Consumerism and Kids Entertainment

Intro

In the last century of consumerisim, its become increasingly common for corporations to commodify culture and identity inspired by the Edward Barnays school of thought. This commodification can take many forms, from the co-opting of symbols and stories from minority communities to the exploitation of true stories. Ill be focused however on the evolution of childrens culture and how its been exploited for profits and clout.

The commodification of children's culture.

Cultural appropriations happens when a company or an individual attempts to capitalize on a particular culture without properly understanding, acknowledging, or respecting it. In order to do this, one must take the stories, symbols, and ideas of that culture or community and rebrand them to make money and gain recognition. This is often at the detriment of the community as it often leads to the distortion of valuable stories and symbols as context is lost in the process of rebranding.

IRL

FNAF

One of the most well-known examples is the Five Nights At Freddy's (FNAF) franchise. This is a popular video game series in which the player takes on the role of a security guard in a pizzeria filled with animatronic robots. While the game is intended to be frightening, it has been heavily commodified with merchandise, spin-off games, and even a movie. Unfortunately, this commodification has led to a distortion of the game's original themes and ideas.

Harry Potter

Another popular example is the Harry Potter franchise. This series of books and movies about a young wizard has become a global phenomenon, with merchandise, spin-off projects, and more. While this has provided entertainment for millions of people, it has also led to a commodification of the stories and ideas of the books. For example, themes such as racism, imperialism, and fascism have been overlooked in favor of the more marketable aspects of the franchise.

In their study “Harry Potter and the Commodity Fetish: Activating Corporate Readings in the Journey from Text to Commercial Intertext” in the Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies journal, professors Waetjen and Gibson attest,

the current explosion of Potter-inspired merchandise is, to be sure, a textbook case in the commodification of children’s culture and the proliferating sins of hyper-commercialism.

They further argue that the exploitation children’s interests is so intrusive that it alters their worldviews. Mass consumerism and the commodification of childrens content informs impressionable children’s reliance on material objects as foundational to their concept of happiness and identity.

Influencers, Advertisements and Authenticity

The advertising of influencers is less about the product but rather centers the creator as an individual we'd like to support through consumerism the merch could very well be empty for all intents and purposes because the content creates a mythos in which Jake or insert influencer is a hero to be rooted for through the established parasocial relationship An example of this that sticks out prominently in my memory for its sheer absurdity and lack of subtlety would have to be Jake Pauls's “All I Want for Christmas” a 2017 song in which Jake dressed up as Santa Claus and tells his army of kid fans to 'buy that merch!’ over and over and over. Not once in the music video is the merch in question advertised, displayed or described outside of 2 verses specifying that

All I want for Christmas is a Jake Paul shirt.

All I want for Christmas is a JP sweatshirt.

The merch regardless of what it is becomes simply an extension of the creator behind it and the lore and mythos around their digital persona. Its honestly more meta and self aware than anything a traditional brand would be able to get away with.

Conclusion

It's clear that the commercialization of children's culture is a real and present concern. It can and has led to the distortion and misrepresentation of art, media and broader kid-culture. As such, it is important to be aware of the influence of ads and consumerism on children in a digital landscape where the line between authentic connection and manufactured realities is becoming all the more blurry

meme that inspired this: