Move away Succession. Last month, another acclaimed family drama about a charismatic father’s commanding influence on the lives of his children became the most streamed acquired series on American television, leaving the Roy dynasty in the dust. I mean Bluethe Australian-made children’s cartoon about a family of dogs living in Brisbane.
Such it is BlueDue to its popularity, Americans watched 737 million minutes of the series in one week in April. But the numbers don’t capture the cultural dominance of the show. In recent years, Bluey’s speech has permeated parental life everywhere. The news is written on it storylines are censored; psychologists explain how to read the show as a parenting manual; A dedicated podcast dissect each episode; anxious dads worry on how to live up to the example set by Bandit: a tender bluff, overworked and poorly rested, who seems to have endless time to play with his children.
Fans of the kind parenting movement laud her portrayal of a mom and dad who listen to their kids and validate their feelings. Skeptics of such mollycoddlings applaud the no-nonsense life lessons taught to six-year-old Bluey and her little sister, Bingo. Yet I suspect there’s a simpler reason for the show’s success: Parents love to watch Blue. If there is one prestige TV for preschoolers, this is it.
Among the many small humiliations of a day spent caring for a small child, the horror of children’s television looms large. This is especially true if, like me, you’re an indolent parent who allows unlimited screen time in exchange for a modicum of personal freedom. Every day, from 3pm until dinnertime, my toddler waves in front of the screen, demanding show after show like a drunk at the jukebox.
The result is a punishing program of nonsense. Leaving aside the smug platitudes of Peppa Pig or the infernal merchandising maelstrom that it is Paw Patrol, much of children’s television seems designed to numb the viewer into submission. (Couldn’t you just turn off the TV and take your kids outside, you ask? Yeah, sure. Or you could get them to watch Blue.)
In this sea of slag, Blue it’s a life raft – a reminder that there is intelligent life beyond the living room floor. His story arcs display genuine creative ambition. The years go by in a seven-minute episode, “Camping”. Another, “Bin Night,” is a series of cartoons spread over many months. “Takeaway” takes place on the street outside a Chinese restaurant as Bandit and the kids wait for their order of spring rolls. There are episodes without any dialogue (“Rain”) and Holstian dreamscapes set in space (“Sleepytime”). One of my favorites is “Markets,” a tongue-in-cheek lesson in the principle of capital flows that follows the five-dollar bill Bluey receives from the tooth fairy at a local fair. Visually, it’s a more romantic relative of The Simpsonswith the soft Queensland landscapes a backdrop for the goggle-eyed canines.
But perhaps the show’s greatest triumph is that it eschews the tired old format of a few minutes of bland moralizing spiced up with a few savvy gags for the grown-ups. Instead, creator Joe Brumm he said his goal was to create a show that would allow “a real co-vision, in which two generations did not laugh at each other’s exclusion, but saw how each generation sees itself. . . let’s get four-year-olds and forty-year-olds to watch together.
BlueThe genius of is that it refuses to separate the adult world of mortgages and mealtimes from childhood fantasies about leprechauns and magical vegetables. He describes childhood, accurately, as an experience shared by parents and children. In that respect, it’s the first truly multigenerational children’s television show. I just hope my son understands this soon.
—————————————————-
Source link