Sesame Street

Below are my answers to the questions Dr. Maruca passed around in class. My group had to analyze two websites on Sesame Street - http://www.sesamestreet.org and http://www.youtube.com/user/SesameStreet - along with the print ad for a Big Bird clothing line.

1. Describe the document you are analyzing, including its historical place and time, its target user and /or intended audience, and in what setting it would probably have been used (you may have to make an educated guess; some examples are more obvious than others).

* The Sesame Street advertisement is a very contemporary piece even though it is a show that has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. The target user for what is being advertised – Big Bird's clothing line – are small children, but the intended audience are the parents of small children since they are the ones who have the power to go and purchase the products.

2. Tell us anything that surprised you about this. Did anything strike you as particularly unusual?

*What really surprised me about this ad was that it was kind of plain for being a Sesame Street advertisement. The picture was not an action shot, it is very simple, and the little girl in the picture is not even smiling to display how happy she is with the wonderful Big Bird clothes she is wearing. I found this a little strange since it seems that this ad does not reach its full potential because it seems to me that it is lacking in so many area.

3. What sorts of language technologies or communication forms are emphasized in your document and what kinds are downplayed or ignored?

*On the two websites, what was really emphasized was computer literacy and if one could navigate around the site and get to all of the different activities and products that are being offered. As far as the youtube video goes, a child would probably need the help of a parent if he wants to go to the other videos or if he is looking for one in particular. The actual Sesame Street website is a little more children friendly because there are pictures besides all of the words on the tabs, so even if a child could not read, he could figure out what each tab and link meant. However, there really was not much emphasis on the actual reading of things as far as words and sentences for children because everything seemed to be more picture oriented.


4. What sorts of skills, competencies, and/ or modes of thinking/learning are emphasized in your document and what kinds are downplayed or ignored?

*Computer literacy skills are definitely emphasized on the two websites, and comprehension skills are emphasized on the print ad. The modes of thinking and learning that seem to be most important to the website are interactive skills, such as being able to follow the activities verbally and visually set forth by Elmo and Cookie Monster. However, there really is not any emphasis on the actual reading required for these activities, and all of the instructions are stated verbally instead of being written out. The reading and writing aspect seems to really be downplayed.

5. Using Knoblach's definitions, what sorts of literacies are emphasized in your document and what kinds are downplayed or ignored?

*According to Knoblach's definitions, the type of literacy that is emphasized the most is functional literacy. By being able to read, children are able to perform the functions necessary to navigate around the site to get to the different activities If a child could not read, his abilities would be greatly limited and he would not be able to enjoy the site as much as a child who could read,

6. Look closely at the language used. (Language includes descriptions, images, metaphors, vocabulary--WHAT is being said as well as HOW.) How do you think this reflects the document's values?

*In the print ad, what is being said is that children should wear clothes from the Big Bird clothing line if they want to be happy or look as cute as the girl in the picture. However, I do believe this message would be getting across a lot better if the girl was actually smiling and showing her jubilation at getting to wear such clothes. Instead, it is a very simple ad with a non-smiling girl standing in a very plain room. However, it is clear that the message of the document is to sell clothes and they believe that the best way to do this is to apply to the child's sense of love for the show, which is demonstrated not only by the clothes that the little girl is wearing, but by the stuffed animal of a little Ernie being in the corner.

7. Look back over your answers to questions 1-6. Based on these answers, along with anything else that strikes you about the text, how would you describe the cultural politics of your document? That is, who might be empowered by this sort of literacy training and who might be marginalized? Remember, students who succeed with these methods will become "literate," while those who don't do well--or aren't allowed to participate--will be judged as "illiterate." What effects might the privileging of this sort of literacy have on the broader culture (and vice-versa)?

* The group of people who might be empowered by this sort of literacy training are those who can actually afford to buy the product that is being advertised. The group that is being marginalized are the parents who cannot afford these clothes even though they know how much their children would enjoy wearing something with Elmo or Cookie Monster on it.

As far as the websites go, those are are empowered by it are those who are either rich enough to have a computer at home to access the sites, or those who go to a school which is privileged enough to have computers for its students. This group of student would be considered “illiterate” by circumstances that are beyond their control.

The types of effects that this might have on students is that those who have access to computers and therefore able to play the fun games might feel superior to those who are not able to get onto the sites because they do not have the equipment (the money needed to buy a computer and Internet access) necessary to do so. For the print ad, the children who get to wear the Sesame Street clothes might feel bad or even look down on the kids whose parents are not able to afford such clothes. Even at such a young age, these divides are enough to create rifts between children and be the beginning of social classes.