Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction Of Childhood

by Shirley R. Steinberg

For corporate America, children—and their parents’ money—are 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 children—all 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 children—and on our beliefs about childhood.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Associate professor at McGill University in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. A former theatre director, Shirley is a contributor to The Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette as a cultural critic. She holds a PhD in cultural studies from Pennsylvania State University.

Reviews

[Cynthia Ainsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essays on how corporations wield their power to manipulate children. Chapters on Disney and Internet very powerful.

[Echo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my freshman college english class. Inquiry Seminar. It was very biased against all corporations, to the point where you questioned their data. In the Disney chapter, I noticed that they misconstrued evidence and put out some pretty unbelievable statistics, which I couldn't find when I looked up their sources. I could have misread the sources and overlooked a statistic, but their was a part on the Incredibles pushing Baby Einstein on viewers and when I looked up the quote myself it was clear that it could not referring to Baby Einstein. The chapter on Hot Topic was too long and repeated itself a lot. While I agree that the Corporations are vastly affecting our lives, especially the children's view of the world, this book is so heavily slanted it's hard to believe anything they say.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the essays in this book on how the vague notion of "childhood" is created in America are great and some seem to say nothing at all. My favorite was the otherwise unfortunately titled "The Advent of a Postmodern Childhood", which explored media depictions of children as a force to be feared and controlled, with a brief discussion of how this reflects current attitudes towards childhood. It was especially interesting to read the criticism of Home Alone, a film which I hated as a child for the rather distressing violence, but which I hadn't otherwise thought of for years.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy, there's some sick people out there. And they all want to turn your kid into some automatron buying robot. Sad thing is, it's working. Get this book...very disturbing.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Critical analyses of Barbie, Disney, Harry Potter and professional wrestling? Can't go wrong with that.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, good articles. Highly enjoyed the one of Buffy & Vampires in youth culture.