Irony+and+Camp-+Double+Coding+In+Postmodern+Animation+(pgs.+187-193)+Aaron+Wolf

In chapter six of the book, //Kids Rule! Nickelodeon and Consumer Citizenship,// Sarah Banet-Weiser (the author) discusses how **double coding is used in order to incorporate irony and camp** in to Nickelodeon cartoon shows. In today's society, there have never been so little boundaries for cartoon television programs, and it is because there are so little boundaries that Nickelodeon began using double coding. The idea of double coding was that **adult/ parent viewers will pick up on the ironic and campy details, while the children will be more attracted to the more straightforward visuals and sound effects.** This gave kids a sense of empowerment, but at the same time **helped adults to feel young** by keeping up with the latest pop culture. After Nickelodeon's success with double coding, many other television networks began creating shows that used the same technique.

One of the ways in which Nickelodeon uses this double coding technique is through humor. Most of the humor found in these shows is incorporated in an ironic way. In order for the humor to work, the irony must be rebellious but not so much to the point it lets on that it is such rebellion that Nickelodeon is attempting to display. Irony is a very important characteristic of cartoons. Viewers enjoy expecting the expected, but instead getting the unexpected. In fact, **the unexpected (displayed through camp and irony) has become a very popular part of mainstream culture.** New social, economic, and political factors of the twenty first century affected the way in which irony and camp have been interpreted and viewed. It is these new factors that have helped form the self-identity of Nickelodeon.

Good work here! GRADE: A