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When corporate politics is cloaked in the image of innocence, there is more at stake than the danger of simple deception. There is the issue of cultural power and how it works to make claims on our understanding of the past, national coherence, and popular memory as a site of injustice, criticism, and renewal. - Henry A. Giroux, 1995, p. 46
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Proem
One of the most publicly celebrated and reified, yet unequivocally complex sites for interrogating the underlying power relations circulating throughout adolescent culture is the Walt Disney Company, whose “logo and characters have become almost synonymous with the very notion of American popular culture” (Giroux 45). Widely regarded as the global leader in cross-media promotion (cf, Bagdikian, McChesney), Disney finds itself in the enviable position to successfully implement virtually any marketing, advertising, or public relations campaign anywhere in the world. Whether launching a new animated film purporting to represent the empowered postfeminist woman (i.e., The Little Mermaid), producing the latest tween idol music star on one of its many record labels (i.e., Myra), or broadcasting a poignant moment in sports via ESPN (i.e., the Little League World Series), the influence of Disney and its media empire on the hearts and minds of America - especially young children - is nothing short of staggering.
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This brief review focuses on the intersection of interactive media and the empowerment of tweens (individuals aged 8-13) as located within the Disney Channel’s so-called “Zoog Television” programming line-up. Targeting the Wired Generation’s tween consumers and utilizing the latest in Internet technology, Disney’s Zoog TV effectively dissolves the barrier between television and the Internet through a marketing campaign aptly titled “TV you do.” Carving out a crucial space where tweens can exhibit their presence in the world, exercise their individuality and, most importantly, interact with the Disney global media empire, the thrust of the campaign creates a symbiotic relationship between broadcasted Disney Channel programs such as Lizzie McGuire and its corresponding online web site. Ultimately, our review seeks to raise a cautionary flag as to the seemingly unquestioned acceptance of corporate America’s role in the construction of childhood.
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Tweens, Media, and Zoog Disney
Those who control the media control a society’s discourses about itself. - Norman K. Denzin, 1996, p. 319
The late 1990s has witnessed an explosion of media interest and investment with the tween demographic which, although accounting for only 20% of viewing audiences, wields considerable spending power within the family unit ranging from food and clothing purchases to vacation spot choices (cf Schetting). On the heels of recent success in the music industry by Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and the Backstreet Boys, at the box office with the likes of Shrek, Toy Story, and Antz, in literature with J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and in sports with the Women’s United Soccer Association’s (W*USA) “Every girls’ a superhero” campaign (Giardina & Metz, 2001), marketing to the adolescent consumer-in-training has become a top priority among multinational corporations. In terms of mass media, perennial cable powerhouses Viacom (through Nickelodeon, 47% of tween viewership in the US) and Disney (32%) lead the way in search of the elusive and often fickle tween viewer; other cable leaders such as the Cartoon Network (AOL Time-Warner) and Fox Kids and Fox Family (both News Corporation) have similarly adjusted their line-ups to win the tween ratings war (“Nick Kids ’01: Different tastes, but more clout,” 12). Although Nickelodeon continues to command the largest tween audience share by offering a mixture of animated series, live-action shows, and music videos, Disney, employing a similar on-air format, is mounting a serious challenge, most notably through cross-promotion on other Disney-owned platforms, a stepped-up web presence, and the introduction of Zoog Television for tween audiences.
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Zoog television is Disney’s answer to and biggest rival against Nickelodeon’s tween viewers. The Zoog segment of Disney’s programming airs in prime afternoon, evening, and weekend timeslots featuring original series (i.e., Totally Hoops, The Jersey, and Lizzie McGuire), popular network reruns such as Boy Meets World (which formerly aired on the Disney-owned ABC network), and interstitial music videos, news, and highlights from upcoming Disney film/video releases (Zbar). The centerpiece of Zoog, however, is found in the multi-media, interactive web destination that utilizes the latest in Flash architecture and encourages visitors to actively participate in the construction of their Zoog experience. In the year following its launch in 1999, ZoogDisney.com brought in nearly 2 million registered users (not to mention all of those who did not take the time to become “registered” users but still utilized the site), all of whom can access information on any of the Disney shows and movies currently part of its cable line-up (Zbar 1). However, beyond such standard web fare, the site offers a variety of interactive games, polls, quizzes, and chat rooms (all referred to as the “Zeether” area), the responses of which may end up publicly viewed on either the web site or during Disney Channel programming. This interactivity between website and Zoog television programming envelopes the visitor completely, offering the seduction of being noticed and recognized through the self-expression of game participation and written word.
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The interactive aspect inherent in Disney’s cable presence is vital to discussions of adolescent empowerment not only because it utilizes savvy advertising and marketing techniques, but because the integrated experience alleges to make noticeable the oft-unheard voice of the tween. As the viewer becomes more and more enmeshed in the online Disney community, the “TV you do” mantra takes on added meaning as tweens are repeatedly presented with the opportunity of their thoughts and feelings endings up on either TV or computer screen [read: I can be heard in a world where grown-ups ignore me] because of an activity they participated in via the web site.
