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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

#411

Post by fillskills »

jboggan wrote: post #18

Bluey is a godsend in our household. It's not annoying and the amount of classical and original music woven into each episode is wonderful. There's one particular episode - "Sleepytime" - which I cannot bring myself to watch anymore because I get so emotional. Every parent I talk to with young kids who has seen the episode agrees and knows what I mean. It's really that good, and despite being a fun little show there…

For fans of Bluey, I would highly recommend a similarly positive Puffin Rock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffin_Rock

It shows about a kid bird and her younger sibling exploring their island. It has supportive parents. Themes in the show are exploration, family ties, friendships, problem solving, independence etc.

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

#412

Post by gnicholas »

axolttl88 wrote: post #369
gnicholas wrote: post #341

One thing we've been unable to figure out: is the phrase "for real life" (seemingly a portmanteau of "for real" and "in real life") a phrase that is used in Australia, or is it a Bluey-specific neologism? Hopefully some HNers down under can enlighten us!

‘For real’ is definitely an Australian-ism (pretty old fashioned, usually inflected up as an incredulous question ‘fa REAL?’, but I’ve not really heard ‘For real life’. Could be a kid thing.

Interesting! We say “for real” here in the US also, but I’d never been able to pin down the full expression from Bluey.

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

#413

Post by Aeolun »

earthboundkid wrote: post #320
pylua wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I don’t think the amount of play time is impossible, it’s just that I can’t focus on playing as much as they do in that show my mind an imagination give out before my body does.

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

#414

Post by Aeolun »

drunner wrote: post #329
pylua wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also sets the bar very high for parents.

My wife and I discussed this too. We just remind ourselves that the episodes are 8 minutes long (yes, the plots sometimes are for a whole day), so realistically the parents could be spending all this 'time' which is just in 8 minute increments throughout a day/week. But yes, ignoring that kind of reasoning, it does set a very high bar. Also, the parents do have quips/groaning about the requests of the kids from time…

> Also, the parents do have quips/groaning about the requests of the kids from time to time which is does add to the authenticity.

I love the episode where the mom is trying to leave the house with the kids, and she just runs back into the bedroom to scream for a bit before coming out to talk.

Might misremember the details, but it immediately made me love the show.

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

#415

Post by Aeolun »

rglullis wrote: post #326
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…

Never seen Daniel Tiger, but Peppa Pig makes the Dad the butt of the joke and portrays him as the overconfident idiot in pretty much every story, while all moms are always infallible. It's not something that kids might consciously notice, but it's grating and not what I'd exactly call a positive message.

> It's not something that kids might consciously notice, but it's grating and not what I'd exactly call a positive message.

While I agree it’s not a real positive note, it does seem to reflect reality to some extend (in the sense that my wife thinks she’s always right).

I’m fairly certain Peppa’s dad is just modelled on an overconfident 50’s dad.

It’s funny though, so I can live with it.

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

#416

Post by nagonago »

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.

I recently listened to an interview with Joe Brumm, the creator of Bluey, on the podcast "How Other Dads Dad". He said this is a common criticism, and he thinks a fair one.

The problem is his aim was never to be an educational show for parents, but to be an entertaining show. It wouldn't be as entertaining if Bandit didn't play with the kids all the time.

So yeah, although it is a great kid's show and a much better example of parenting than other shows...we should keep in mind it's ultimately entertainment, not a parenting bible.

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

#417

Post by dgfitz »

karmajunkie wrote: post #216
slibhb wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It goes both ways. Maybe you'll teach your kids to be open and tolerant to everything but they'll grow up, convert to Catholicism, and -- gasp -- vote conservative.

Yes, i fully recognize that at least one of my children is likely to enjoy baseball and vote for a Republican at least once in their life, despite my best efforts to show them the light. I will love them anyway.

Aww, don’t make baseball political. C’mon.

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

#418

Post by kcplate »

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.

Good. That is one bar that should be really high and one that parents should strive to achieve.

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

#419

Post by sdiupIGPWEfh »

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.

> It also sets the bar very high for parents.

Every time I hear this framed as a complaint, I feel the tiniest bit guilty—just for a moment—for personally identifying with Bandit's level of playtime effort and enthusiasm. But I can also commiserate with the few episodes where he let's on just how exhausted he actually is.

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

#420

Post by LilBytes »

quink wrote: post #278
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…

Moreton Bay? Nah, their home is almost definitely around Ashgrove, Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Paddington, somewhere around those parts. Suburbs just to the north-west of the CBD, based on having been around those a pile and having seen most of Bluey. And extrapolating from things that are inevitably close, as listed in https://blueypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Real-Life_Locations And the buses aren't Translink livery, they're…

I'd say Moreton Bay was a region of Brisbane where Bluey is set, I don't think OP meant 'its from my suburb or street'.
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