Consuming Disney Channel: an actor-network perspective

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to show how actor-network theory (ANT) can be useful in exploring tweens consumption of the Disney franchises of High School Musical (HSM) and Hannah Montana (HM). Through the lens of the ANT and the concept of situated consumption, the aim of the paper is to elucidate how both tween girls and the Disney merchandise and media content are mutually enacted through practice. Design/methodology/approach -The paper draws on material from in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine girls, seven who were followed during a two-year period in an after-school program at two different schools in a midsize town in Norway and who were visited twice in their home. Two of the girls were recruited from a Disney HSM fan site online. The interviews explored the use of HM and HSM as part of their everyday practices. Findings -A main finding was how tween girls and their relation to the Disney HSM and HM came to be and mean different things in different settings. Media texts and tied in merchandise functioned as social tools and sign vehicles to manage part of belonging to a peer group and also to distinguish themselves from others. Also, focus is on the social norms surrounding how one can display and not one's devotion to Disney tween franchises in a socially accept form. Originality/value -The paper draws on ANT to expand on studies of consumption building on Bajde's (2013) proposal to include ANT within consumer studies. By drawing on the ANT with a socio-material perspective, this study contributes to gain insight into how popular cultural items take part in the co-construction and performance of both consumers and commodities attempting to move beyond an ontological divide between human and non-human entities. Thus, this paper explores how Disney media texts and merchandise and the girls were enacted in different assemblages.

Material as actor in the enactment of social norms: Engaging with a sociomaterial perspective in childhood studies to avoid the ‘traps of closure’

“…Tone stated that her parents thought her old enough to wear makeup at birthday parties. As with previous research on for example Disney media paratexts (Sørenssen, 2016) makeup came to mean , do and be different things in different assemblages, depending how it was enacted by both in a school setting, a party setting, and the girls’ voices. Thus, we can talk of makeup as an ‘object multiple’ (Mol, 2014); at school it is inappropriate, while at birthday parties, which several of the girls reported on, it was part of an accepted assemblage.…”

“…In line with this, several childhood studies scholars have argued for drawing on sensibilities and concepts from STS and ANT (see Ansell, 2009; Hanson et al, 2016; Oswell, 2013; Prout, 2011; Ryan, 2012; Sørenssen, 2016; Sørenssen et al, 2019; Walkerdine, 2005). Walkerdine (2005) suggests that an ANT approach to childhood moves us beyond dualisms, such as the perceived dualism between humans and non‐humans, while Ryan uses ANT to move beyond the bio‐social dualism (2012).…”

“…Thus, generally, childhood scholars who employ ANT argue that it expands and opens the field to steer clear of essentialised and reductionistic thinking concerning children and childhood. Attempting to avoid reduction, Sparrman et al (2016) look to STS to discuss what they term ‘child culture multiple’ to open the field of childhood studies instead of striving for coherence. Sparrman continues this work, suggesting ‘to recruit multiplicity as a core concept in Child Studies’ (Sparrman, 2020, p. 22).…”

All in One: Digital Influencers as Market Agents of Popular Culture

“…In this sense, paratextuality is the production of a text that complements or extrapolates an original text (Genette, 1987;Gray, 2010). Its functions include passing on the products and preparing consumers for the consumption experience (Hills & Garde-Hansen, 2017;Sørenssen, 2016). So, the content produced by digital influencers regarding popular culture, a segment that has become increasingly emblematic for CCT studies All in One: Digital Influencers as Market Agents of Popular Culture (McQuarrie et al, 2013;Sugihartati, 2020), can be understood as in-media-res paratexts (Mittell, 2015;Steiner, 2015) that allow the understanding of media products to be complemented or broadened (Duffett, 2013) and the discourses that emerge around them (Dalmonte, 2015).…”

Disney’sHigh School Musicaland the construction of the tween audience

“…Tween is a concept and an age category encompassing those who are seen to reside in the space between childhood and adolescence approximately aged 8–12 (Sørenssen, 2012). Disney Channel has a prominent position in Western children’s lives and especially targets this age group (Sørenssen, 2015, 2016); This article is part of a larger study on Norwegian tweens and their relationship with Disney’s High School Musical , and as Buckingham (1993) notes: “While we do need to acknowledge what readers bring to texts, we also need to account for what they find there” (p. 59). As tweens are the target audience for Disney’s High School Musical this article explores the scripts the Disney Company offers their tween audience, especially looking at the content through what is being said and done in light of age and identity.…”