“Children Will Listen”–A Brief Musing on Entertainment

I’ve always had interests in my life from the world of entertainment. I guess while other kids had imaginary friends, I had Star Trek, the Beatles and the Muppets, just to name a few. I guess you could say it was ingrained in my DNA. As an only child, there were a great many times when I was forced to amuse myself. Always present was the sound and pictures coming from the Television. The TV shows and movies I loved served to comfort me when I was down, entertain me when I was bored and enlighten me when I needed advice.

I know, I know, the image of a child spending their life in front of the TV is not particularly pleasant nowadays. Though I guarantee, there were people much worse than I was (Right?….Right? Lol) And I’ve also been smart enough to get an education, make many loyal friends and have a very successful life thus far. ::knocks the proverbial wood:: To be sure, parents need to make sure their kids know the importance of exercise, playing with other kids and having dreams for the future. Sitting in front of the TV is not living. Living vicariously through fictional characters just makes you miss out on your own life.

Still, I don’t regret having my entertainment interests. Many kids have good grades, lots of friends, maybe even good jobs…but they don’t fantasize; they don’t imagine, they don’t have dreams. They have nothing to inspire their minds. They don’t realize how much they can learn about life from classic literature, or even pop culture. I often wondered what purpose my entertainment interests have served in my life. Sometimes I felt guilty. Was it all just some silly trivial pre-occupation? Was it a sign that I had no life? Was I living in a big delusion and avoiding reality? Sometimes perhaps, hehe. But not always. I think my Mom said it best once. That I grab at these things, characters, stories etc, and take them in and learn as much as I can from there. I don’t just look to them for enjoyment. I look to them to help build my personality and decide what kind of person I want to be.

I hope there are people in the entertainment world over the years who have realized how important they can be to the development of a child and of people in general. Books, TV shows, movies, even commercials are our windows to the world. As South Park cynically put it, “Off to the movies we shall go, where we learn everything that we know. Cause the movies teach us what our parents don’t have time to say!” Now, thankfully, I did have parents who took the time to love and teach me about life. But obviously even the best parents can’t do everything. It’s also up to the rest of the world to educate and inspire children.

There’s an old Public Service Announcement from the 1970s (someday I must tell you of my love of the old PSAs, lol). First, you hear that “crinkling” noise on the soundtrack. You know what I mean, the sound you hear when a record starts, or an old movie that hasn’t yet been restored. A clear indication of the age of this clip. 

To some, it’s an immediate turn off. This clip is OLD, broken and should be thrown away and forgotten. To me, it’s one of the most beautiful sounds there is. It’s almost an introduction, a signal to respect this clip. It’s a time capsule, an artifact left behind from a lost, forgotten world that is now humbly begging to be heard again. It’s part of history and therefore part of us. It helped shape every part of who we are today, both the things that changed and the things that remained the same.

Anyway, enough of my retro-rambling, lol. Back to the PSA clip! As the song “B-I-N-G-O” softly plays in the background, we see a child roaming around the woods. Jumping on logs, climbing hills, petting a turtle, even playing a “shoot ‘em up” game. He’s an innocent, sweet little boy, curious about the world around him. Perhaps even a bit ponderous of its, and his own, purpose. Then we hear the voice- over. The typical PSA voiceover; male, deep, authoritative. The sign that the TV has decided to stop being funny for a moment and demands some serious attention.

“Kids are impressionable.”, he says. “That’s why here at this station, we watch the programs and commericals your child watches, carefully. He may see bad guys, but not in the role of heroes. He’ll learn that crime doesn’t pay. Because your child’s welfare is our concern too. That’s part of our code. The code of The National Association of Broadcasters for Television and the Greater Public Interest.”……and there it ends, that crinkling sound playing away…

It’s a lovely piece of TV history, yet it also makes me rather sad. Looking at so many programs present on Television today, including kids programs, it doesn’t look like the code is being honored to me. The conduct of “bad guys”, instead of being challenged and beaten, is being celebrated. Selfish, cruel behavior is practiced by main characters, without remorse, without worry of recrimination.

