SOC 100 Andrea Morales Dubón Short Essay #2: Television as a Socializing Agent On Monday February 18th at 5 pm I watched PBS’ cartoon show Caillou. The title of the episode was “Thoughtful Caillou”, and it addressed different themes that are commonly related to the socialization of children; the main ones were family, friends, school and adventure. Caillou (the main character of this television show) is a four-year-old boy who has fun in the small world that surrounds him, embellishing everything he observes with his rich imagination. According to the definition provided in class socialization is the process by which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a given society and learn to function as a member of that society. The show presents Caillou socializing with his parents, his little sister, his grandparents and his friends; Caillou discovers the world while impatiently waiting for the moment to grow, every day is a new adventure and socializing opportunity for Caillou. One of the key themes particularly related to socialization that was addressed is Non-Material Culture, which according to our textbook consists of the values, beliefs/behaviors and social norms. This episode teaches the children a set of different values through Caillou’s daily adventures and experiences. One of the values that I could observe was solidarity; the protagonist of the show offers his help to one of his neighbors (Mrs. Howard) with house chores, because she had a sprained ankle. Caillou helps Mrs. Howard by watering the plants, dusting the house and getting her mail. Even though he was not the best at doing house chores, he had only good intentions and this action definitely set a great example for the children watching the show. Another key term that was present on this episode of Caillou was Consumerism. Consumerism is defined as steadily acquiring material possessions, with the belief that happiness and fulfillment can thus be achieved. When Caillou was participating in the “Fun Run” the mainpurpose of this was helping other persons since it was a charity run. However, Caillou’s and his friend’s main motivation for participating was winning a ribbon. Even after Caillou learned that it was a charity run and he would be helping people, he seemed a lot more eager when he received an ice cream cone, a hat and a blue ribbon for participating in this race. Another sociology-related theme covered in this episode was Friendship. When Caillou helped Mrs. Howard with her chores, he ended up making a little bit of a mess. However, Mrs. Howard was not mad at him; instead she was really grateful and told him that she had enjoyed an afternoon of company and laughs with him. Caillou learned that giving his time is often the best way to help a friend in need. Another important example for this term is when Caillou goes to a school trip and is asked to be the new girls’ partner. He was not excited about a new partner because he wanted to be with his friend Leo. Caillou then remembers his first day of school and how he felt when he was new and did not have any friends, thus he starts being nice to Layla and ends up having a lot of fun with her at the museum they went to. When they come back Caillou is happy for having a new friend. I also believe is important to mention that this also teaches the children how to be empathic, since Caillou puts himself in Layla’s situation of being the new kid, he remembers how his first day went for him, thus he tries to be nice to her just as the other children were to him on his first day. It is interesting how children’s tv shows portray very complex and sophisticated terms and ideas in a very simple and practical way, in which it is easy for the children to understand these ideas and/or concepts. The latter makes me believe that tv shows are an important tool nowadays and it definitely has a big impact in children’s socialization. Children store all kinds of information they receive, whether from school, from their parents, from a story...and, of course, from television. Television has become one of the most importantand influential activities in children’s lives. Which is why I believe parents should really make an effort to control everything their children are watching on tv. In my opinion, Caillou is a great television show for children because it teaches them important values and also shows them that anything that surrounds them can become the perfect excuse to start a new adventure, learn new things and have fun. References - Conley, Dalton. You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist. Core 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton,