
Mr. Rogers vs. the Superheroes - axiomdata316
https://longreads.com/2018/09/19/mr-rogers-vs-the-superheroes/
======
caro_douglos
I've always been fascinated by how some children's book authors are able to
bring up story lines which tap into feelings that arise at various ages (i.e
death, divorce, etc). I watched Mr Roger's growing up but really had no idea
everything seen was a smartly curated way to make children more empathetic and
analytical.

~~~
JauntyHatAngle
Honestly, I think most of society has a big blind spot on child education.

I would wager most of society reckons child education - whether a book writer,
media creator or a school teacher - is a pretty basic and run of the mill sort
of job/thing to do.

But more and more I'm seeing that it's a profession and an area that really
requires a lot more thought and need for well trained professionals being
given space to do their thing just like any other professions.

Unfortunately, I really don't think people give them much respect, and/or
funding for that matter.

~~~
pjc50
The great problem was the discovery of "pester power": children are
particularly susceptible to advertising. That's why children's media tends to
have selling toys as a primary objective, unless it's some sort of state-
funded low-budget Reithian production.

~~~
kasey_junk
Or if it’s books.

~~~
boomboomsubban
I doubt that print would be immune from such advertising. Particularly kids
books that often contain pictures.

~~~
emodendroket
Print takes fewer people and less money to produce than a cartoon

~~~
boomboomsubban
The incentive to make as much money as possible is still there. These ideas
have been common in comic books for a century.

~~~
bunderbunder
It definitely happens, and there are a lot of really bad children's books
whose primary purpose is to fit into merchandising empires out there.

But the ratio of quality work to crap is much higher in children's books than
in other media. Especially if you stick to children's books that aren't
attached to toys or other media. Compare, for example, anything Disney, where
the books are often just a long series of nonsequiturs with barely any
narrative structure, let alone emotional depth, to anything by Philip Stead.

------
lifeisstillgood
This is especially true today. I have seen a critique of Marvels infinity war
where (spoilers) Thanos needs to "sacrifice that he loves the most" to gain a
special stone.

So he throws his daughter off a cliff, and cries as he does. He "loved" her.

People have pointed out that for an abused child sitting watching with her
abuser, this reinforces the idea that the person who is harming her actually
loves her ... a repulsive idea and perhaps as damaging as jumping off a roof
with a towel.

I guess "with great power comes great responsibility"

PS not being American Mr Rogers is a mystery to me - can anyone recommend a
documentary / example ?

~~~
kbenson
> People have pointed out that for an abused child sitting watching with her
> abuser, this reinforces the idea that the person who is harming her actually
> loves her

Maybe. But maybe the story that the abuser doesn't care about the victim isn't
actually accurate, even if it is more useful for resolving the problem. I
think it's entirely possible that a large class of abuse happens from abusers
that do love and care about the victims, but are so screwed up in their own
mind that they can't help themselves.

That does lead to the interesting question, does continually asserting to the
victim that the abuser doesn't care lead to helping the issue faster than
asserting that they might care, but by allowing the situation to continue it
harms both the victim and the abuser, and the best way to improve _both_ their
lives is to be separated? Not that helping the abuser is the main goal, but if
it helps to extricate the victim faster, that's a net win, and just because
the abuser is not someone most people would find pity for doesn't mean they
don't deserve _some_ help fighting their own demons too.

Not that I think that's _necessarily_ true, but it would be interesting to
know whether this is one more case where the common knowledge "best thing to
do" is sub-optimal.

~~~
watwut
> I think it's entirely possible that a large class of abuse happens from
> abusers that do love and care about the victims, but are so screwed up in
> their own mind that they can't help themselves.

In that case, the abuse would be visible in public. If abuser is doing what
he/she is doing in private only, then it reasonable to assume that abuser is
in control.

~~~
francisofascii
Not really. A person addicted to food, alcohol, porn, etc. is perfectly
capable of keeping these addictions at bay in public, but lose control while
in private.

------
juanuys
The bit in the article about extending children's attention spans:

> explains that Rogers deliberately lengthened scenes as the theme week
> progressed, so that the children would get used to an environment that
> extended their attention spans as they became more and more familiar with
> the story line.

I wish more content creators would do this. I'm amazed at how many jump-cuts
there are in even the most innocent-looking children's programs (e.g. "Peppa
Pig" here in the UK).

------
nikkiofearth
This reminds me of Mr.Dressup

------
cjcole
'His feelings extended to programming of any kind, including advertising and
entertainment watched by very young children. In a speech given at an academic
conference at Yale University in 1972, Fred Rogers said, “The impact of
television must be considered in the light of the possibility that children
are exposed to experiences which may be far beyond what their egos can deal
with effectively. Those of us who produce television must assume the
responsibility for providing images of trustworthy available adults who will
modulate these experiences and attempt to keep them within manageable
limits.”'

Seems quaint, if not positively prehistoric.

~~~
PostPost
Children (by definition) are not fully developed human beings. It should be
obvious that care should be taken in their development, and that there should
be some burden of responsibility on those creating things specifically
targeted at children.

This is backed up by years of data. For instance, fast food ads aimed at
children can have lifelong impacts on obesity and consumption habits:
[http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-
media/food.aspx](http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx)

