Girl+Power+-+Comparing+Different+Shows,+by+Stacey+Rand

Using chapter four of Sarah Banet-Weiser’s //Kids Rule// for textual analysis, I will compare the older Nickelodeon shows that Banet-Weiser discusses with two //New York Times// articles about //iCarly// called “Tween on the Screen” and “I, Little Sister, Becomes ‘iCarly’”.

Banet-Weiser dives into the girl-power programming of //Clarissa Explains it All// and //As Told by Ginger.// These two programs both were monumental in breaking many stereotypes in children’s media. //Clarissa Explains it All// was the first program to cast a strong female as the main character and //As Told by Ginger// targeted exclusively a girl-dominated audience. However, except for the fact that both shows represent girl power, the two could not be more different from one another.

The similarities that were common across the board were that all three girls (Clarissa, Carly, and Ginger) were strong lead characters. There are no traditional stereotypes of the girls being dumb, dependent, or a victim.

//Clarissa Explains it All //has many similarities to //iCarly//. The results of marketing tests have showed that boys as well as girls are fans. This is due to Nickelodeon’s stance to maintain gender-neutral programming. “Clarissa’s issues were not specific to girls but to all kids” (Banet-Weiser, p. 128). In the episode of //iCarly’s// “iRocked the Vote” the main issues revolved around the reality show //America Sings//, celebrity pop stars, technology, and cheating. The themes in this episode are geared neither towards one gender or the other. Also, Banet-Weiser notes that “Clarissa is smart, in control of her environment, and she disrupts conventional modes of representation by talking directly to the camera” (p. 126). Carly is in control of her environment as she takes care of her 26-year-old brother who is the most immature character on the show and she seems to have the upper hand in the relationship with her friend Freddy. Although Carly does not narrate into the camera the same way as Clarissa, she does indeed talk into the camera while filming her web show iCarly. Among smaller similarities, the two programs are both “ a scripted, live-action series about a teenage girl” (Steinberg) and both Clarissa and Carly have platonic relationships with a 'best guy friend'.

Differences in //Clarissa// and //iCarly// are found in narration, family structure, and how the girls are portrayed. First, Clarissa narrates her own show and it is shown through her perspective. Clarissa's parents are casted actors who are present in every episode, where “Carly Shay’s father is in the military overseas, and her mother is. . . well, Schneider hadn’t figured that out yet, but for now it was enough that the mother is out of the picture”  ( Dee ). Lastly, Clarissa is portrayed as just another kid in just another family, but Carly has become a web-sensation and is not “just another high school student”.

//As Told by Ginger //is a show with many more differences to //iCarly// than //Clarissa// had. //As Told by Ginger// is an animated series featuring five main girls and the premises of the show is set in middle school and deals primarily with “feelings of pressure to fit in socially, as well as a critique of how social norms contain and control girls” and “girl power issues…such as popularity, cliques, [and] the culture of ‘cool’” (Banet-Weiser, p.131-132). Ginger’s mother is present and has strong feminist values, and Ginger’s boyfriend is African-American. In //iCarly//, not only are the parents never shown nor talked about, there is also no racial diversity in the program. Finally, the audience of //Ginger// is primarily female.

The similarities and differences between these three Nickelodeon programs prove that girl power is not limited to one specific structure. I was very pleased to see how //Clarissa// had many parallels to //iCarly// and //As Told by Ginger// was a completely different format, nonetheless all three convey powerful messages emphasizing girl power.

__References__

 Banet-Weiser, S. (2007). Girls Rule!. //Kids Rule!.// (124-134). London: Duke University Press. Dee, J. (2007, April 8). Tween on the Screen. //The New York Times.// Retrieved from [|http://www.nytimes] .com/2007/04/08/magazine/08NICKELODEON.t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ei=5070&en=b14f459487f2f913&ex=1176696000&emc=eta|1  Schneider, D. (Producer), & Reinsel, R. (Director). (February 7, 2009) iRocked the Vote. //iCarly//. <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> Steinberg, J. (2007, September 7). I, Little Sister, Becomes ‘iCarly’. //The New York Times.// Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/arts/television/07icar.html?_r=4

<span style="color: #ed0c0c; font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Fine work here, Stacey. I am especially intrigued about your observation that Carly is a "web sensation" while Clarissa was an ordinary girl. I wonder about the increased pressure on young people to be famous - it could be that iCarly simply reflects this cultural attitude, but it's also possible that it shifts the theme of girl power towards a focus on self-representation as the means to success. <span style="color: #ed0c0c; font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">GRADE: A