I was recently sent a DVD of the popular PBS series, Maya and Miguel to review. Since we do not have broadcast or cable TV in my home (long complicated story involving Waldorf low media principles, a fight with the cable company, and wire cutting) my DS had never seen the show. One day last week, we sat down to watch it together.
Living with a preschooler in a low media home, I’m aware that I’m often not hip on popular culture. Yes, we know about Dora and Superman/Spiderman/Batman/Pokemon but, mostly through books, billboards and other children’s toys. So, I was a bit surprised by the content of this DVD.
My first reaction – “Hey, that’s Mami Terri’s House!â€. Mami Terri is the “abuelita†of my DS’s best friend. We visit her home often and frequently find ourselves sprinkling our conversation with Spanish for days after.
Since we live in Southern California, I speak some Spanish and worked in Hispanic marketing for a number of years, my family is a regular visitor to a number of Spanish-speaking households. What surprised me was the replication of those households on broadcast TV.
Perhaps I’m naïve. Italian American households (no, not only Mafia households) and African American households have been a sit-com staple for many years. Watching shows that feature the traditions with which they are familiar, promotes pride for children living in those households and understanding in those who don’t. In our increasingly multi-cultural society this is obviously a good thing.
Launched in 2004, the Maya and Miguel audience is 1/3 Hispanic. The other 2/3rds, general market (i.e. everyone else) audience more or less reflects the US population. So, this show skews Hispanic but is popular across the board, which is reflected in the series’ goals:
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(1) to promote the value of a culturally diverse society
(2) to support English language learners through the presentation of language in a natural context with a special emphasis on vocabulary
For the many parents in our part of the country who yearn for their children to grow up bi-lingual, despite living with mono-lingual parents, this type of programming is particularly appealing – though probably not terribly effective in helping them reach their goal. What it can do for non- Hispanic children, living in heavily Hispanic areas of the country is to give children some insight into the homes in which their friends live.
For children living in other parts of the US, Maya and Miguel gives children some insight into the Hispanic culture as it’s practiced in millions of American homes. That is, not only tiny adventurers like Dora and super heroes like El Tigre speak Spanish, normal everyday kids live in multi-cultural environments. The more opportunities we give for our youngest residents to view the multi-cultural mix that is 21st century America, the more understanding we are of each other’s traditions and the richer our larger culture becomes.
[tags]parenting, kids, children, spanish, bilingual, education, media, tv, mult-cultural, America[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by kristopherjohnson, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
3 responses so far ↓
Tere // Jun 18, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Good post - a topic near and dear to me.
The representation of Hispanic-Americans in general media/TV is abysmal, and a most of what does exist is embarrassingly stereotypical. What I find both funny and disappointing is that there is a significant amount of Hispanics who work in the broadcast/production industry (going by names in credits, which I check - it’s a habit I can’t seem to shake) - so I have to ask, what are they doing to correct the situation or usher in something new?
PBS does an all-around good job, I think, of exposing audiences to a variety of cultures and experiences. If no one else will do it, at least they will.
Thordora // Jun 19, 2007 at 4:33 am
We’ve watched this now and again, and it’s actually one show I don’t mind my daughters watching. There’s so much crap-this show actually seems to have something to offer. And, being in Canada, we’re more likely to get French exposure rather than Spanish. I want them to have exposure to both.
MC Milker // Jun 23, 2007 at 5:19 am
Teri,
Having worked in Hispanic marketing, I can speak to your point . If the audience is less than 50% Hispanic (as is Maya and Miguel) non-Hispanics worry about the appeal to the rest of the market. In addition, if the “higher ups” are not part of the culture, and don’t really understand the nuances of the culture, they may over-ride the decisions of those lower on the totem pole who are.
As a European-American working in a huge Hispanic company but, with many non-Hispanic marketers , I relied on our Hispanic agencies to advise me. This often took a great leap of faith, since I am not part of the culture.
But then, I really didn’t have anything to prove at that point in my career and could have a bit more relaxed attitude…which, most of the time, turns out to be a good thing.
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