CHILDREN AND GLOBAL PLATFORMS: EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL MESSAGES IN CARTOON MASHA AND THE BEAR

Authors: Ana Mirković Moguš, Rahaela Varga, Sara Fabičević

Paper categorization: Original scientific paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.38003/sv.74.2.2

Paper: CHILDREN AND GLOBAL PLATFORMS: EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL MESSAGES IN CARTOON MASHA AND THE BEAR

Abstract:

Global platforms are increasingly accessible to the youngest users through various media, which requires reflection on the media education of preschool children within a family. Although cartoons are part of almost every child’s everyday life, research on educational messages arising from cartoons is insufficiently represented; therefore, the aim of this research was to identify educational messages in cartoons that influence the development of children’s social competences. For this reason, we analysed the episodes of the cartoon Masha and the Bear, which were selected as the most viewed cartoon on the global platform YouTube. The research applied descriptive content analysis with a focus on qualitative elements for the purpose of identifying educationally positive and negative messages arising from the most-watched episodes of the cartoon Masha and the Bear. Additional purpose was to detect and interpret non-verbal signs from which educational messages arise in the sphere of the development of social competences. Based on Peirce’s theory of signs, a semiotic analysis of the content of individual episodes of the cartoon Masha and the Bear was applied in order to categorise the signs into symbols depending on six universal character determinants as criteria of positivity and negativity. The results of the research show that positivity is the dominant aspect in all the analysed episodes, i.e. the actions and behaviour of the character the Bear follow all six universal character determinants criteria of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, care and citizenship, while the actions and behaviour of the character Masha are also positive in most criteria, except for the determinants of justice and care. Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that the most-watched episodes of the cartoon Masha and the Bear send positive educational messages to children that can contribute to the development of their social competences.

Keywords:

semiotic analysis, social competences, media content, visual elements, media education, signs