- The mastermind behind the Teletubbies has become embroiled
in a new row in the United States after her latest creation was accused
of targeting children aged as young as 18 months.
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- Boohbah - a show about five coloured blobs which fly
but don't talk - has been a big success in the UK and has now been picked
up by 340 TV stations across the US. But American commentators have turned
on the show, claiming it panders to consumerism and is luring children
to the world of television.
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- Anne Wood, whose British production company, Rag-doll,
is behind the series, has rejected the accusations, describing them as
"hysteria".
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- She is no stranger to controversy. The successful Teletubbies
series, which she created, was charged with dumbing-down the nation and
pushing a gay agenda.
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- Now Boohbah, on the air in the US for just two weeks,
is prompting controversy among educators and experts on children's television.
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- Dr Michael Brody, who chairs the television and media
committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said:
"I hate the merchandising connected with the show, and I hate the
way Anne Wood and PBS [US public television] say it is for one group of
children [aged three to six], while it is clearly targeting those who are
younger [aged 18 months to two years].
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- "I think parents should be very careful about letting
their kids watch it," he said.
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- Dr Stacey Irwin, who teaches children and television
at Towson University, in Maryland, said: "I think they probably do
not want to admit that children [aged] two and under are viewing it because
the American Pediatrics Association strongly states that there should be
no television for that age group."
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- Ms Wood said she was "depressed" by what she
sees as misunderstanding of both her work and the ways children watch television.
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- A Ragdoll spokeswoman said: "There's always a variety
of comments. But these were probably the same people who took issue with
the Teletubbies. The spin-off from merchandise is what helps make the next
programme, and we don't have masses of it."
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- ©2004 Scotsman.com
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- http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=139302004
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