Instead of kids being taught to stand up to bullies, kids are now taught to conform and sacrifice their individuality, in order to fit in. And this conformity is touted as a strength and victory, when it’s perhaps the weakest thing a person can do.

Kindness, generosity and belief in a higher purpose in life is now labeled as corny and simplistic. Children have allegedly “outgrown” such things. We will see in the near future what such a view will have wrought on our children.

To be sure, I don’t like it when parents blame the media for their own kids’ conduct. To once again quote South Park, “We must blame them and cause a fuss before somebody thinks of blaming us!” They are YOUR kids, it is ultimately your responsibility how they turn out. Yet at the same time, the old saying is true, it DOES take a village to raise a child. In this human world, we are all responsible for each other. The media does more than entertain, it teaches and inspires. And what it reaps, we do often sow.

What the musical Into the Woods might say to parents, I also say to the world of entertainment, “Careful the things you say, children will listen. Careful the things you do, children will see and learn. Guide them along the way, children will listen. Children will look to you for which way to turn, to learn what to be. Careful before you say, ‘listen to me.’ Children will listen…”

The Psychology of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

Phew! Keeping a blog is harder than I thought! You have no idea what kind of pressure I’m under to keep this thing fresh and updated! Lol, anyway, I do have a few ideas in the making. But in the meantime, I will take a trip down memory lane with one of my old college papers. The topic? A much remembered and beloved ’70s cartoon show, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.

Even as I child, I knew Fat Albert was special; I had never seen a cartoon show which focused on African American children. Also astonishing was its willingness to focus on heavy issues, such as drugs, prejudice and even pornography!

As praised and well-remembered as Fat Albert is, I personally doubt many parents and experts would approve of such a project today. There seems to be a growing opinion in society that we should avoid “confusing” or “upsetting” children too much. You hear over and over again “It’s too scary for kids” or “Kids won’t understand.” Instead of challenging children to learn and to grow, we are protecting them and keeping them hidden. The result? I believe children are growing up not aware of very basic cultural references or concepts. They are also growing up unable to deal with problems on their own. And what’s worse, they simply don’t care. In attempting to protect children, we are failing to prepare them for life.

But that is for another entry, below is my term paper, analyzing Fat Albert and its connection to the fascinating topic of Child Psychology.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids premiered in 1972 and ran for 12 years (incredible run for any show!). Legendary comedian Bill Cosby based the cartoon on his own childhood in North Philadelphia. The program was aimed at elementary and middle school aged kids. Each week, Fat Albert and his friends helped someone in need, always learning something new in the process. Cosby is featured prominently in Fat Albert’s opening theme; Fat Albert himself even mentions his creator by name, “I’m gonna sing a song for you, and Bill’s gonna show you a thing or two.” Cosby talks directly to the audience in each episode, summarizing today’s lesson and interjecting interesting facts and humorous observations.

Being the first cartoon show to ever feature an all African American cast, Fat Albert was definitely an unusual show for its time. In the previous decade, animators like Peanuts’ Charles Schultz wanted to begin including African American characters but doubted their ability to do it sensitively (Thibodeau, 1989). Even now, African Americans don’t tend to dominate children’s television, more often relegated to the best friend role, or “token black guy” of a larger group.

But in the Fat Albert universe, very little is ever made of the fact Albert and his friends are black; it is perfectly normal and does not need to be mentioned. They also defy the image of violent, inner city youth. Though they do talk tough, they are responsible, caring and loyal children.

In an episode entitled, “Fish Out of Water,” the gang goes to summer camp. Upon arriving, they boys are wary of fellow campers who are Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian. It seems odd the Cosby kids would be so prejudice, considering they are normally quite friendly and open-minded. However, the implication is not that the Cosby kids are prejudice out of a sense of meanness or cruelty. But rather because they have next to no experience dealing with different cultures.

