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Nickelodeon Nation: The History, Politics, and Economics of America's Only TV Channel for Kids
Nickelodeon is the highest rated daytime channel in the country, and its cultural influence has grown at an astounding pace. Why are Nickelodeon shows so popular? How are they developed and marketed? And where do they fit in the economic picture of the children's media industry? Nickelodeon Nation, the first major study of the only TV channel just for children, investigates these questions.
Intended for a wide range of readers and illustrated thorughout, the essays in Nickelodeon Nation are grouped into four sections: economics and marketing; the production process; programs and politics; and viewers. The contributors--who include a former employee in Nick's animation department, an investigative journalist, a developmental pyschologist who helped develop "Blue's Clues," and television and cultural studies scholors--show how Nickelodeon succeeds, in large part, by simultaneously satisfying both children and adults. For kids, Nick offers gross-out jokes and no-holds-barred goofiness, while for adults it offers a violence-free world, ethnic and racial diversity, and gender parity. Nick gives kids the fun they want by gently violating adult ideas of propriety, and satisfies adults by conforming to their vision of "quality" children's programming.
Nickelodeon Nation shows how, in only twenty years, Nickelodeon has transformed itself from the "green vegetable network"--distasteful for kids but "good for them," according to parents--into a super-cool network with some of the most successful shows on the air. This ground-breaking collection fills a major gap in our understanding of both contemporary children's culture and the television industry.
Contributors include: Daniel R. Anderson, Sarah Banet-Weiser, Henry Jenkins, Mark Langer, Vicki Mayer, Susan Murray, Heather Hendershot, Norma Pecora, Kevin S. Sandler, Ellen Seiter, Linda Simensky, and Mimi Swartz.
Intended for a wide range of readers and illustrated thorughout, the essays in Nickelodeon Nation are grouped into four sections: economics and marketing; the production process; programs and politics; and viewers. The contributors--who include a former employee in Nick's animation department, an investigative journalist, a developmental pyschologist who helped develop "Blue's Clues," and television and cultural studies scholors--show how Nickelodeon succeeds, in large part, by simultaneously satisfying both children and adults. For kids, Nick offers gross-out jokes and no-holds-barred goofiness, while for adults it offers a violence-free world, ethnic and racial diversity, and gender parity. Nick gives kids the fun they want by gently violating adult ideas of propriety, and satisfies adults by conforming to their vision of "quality" children's programming.
Nickelodeon Nation shows how, in only twenty years, Nickelodeon has transformed itself from the "green vegetable network"--distasteful for kids but "good for them," according to parents--into a super-cool network with some of the most successful shows on the air. This ground-breaking collection fills a major gap in our understanding of both contemporary children's culture and the television industry.
Contributors include: Daniel R. Anderson, Sarah Banet-Weiser, Henry Jenkins, Mark Langer, Vicki Mayer, Susan Murray, Heather Hendershot, Norma Pecora, Kevin S. Sandler, Ellen Seiter, Linda Simensky, and Mimi Swartz.
- GenresNonfiction
282 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 14, 2020
If you’re a big Nickelodeon fan, like me, a lot of this information is pretty much common knowledge at this point, and given that this was released in 2004, a lot of the information seems somewhat outdated. The Ren & Stimpy chapter specifically, is extremely shortsighted and only hints at the real reasons for John K being fired from the show. Obviously, a lot of his more predatory behavior has become more highly publicized in recent years, but the essay still feels as if it’s trying to sanitize a lot of the more salacious details.
Since the book is a collection of essays from various authors, a lot of the chapters repeat a lot of the same information in almost the same ways. How many times am I going to have to read about how children’s cartoons before Nickelodeon were cheaply produced, non-creator driven, and extended toy commercials? How many times am I going to have to read about how Nickelodeon’s reputation in the 70’s-80’s was seen as the “green vegetables” of children’s entertainment, and using that exact same descriptor?
There’s a few interesting chapters every so often. The Nick-at-Nite/TV Land chapter showed a more unique branch of Nickelodeon’s brand management, the chapter on Rugrats has some fascinating behind the scenes stories and creative disagreements, and the Spongebob chapter had a surprisingly engaging angle for a topic that almost everyone seems to already know everything about. The Blue’s Clues chapter is the only chapter dedicated to the Nick Jr. block and most of it is spent on scientific studies of preschooler viewing habits. There’s valuable information there, but it’s written in such a clinical manner that it becomes boring.
I’d say read select chapters that sound personally interesting to you, but you don’t need to read the entire book.
Since the book is a collection of essays from various authors, a lot of the chapters repeat a lot of the same information in almost the same ways. How many times am I going to have to read about how children’s cartoons before Nickelodeon were cheaply produced, non-creator driven, and extended toy commercials? How many times am I going to have to read about how Nickelodeon’s reputation in the 70’s-80’s was seen as the “green vegetables” of children’s entertainment, and using that exact same descriptor?
There’s a few interesting chapters every so often. The Nick-at-Nite/TV Land chapter showed a more unique branch of Nickelodeon’s brand management, the chapter on Rugrats has some fascinating behind the scenes stories and creative disagreements, and the Spongebob chapter had a surprisingly engaging angle for a topic that almost everyone seems to already know everything about. The Blue’s Clues chapter is the only chapter dedicated to the Nick Jr. block and most of it is spent on scientific studies of preschooler viewing habits. There’s valuable information there, but it’s written in such a clinical manner that it becomes boring.
I’d say read select chapters that sound personally interesting to you, but you don’t need to read the entire book.
July 6, 2015
This is a solid collection about an important channel. Each individual chapter is strong and a number of excellent scholars are represented. However, there is quite a bit of repetition between chapters as many focus on the evolution of Nickelodeon and its distinct brand strategy/voice. At times this is really interesting, as you can see some tensions and contradictions in different people's narratives but at others you find yourself reading the same bit of information multiple times. That being said this is a strong collection, particularly for classes because there is a strong combination of historical channel narratives and ideological/textual examinations of programming by media scholars and interviews and chapters written by individuals who were themselves involved with Nickelodeon and the development of Nickelodeon programming. This combination would be particular compelling for students who are interested in hearing from industry professionals.
July 8, 2016
This was okay but some essays kind of dragged on or weren't the Nickelodeon think pieces I was looking for. It was better than other essay books I read, where I still learned things even from my least favorite essays.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews