CHILDHOOD CULTURES

THE WAYS CHILDREN WATCH AND INTERACT WITH THE ANIMATED SERIES

Abstract

In today's society, numerous products and media content, appropriated and creatively
reworked by children in processes of interaction with peers and adults, integrate the so-called childhood
cultures. Among these cultural products, the animated series broadcast by TV participate, with emphasis,
in the daily experiences of children. The objective of this article is to present the first part of the results
of an investigation that sought to understand the ways children watch, interact and mean the animation
series. The research was carried out in the scope of qualitative and participative research, by means of a
microsocial analysis, of an interpretative nature, integrated to the area of Child Sociology, which was
combined in an interdisciplinary way with the Latin American Cultural Studies in the area of
Communication. Carried out with a group of nine and ten-year-old students, the research examined the
point of view of children from the use of diversified methodological strategies involving participant
observation, interviews in small groups and workshops. The results obtained reveal, among other aspects,
that children do not simply assimilate what they see as mere passive spectators. In multiconnectivity with
other media, they participate in an active, interactive and dialogical process, always related to the sociocultural context in which they are inserted. They also point out the great responsibility (not always
perceived or recognized) involved in the production of content and media products for children in
general, and in particular, the animation series aimed at children and young people.