Upon seeing the different campers, Albert’s reaction is not “Oh no, white kids!” or something similar. Rather, he queries, “What kind of dudes is they?” He is simply reacting to an unfamiliar concept. This makes sense considering the lack of diversity in their inner city neighborhood. In Fat Albert’s early episodes, all neighbors, teachers, storekeepers and doctors are African American. Studies indicate that when parents make the effort to expose their children to different cultures, they are more comfortable with the idea of diversity (O’Conner, Brooks-Gunn & Graber, 2000). Cosby does stress that the boys’ parents were eager to get their kids out of the city for the first time.

By the end of the episode, the gang learns people are people despite their differences. The gang’s circle of friends further opened up later in the series after the boys moved to an integrated school. It became more common to see the kids playing ball with a white friend or two, and Fat Albert’s guidance was now open to all races. Writer Larry DiTillio says great attention and care was given to “racial mixtures to make sure that we weren’t saying that all the white kids are bad and all the black kids are good, or even the other way around.” With Fat Albert, Cosby tried to play down differences, calm children’s natural fear of the unknown and teach them to embrace all kinds of people.

Whatever its level of effectiveness, programs like Fat Albert definitely made the effort to demonstrate the positives of diversity. They encourage children to judge a person by their actions, not their appearances. But can you always judge a person by their outward behavior? Even more basic than the concept of race, is the “good guy”, “bad guy” label. It is fairly easy to tell the hero from the villain in a typical children’s show. The villain disagrees and hates the hero and tries to defeat him or her in some way. The hero is the brave, kind figure who saves the day.

If the hero and villain were children, they might fall into two distinct peer acceptance groups (Berk, 2003). Popular-prosocials (Hero) generally do well in school, make the extra effort to be friendly and helpful to peers, and are generally well liked by others. Rejected-aggressive children (Villain) like to start fights and have trouble controlling emotions; mostly they are feared and resented by their peers (Berk, 2003).

On some shows there is a character that does not quite fit either category. He or she is usually a friend of the heroic main character who simply likes to cause trouble. At first glance, this friend’s actions seem to fit those of the villain. Yet surprisingly, he or she continues to be a member of the gang. Researchers call this type the Controversial Child (Newcomb, Bukowski & Pattee, 1993). Like the Rejected-aggressive, he or she displays more aggression than most children and causes trouble in school. One would think peers would reject such a person. However, the Controversial child also possesses positive social skills and is able to maintain strong friendships. The Controversial child is an example of how things are not always black and white.

Fat Albert’s mission in life is to help people and solve problems; he best fits the Prosocial type. For the most part, he is assisted and supported by his 7 best friends. In nearly every episode though, there is one exception–Rudy. Rudy is the member of the gang who ignores Fat Albert’s advice, makes bad decisions and generally makes life difficult for the group. Some specific examples include being the first to smoke cigarettes and marijuana (“Smoke Gets In Your Hair”, “Pot of Gold”), refusing to take CPR classes (“Heart Attack–Save a Life!”), dropping out of school (“Readin’, Ritin, and Rudy”), and introducing the gang to porn (“Soft Core.”)

Even worse, Rudy does not keep such behavior to himself. He seems resentful and jealous of Albert’s leadership, and encourages the rest of the gang to “stand up to old Fat Albert!” (“Poll Time”). All this begs the question: what good does Rudy do for Albert and the gang? He certainly comes across more like a villain than a friend. However, there is hope! Despite his bad behavior, Rudy can also be supportive and loyal to Albert. His own leadership skills and self-confidence allows him to come up with good ideas. Moreover, he always feels guilty for his mistakes.

Larry DiTillio explains the show’s desire to portray their characters in a complex, realistic manner, “We tried to say the kids are the kids and this kid may be doing something bad but he’s not per se a bad kid….Rudy tended to be a mischief-maker, so he’d tend in some scripts to become villainous and we didn’t want that.”

