The Window in the Corner: A Half-Century of Childrens Television FROM THE PUBLISHER
"From the soothing tones and creaking marionettes of Watch with Mother in the 1950s to the surreal 'Time Machine'-like landscape of Teletubbyland, Ruth Inglis examines the extraordinary world of children's television in Britain and North America. She discusses how commercial success has vied with the need to educate, how programmes such as Blue Peter tried to instill feelings of compassion as well as entertain and how series such as The Magic Roundabout set about cultivating fantasy in children's minds. It was, however, the groundbreaking American Sesame Street that, through careful research into the learning processes of the very young, really set the standard for teaching the 'three Rs' while remaining entertaining." The book also includes detailed discussion of developments in animation techniques from the string-operated puppets of The Woodentops, through the somewhat slicker 'Supermarionation' of Stingray and the ever-popular Thunderbirds, to the computerized 'cut-out' characters of South Park, and from traditional cartoon animation of shows such as Yogi Bear to the Plasticine figures in the Wallace and Gromit films.
SYNOPSIS
Here for the first time is a comprehensive overview of children's television in the US and the UK. Inglis offers up discussions from the soothing tones of "Howdy Doody" in the 1950s to the surreal landscape of Teletubbyland, with many side trips visits to "Romper Room" and "Mister Rogers," "Sesame Street," "The SImpsons," "South Park," and "Barney." How have children's television shows grown and developed, how have they changed, how have they adapted from the early string-operated puppets to today's cartoons and sophisticated animation.
Art & Photography
Book Info
