Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction Of Childhood

For corporate America, childrenand their parents moneyare one of the most targeted groups in our consumer society. There are TV shows, movies, video games, toys, books, and restaurants that are specifically directed at childrenall of which have produced a kinderculture run by marketing and advertising executives. Through a series of entertaining and insightful essays, Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood explores some of the icons that shape the values and consciousness of children, from Beavis and Butt-Head to Barney, from Disney movies to Nintendo.Contributors drawn from the fields of education, sociology, and popular culture analyze the profound effects and the pervasive influence of these corporate productions in a style parents, educators, and general readers will welcome. Arguing that the experience of childhood has been, with or without our consent, reshaped into something that is prefabricated, Shirley Steinberg and Joe Kincheloe bring home to readers the impact our marketing blitz culture has on our childrenand on our beliefs about childhood. }For corporate America, childrenand their parents moneyare one of the most targeted groups in our consumer society. There are TV shows, movies, video games, toys, books, and restaurants that are specifically directed at childrenall of which has produced a kinderculture run by marketing and advertising executives. Through a series of entertaining and insightful essays, Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood explores some of the icons that shape the values and consciousness of children, from Beavis and Butt-Head to Barney, from Disney movies to Nintendo.Contributors drawn from the fields of education, sociology, and popular culture analyze the profound effects and the pervasive influence of these corporate productions in a style parents, educators, and general readers will welcome. Arguing that the experience of childhood has been, with or without our consent, reshaped into something that is prefabricated, Shirley Steinberg and Joe Kincheloe bring home to readers the impact our marketing blitz culture has on our childrenand on our beliefs about childhood. }

Shirley R. SteinbergJoe L. Kincheloe is professor of urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College. He is the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of articles. His most recent works include Critical Pedagogy: A Primer, and The Sign of the Burger: McDonald's and the Culture of Power. Kincheloe and Shirley Steinberg have recently finished 19 Urban Questions: Teaching in the City.