Global Children, Global Media

236 Pages·2007·1.752 MB·English

by  Liesbeth de Block, David Buckingham

Global Children, Global
Media
Migration, Media and Childhood
Liesbeth de Block and
David Buckingham
Global Children, Global Media
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AlsobyDavidBuckingham
BEYONDTECHNOLOGY:LearningintheAgeofDigitalCulture
YOUNGPEOPLE,SEXANDTHEMEDIA
MEDIAEDUCATION:Literacy,LearningandContemporaryCulture
AFTERTHEDEATHOFCHILDHOOD: GrowingUpintheAgeof
ElectronicMedia
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Global Children, Global
Media
Migration, Media and Childhood
Liesbeth de Block
and
David Buckingham
InstituteofEducation,UniversityofLondon
July18,2007 9:25 MAC/GCG Page-iii 0230_506992_01_preiv
©LiesbethdeBlockandDavidBuckingham2007
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Contents
PrefaceandAcknowledgments viii
1 Changing Spaces: Globalisation, Media, Identity and
Childhood 1
2 WeAretheWorld?:ChildrenandMigration 29
3 BetweentheGlobalandtheLocal:YoungPeople,Media
andMigration 57
4 GoingGlobal:ChildhoodintheAgeofGlobalMedia 77
5 FindingaPlace:MigrantChildrenUsingMedia 94
6 Making Migrant Identities: Television in Children’s
EverydayLives 115
7 Speaking for Themselves?: Researching Youth Media
Production 134
8 PictureMeIn:MigrantChildrenasMediaMakers 157
9 Rapping All Over the World: Music, Media and
InterculturalCommunication 177
10 Conclusion 195
Bibliography 201
Index 218
vii
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Preface and Acknowledgments
Children today are growing up in a world of global media, in which
the voices of many cultures compete for attention. Media produced
specifically for children are increasingly marketed on a global scale;
whilemediaaimedatamoregeneralaudiencegivechildrenaccesstoan
unprecedented range of international events and experiences, as well
as offering visions of other countries and cultures. Increasing numbers
of children are themselves citizens of the globe: they inhabit multi-
cultural societies, and many have migrated themselves and now live
within active diasporas and transnational networks. Children are also
using media, particularly new media, to reaffirm their ‘local’ domestic
identitiesasmembersofparticularcommunities,nations,transnational
or ethnic groups. These developments are likely to have a significant
impact on their understanding of the world beyond their immediate
circumstances,andontheirrelationshipwithit.
This book seeks to address the complex and multi-faceted relation-
ships between childhood, media, migration and globalisation. Our
primary focus is on a specific group that has often been invisible or
misrepresentedinthedebate:thatis,migrantchildren.Weareparticu-
larlyconcernedwithchildrenwhohavemigratedintheirownlifetimes–
that is, first generation migrants – rather than the more established
‘ethnic minority’ communities that now exist in many parts of the
world.Inthisrespect,weareaddressinganissuethatisofconsiderable
concernincontemporarypublicandpoliticaldebate:itisanemotion-
ally charged topic that raises challenging questions about social cohe-
sion, nationhood, belonging and citizenship. Yet despite the intensity
of these debates, the experiences and perspectives of children them-
selves are rarely brought to bear – except where they are portrayed as
passivevictimsor(increasingly)asathreat.
By contrast, we argue that children are often central actors in the
process of migration. They are in the ‘front line’ as migrant families
come to terms with their lives in their new location; and they are
often the focus for parents’ fears and aspirations for the future and
forthetensionbetweenculturalcontinuityandchange.Themediaare
frequentlyacrucialelementinthisprocess.Childreninmigrantfamilies
are likely to experience a wide range of media, from local, national,
transnationalandglobalsources.Thesemediaprovidethemwithsome
viii
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