Produktdetaljer
Biographical note
Nancy A. Jennings (PhD, University of Texas-Austin) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati. She studies the impact of media on the lives of children and their families and public policies and practices involved with children’s media.«This is a fascinating examination of the power and influence of preschool programs on their girl audiences. Nancy Jennings brings together a historical examination of the rise of preschool programming and interviews with teens who watched these empowering preschool programs, such as <i>Dora the Explorer. Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends</i> is a wonderful, well written and nuanced analysis of the long term influence of television for young children.» (Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication Studies and Psychology, Northwestern University)<br /> «<i>Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends</i> is a welcome contribution to studies of friendship and reception in children’s media culture. A must-read book for all those interested in understanding the mediated social lives of youth and the influence of parasocial relationships on identity development.» (Mary Celeste Kearney, Author of <i>Girls Make Media; </i> Editor of <i>Mediated Girlhoods</i>)
«This is a fascinating examination of the power and influence of preschool programs on their girl audiences. Nancy Jennings brings together a historical examination of the rise of preschool programming and interviews with teens who watched these empowering preschool programs, such as <i>Dora the Explorer. Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends</i> is a wonderful, well written and nuanced analysis of the long term influence of television for young children.» (Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication Studies and Psychology, Northwestern University)<br /> «<i>Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends</i> is a welcome contribution to studies of friendship and reception in children’s media culture. A must-read book for all those interested in understanding the mediated social lives of youth and the influence of parasocial relationships on identity development.» (Mary Celeste Kearney, Author of <i>Girls Make Media; </i> Editor of <i>Mediated Girlhoods</i>)
Through in-depth interviews, this book explores how tween girls relate to media characters past and present, what they value in these relationships, and how these relationships have shaped their own identity and friendships.
The characters themselves are also analyzed from a feminist perspective, revealing the shared values of community, agency, and self-determination of the media characters and the girls who call them friends.
Through examining the characters and the text in which their stories take place, the book sheds light on what is important to tween girls, about the traits they value in others, and the traits they value in themselves.