Saturday Morning Censors: Television Regulation before the V-Chip
Many parents, politicians, and activists agree that there’s too much violence and not enough education on children’s television. Current solutions range from the legislative (the Children’s Television Act of 1990) to the technological (the V-chip). Saturday Morning Censors examines the history of adults’ attempts to safeguard children from the violence, sexism, racism, and commercialism on television since the 1950s. By focusing on what censorship and regulation are and how they work—rather...
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A critical study of children’s television and attempts at regulating or reforming it. Afterimage [A]n inspired analysis of children's television programming through historical patterns and functions of censorship and even the cultural category of the child. . . . This thought-provoking look at a controversial topic presents programming regulation as a complex network of give and take that, in defining what material is deemed suitable for broadcast, reveals as much about the fears and desires of the dominant culture that it purports to serve and protect as it does about the texts with which it deals.
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Adults, Children, and Censorship11Attacking (TV?) Violence132"We Call Our Company Motel": Looking for Sexism and Racism in the Children's Entertainment Industry353Action for (and against) Children's Television: "Militant Mothers" and the Tactics of Television Reform614Toys, TV, and Toaster Pictures: Children's Entertainment and the Free Market Mentality955Turned-on Toddlers and Space Age TV: Debating Sesame Street1376Sesame Street Technologies: The Quest for Cultural and Scientific Neutrality1617Hey, Hey, Hey, It's "Good" TV: Fat Albert, CBS, and Dr. William H. Cosby193Conclusion: Talking across Boundaries?217Notes223Bibliography261Index275
\ From the Publisher“Saturday Morning Censors makes an important contribution to those interested in children’s media culture as well as to those concerned with censorship practices in the U. S.”—Marsha Kinder, University of Southern California\ “This marvelous book speaks not only to debates about children and media, but also to larger debates about censorship and social power. Heather Hendershot promises to be one of the most significant voices in the next generation of American cultural studies.”—Henry Jenkins, editor of The Children’s Culture Reader\ \ \ \ \ \ Afterimage[A]n inspired analysis of children's television programming through historical patterns and functions of censorship and even the cultural category of the child. . . . This thought-provoking look at a controversial topic presents programming regulation as a complex network of give and take that, in defining what material is deemed suitable for broadcast, reveals as much about the fears and desires of the dominant culture that it purports to serve and protect as it does about the texts with which it deals.\ \ \ ChoiceGiven Jerry Falwell's attack on a Teletubby as a gay promoter of the homosexual agenda, Hendershot's study could not be more timely or more strongly recommended. . . . Hendershot traces the efforts of many groups with diverse goals to 'do something' about the content and quality of children's television programming. . . . This [is a] well-documented study . . . . An excellent index makes the volume even more accessible. [Recommended for] all collections.\ \
