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How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

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Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#311

Post by williamcotton »

cfiggers wrote: post #248
pylua wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also sets the bar very high for parents.

Yes—in an encouraging way.

Eh, well, I dunno. I’ve got kids and I don’t personally let them give me as much crap as Bluey and Bingo do. Like, if they’re running up to the screen at a kids movie I’m taking them home. There’s other people in the theatre to consider. Kids need boundaries along with compassion, and yes, I know that there are the odd Bluey episodes that deal with boundaries, not getting what you want, etc…

…but there’s a lot of what seems like the kids just steamrolling their parents. That’s not sustainable for me. Being a parent is like having two full time jobs. It’s hard enough as it is to just get through the day. The bar is set a little too high.

But hey, my wife and I agree with this, so y’all do you! I’m sure most of our kids will probably turn out just fine no matter how much we model ourselves after Bandit and Chili.

I think it is a wonderful show regardless.

Edit: Knowing the average age in this industry, I have the distinct feeling that quite a few people who are not parents are involving themselves in these discussions and moderations. Just wait. I'm offering a realistic viewpoint positioned against a cartoon. And I'm not being a jerk about it.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#312

Post by johnnyanmac »

The_Colonel wrote: post #120
lukeck wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At my kids’ childcare, by far the most popular educator is non-binary. They do a great job of listening to the kids, and talking to them without talking down to them. Come to think of it, the way they interact with the kids actually reminds me a fair bit of the parents in Bluey. Both my kids (3 and 5 but now at school) have said stuff like “Today we did x with Greg. He’s not exactly a boy and not exactly a girl.” The…

I guess this is more common in US then. I live in a pretty liberal European city, yet I haven't met any non-binary person. I know exactly one trans person, and only remotely (she lives in US). I guess to me, this topic seems "advanced", perhaps "irrelevant" in a way for such a small kid. There are many other things she needs to learn about, which she will commonly experience in the real world.

Depends on the circle. Tech industry in California, know 2 NBs, and 2 trans people (and then 2 more I knew transitioned after I left work and contact with them). I guess that does fit all the liberal stereotypes that people like to throw at my State.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#313

Post by metaltyphoon »

charlangas wrote: post #230
a_bonobo wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Onesies' and 'Babyrace' are also highly emotional episodes. Onesies is, hidden for children, about the inability to conceive children, not being able to deal with your relatives' children; 'Babyrace' is about the doubt all parents have about their parenting ('You're doing great' is aimed directly at the audience)

It took me reading your comment to realize that Bella's "You're doing great" at the end is directed at us parents. Thanks for the unexpected tears :)

Just watched that and both of us couldn’t contain it either:)

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#314

Post by sophacles »

geraldwhen wrote: post #285
afavour wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The show unashamedly depicts an intact household with two loving, heterosexual parents. It's "stunning and brave" in the current culture. Eh? I'm trying to think of peer shows of Bluey... Peppa Pig and Daniel Tiger come to mind (Trash Truck anyone? Charming little show), heterosexual parents are by far and away the norm. The idea that it's "brave" to show them feels like a conservative talking point that's out of s…

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#315

Post by lotsofpulp »

wharvle wrote: post #282
lotsofpulp wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bluey and her sister are 6 and 4 years old at the start of the show, now 7 and 5. I don’t think the show is made with 2 year olds in mind. Maybe 3.5 and up, but a lot of the concepts are for the 5+ kids in my opinion.

Good children's programming often presents characters somewhat older (in affect, if not truly in age, e.g. Big Bird) than the target audience, to act as role models. You don't want a typical 3-year-old to look to a typical 3-year-old as an example for what to aspire to, you want them to look at well-developing 4-, 5-, and 6-year olds. This works well anyway, since children often look up to older kids and are interest…

Sure, but the content of Bluey is not going to understandable to a 2 year old. I would guess 3 is when some basic understanding starts, but 3.5 to be safe.

In my experience, below 3.5 or so, more sing song-y and basic repetitious stuff is digestible. Bluey episodes have a plot and lots of dialogue that has to be followed.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#316

Post by slipperlobster »

nightowl_games wrote: post #192
monkeydreams wrote: post #41

One of favourite Bluey facts is that the Dad is an archaeologist and the Mother works airport security. One digs up bones and the other sniffs for drugs.

Never made that connection! Thats hilarious

Strangely enough, there seem to be a lot of hidden references and callbacks in Bluey.

Just one source I found: https://www.reddit.com/r/bluey/comments/ipi4ft/a_thread_for_...

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#317

Post by bgmeister »

Fun fact for the non-Australians, the actor who plays Bandit is part of an awesome indie-rock band named Custard formed in the late 80s. Worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_(band) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v03j7my0V6c (relatively recent single)

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#318

Post by berrel »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #308
berrel wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drag is men dressing up as caricatures of women. They wear costumes intended to represent women and mimic female bodies, adopt a 'woman' persona under a feminised and often heavily sexualised name, and act out every demeaning, offensive stereotype of women for laughs, often leaning heavily on mocking women's bodies and the physical experiences exclusive to women: pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, menstruation, and som…

I guess you think that bodybuilders, models, and actors (film and especially Theatre) are all misandric/misogynistic as well? They fit all the items above as well. I guess I see why the comment upstream was flagged.

Please explain your logic more clearly, I don't see the connection you're making between the occupations you mentioned and men dressing up to make an offensive mockery of women in the way they do for drag.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#319

Post by madeofpalk »

jph00 wrote: post #68

I live in the area where the show is set (the Morton Bay region north of Brisbane) and it’s delightful how many details we recognise in the show. Having lived in the US for 10 years and returning couple of years ago (with my first 30 years in Australia), I feel like Bluey does a great job of showing some key cultural differences between these countries. I’ve seen some American viewers get quite cross by what they see…

I'm Australian living in UK for 10 years - I haven't watched it, but a friend who's a parent talks to me about it and I've seen clips and it makes me nostalgic about things that I've completely forgotten. Like "crumbed or battered" fish, or "bush wee".

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#320

Post by earthboundkid »

pylua wrote: post #245
ursuscamp wrote: post #213

Bluey blew me away when I saw it with my daughter. It's sweet, positive, emotional, well written. It's not the slightest bit cynical, handles every issue with tact, doesn't contain heavy handed messaging and has traditional values. It also has a very positive two parent dynamic. This is an absolute unicorn of a show. Note: my usage of "traditional values" is not meant to evoke anything political or intended to be int…

It also sets the bar very high for parents.

My friend says she tries to model herself on the Mum from Bluey.

I say it gives children unrealistic ideas about how much play time the average parent can engage in without getting a crick in their back.

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