There are also some indications Rudy’s bad behavior stems from insecurity. Fellow Cosby kid Russell often tries to deflate Rudy’s large ego, resulting in Rudy getting quite steamed. Being from a slightly wealthier family than the others (“Creativity”), Rudy enjoys showing off his new possessions. Children’s bad behavior often stems from misguided attempts to gain respect and be accepted by the group (Horne, Bartolomucci & Newman-Carlson, 2003).

Controversial characters are my favorite for their complexity, rare in children’s entertainment. Implying to children that there are “good” kids and “bad” kids in the world does help them develop their powers of judgment and forgiveness. Controversial characters teach the same lesson characters of different races do. People should be given a chance before you judge them. They are “bad” for a reason and may benefit from a little kindness and understanding.

Perhaps Rudy’s Controversial character status is most clearly expressed in the Fat Albert Easter special. Ever the trouble maker, Rudy decides to play a practical joke and accidentally seriously hurts Mudfoot, an old man and friend of the boys. Now Fat Albert has to help both of his friends get better. Part of this is understandable; Mudfoot is injured in the hospital and needs medical care and friendly support. But why would Rudy need help? He was not physically hurt and he is in fact the reason this mess happened in the first place!

Research shows aggressive children can overcome their negative tendencies if they learn to experience empathy–understand the pain they inflict on others (Horne, Bartolomucci & Newman-Carlson, 2003). Rudy feels just awful about what he did to Mudfoot. In order to help Mudfoot pay his medical bills, Rudy takes a risky job working in a scrap iron yard. Albert tries to reason with him, “You’re not going to help anybody if you get hurt…this is a dangerous place to work.” Rudy sadly responds, “I don’t care about me.”

The problem here is Rudy’s confusion over guilty versus shame. Studies show these two feelings seem similar but are in fact very different (Ferguson, Stegge, Miller & Olsen, 1999). Guilt is associated with empathy and concern that someone was hurt. With shame, people concentrate more on how terrible they are for doing something wrong. They retreat from others and sometimes engage in destructive behavior (Ferguson, Stegge, Miller & Olsen, 1999). In the end, Mudfoot gets better but just as important, Rudy learns to forgive himself. This special teaches the difference between guilt and shame and also parallels the religious Easter story of renewal.

Looking back, one gets the impression the people behind Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids genuinely cared about their young viewers. Their goal was not just to entertain, but to assist children in their journey through life.

Berk, Laura E. (2003). Child Development, 6th Edition. (New York: Allyn & Bacon, Publishers.)

Cosby, William H. (1972-1984). Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids–The Original Animated Series, Vol. 1. and Fat Albert’s Greatest Hits–The Ultimate Collection. Entertainment Rights PLC.

Ferguson, Tamara J.; Stegge, Hedy; Miller, Erin R.; Olsen, Michael E. (1999). Guilt, Shame and Symptoms in Children. Developmental Psychology, 35, (2), 347-357.

Hicks, Wayne, L. Hey! Hey! Hey! Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. http://www.tvparty.com/satfat3.html

Horne, Arthur M.; Bartolomucci, Christi L.; Newman-Carlson, Dawn. (2003). Bully Busters–A Teacher’s Manual for Helping Bullies, Victims, and Bystanders Grades K-5. (Champaign: Research Press, Publishers.)

Newcomb, Andrew F.; Bukowski William M.; Pattee, Linda. (1993). Children’s Peer Relations: A Meta-Analytic Review of Popular, Rejected, Neglected, Controversial, and Average Sociometric Status. Psychological Bulletin, 00331909, 113, (1).

O’Connor, Lisa; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Graber, Julia. (2000). Black and White Girls’ Racial Preferences in Media and Peer Choices and the Role of Socialization for Black Girls. Journal of Family Psychology, 14 (3), 510-521.

Thibodeau, Ruth. (1989). FROM RACISM TO TOKENISM. Public Opinion Quarterly, 53, (4), 483.