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In keeping with the notion of empowering its viewers, Zoog programming also features an advertising campaign called “Express Yourself.” Shot in the style of public service announcements (PSAs) and featuring actors from Zoog programming, the daily struggles kids’ face in an adult world are presented with a modicum of fuss. Speaking in an intimate, break-the-fourth-wall atmosphere, each 30-second spot casts the actors as speaking in an honest and casual manner about topics ranging from the mundane (i.e., exploits of a messy versus tidy room or what leisure activities the actor participates in) to the pseudo-philosophical (i.e., what inspires or who acts as a role model). These spots each close with the tagline, “Express yourself - kids like you are expressing themselves everyday.” Framed in Disney-magic, self-expression becomes a vital (and guaranteed) part of the youth experience. The seductive appeal of these PSA-styled advertisements is that actualizing such self-referential behavior is inextricably tied to and becomes dependent upon the consumption of Disney-made ideology. This is seen most noticeably via the interaction that takes place on the Disney website, where speaking honestly about one’s feelings (in the form of written responses to questions or in chat rooms), admiring Disney-created celebrities, or participating in online gaming is seen as a wholesome activity that allows each tween to deal with the struggles of daily life in a pseudo-escapist environment portrayed as realistic. This attitude and offering is, to a certain extent, welcomed, but it comes with a great price tag; self-expression is deeply embedded in the matrix of civil liberties and, in the usual refrain, the freedom to express one’s self is often limited by socio-cultural and economic constraints. Tween consumers who have access to these messages of self-expression and self-esteem are those individuals who have access to Disney cable programming, have Internet access via a state-of-the-art computer, and further can relate to the stories and experiences these actors share with their viewers which, regardless of appearance, are decidedly middle-class in nature. That said, it would seem self-expression à la Disney - as well as the underlying freedom to express human agency - can only be found in the always already neo-liberal ideology governing late-modern America.
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Coda
Echoing Gill’s assertion that tweens “are the first totally wired-and wireless-generation, with computers, the Internet, PDAs, pagers and cellular phones all seemingly part of their birthright” (14), Disney’s seamless integration of interactive cyberspace matching its on-air broadcasting offers a glimpse into the advent of TV-Internet cross-overs that target tween consumers. Further, it would seem this cross-media promotion is working wonders for Disney: as the website continues to grow in popularity - recording an increase in registered users and click-through rates each month - Disney’s tween market share is inching forward toward overtaking Nickelodeon as the industry leader (Ault 54). However, we must remain wary of the impact and reach of such conglomerates when it comes to them providing our children with pre-packaged and commodified kernels of pseudo-empowerment rhetoric that masquerade as wholesome entertainment.
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9 | | Works Cited
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This review stems from a much larger project currently being conducted by the authors in collaboration with C.L. Cole and Dorie Geissler that focuses on the consumption of adolescence, sport, and national identity in the United States. Portions of this review were presented at the 2001 conference of the American Sociological Association in Anaheim, California, under the title "McPowering Adolescence: Consuming girls' sports in Disney's America."
Ault, S. “Betting on Zoog.” Broadcasting and Cable 131 30 April 2001: 54-55.
Bagdikian, B. H. The media monopoly. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2000.
Denzin, N.K. “More rare air: Michael Jordan on Michael Jordan.” Sociology of Sport Journal 13 (1996): 319-324.
Gill, R. “Wired at birth.” Newsday (New York), 13 December 2000: 14C.
Giardina, M.D., & Metz, J.L. “Every girl’s a superhero”: Corporate (trans)nationalism(s), women’s soccer, and “Global (W)USA.” Paper to be presented at the annual conference for the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, San Antonio, Texas, November 2001.
Giroux, H.A. “Innocence and pedagogy in Disney’s world.” In E. Bell, L. Haas, & L. Sells (Eds.). From mouse to mermaid: The politics of film, gender, and culture Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. 1995: 43-61.
McChesney, R. W. Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999
“Nick Kids ’01: Different tastes, but more clout.” Advertising Age 72 (12 February 2001): 12.
Schetting, C. “Tween shall meet.” Broadcasting and Cable 131 (5 March 2001): 19.
Zbar, J.D. “Wishing upon a star only the beginning.” Advertising Age 71 (10 April 2000): 1.
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10 | | Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Michael D. Giardina and Jennifer L. Metz. ""TV You Do": Disney-Style Interactivity and the Corporo-Empowerment of American Tweens " M/C Reviews 25 Oct. 01. [your date of access] <http://www.media-culture.org.au/reviews/features/interactive/giardinametz.html>.
Chicago style:
Michael D. Giardina and Jennifer L. Metz, ""TV You Do": Disney-Style Interactivity and the Corporo-Empowerment of American Tweens ," M/C Reviews 25 Oct. 01, <http://www.media-culture.org.au/reviews/features/interactive/giardinametz.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Michael D. Giardina and Jennifer L. Metz. (2001) "TV You Do": Disney-Style Interactivity and the Corporo-Empowerment of American Tweens . M/C Reviews 25 Oct. 01. <http://www.media-culture.org.au/reviews/features/interactive/giardinametz.html> ([your date of access]). | |
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