Seductive Screens: Children's Media―Past, Present, and Future - Hardcover

"In the crusading tradition of Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent (1954), Brody provides an insightful history, analysis, and critique of the psychologicalimpact that media has had and has on children and adolescents. By no means a definitive or comprehensive history of children's media, Seductive Screensseeks to fill the gap in media studies literature with a decisively psychological and often deeply personal reading of various aspects of the child media phenomenon that centers primarily on Disney, Batman, Star Wars, Barbie, and Sesame Street, with some attention given to other influential children's media constructions.[....] If one has ever wondered how a psychiatrist would think about elements of popular culture today, Seductive Screens is a brilliant introductory text accessible to the nonspecialist and academic alike.'- Ben Crace, Journal of American Culture, 37:2 (June 2014), 249-250.''In 'Seductive Screens', [Dr. Brody] explores just how media has shaped the psyches of children, from early beginnings with radio programs to the pokes and status updates of Facebook, and what forces have bought us to today's media-rich milieu. Dr. Brody assembles case studies like Disney, Sesame Street, and Batman in chapters that focus on the social, economic, psychological, and technological forces driving the form and content of children's media, which is becoming more and more participatory and potentially even more dangerous.'' - American Academy of Child and Adolescent News, March/April 2013.

Seductive Screens: Children's Media-Past, Present, and Future describes the development of child media from its early beginnings on radio to the millions of postings on Facebook. The book explains the collision of economics, psychology, the needs of parents, and technology in creating the perfect storm for kid's media growth. Many related issues are discussed as they affect children's media including education, civility, celebrity, violence, play, and child rearing. There is a special emphasis on the influence of Disney, Sesame Street and Batman. Using case studies, and his own ambivalence expressed by personal anecdotes, the author places this important subject in a psychological context. The reader is encouraged to add their input to the discussion, as questions follow most chapters.