consumption reported by participants and their parents, as well as the ratings of children's fictional programs, two fictional programs were selected for this age group (Doraemon and Code Lyoko, with a narrative and non-narrative structure, respectively), and a content analysis of 86 episodes was conducted and validated by inter-rater agreement. The results show that a wide range of ethical and competence-based values are conveyed by both programs, although greater emphasis is placed on life-skill values, with aesthetic and transcendental values hardly being represented at all. While more complex emotions and some basic emotions (surprise, anger, happiness and fear) were found to be present in Code Lyoko, sadness was present to a greater extent in Doraemon. The results reveal that the level of empathy represented by the characters in both series is low, although it is slightly higher in Code Lyoko. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that it provides a useful method for measuring the appropriateness of media content in relation to the psychological characteristics of children, and contributes to establishing a solid basis for media literacy programs from early childhood.
Keywords
Childhood, media, audience, education, values, emotions, fictional narratives, cartoons