move over successionLast month, another critically acclaimed family drama about a charismatic father who has a huge impact on his children’s lives became the most-watched takeover series on US television, eclipsing the Roy Dynasty.I mean bluesthis Australian-made children’s cartoon about a family of dogs living in Brisbane.
That’s it bluesAmericans watched 737 million minutes of the series in one week in April. But those numbers don’t capture the show’s cultural dominance. Over the years, the Bluey discourse has permeated the lives of parents everywhere.news stories are about it storyline is censored; a psychologist explains how to read the show as a parenting manual; dedicated podcast dissect each episode; anxious dad worry On how to live up to the example Bandit set—a swashbuckling, overworked, underrested softie who has seemingly unlimited time to play with his kids.
Supporters of the gentle parenting movement praised it for portraying a parent who listens to their children and validates their feelings. Skeptics of the tender coddling applaud the no-nonsense life lessons taught to 6-year-old Bluey and her sister Bingo.But I suspect there’s a simpler reason for the show’s success: Parents love watching blues. If ever there was a prestige TV for preschoolers, this is it.
There are many small indignities in a day in the care of a young child, in which the horrors of children’s television loom large. This is especially true if, like me, you’re a lazy parent who allows unlimited screen time in exchange for a little personal freedom. Every day, from 3pm until dinnertime, my toddler dangles in front of the screen, demanding show after show like a drunk at a jukebox.
The result is a schedule of punishing gibberish.put aside the smug cliches Peppa Pig or hellish sales vortex paw patrol, so much children’s television seems designed to numb viewers into submission. (Can you turn off the TV and take the kids out, you ask? Yes, of course. Or you can convince them to watch blues.)
In this sea of garbage, blues It’s a life raft — a reminder that there’s intelligent life beyond the living room floor. Its storyline showcases true creative ambition. In the seven-minute episode “Camp,” the years go by. Another, “Bin Night,” is a series of vignettes spanning several months. The “takeaway” took place on the street outside a Chinese restaurant, while Bandit and the kids waited for their order of spring rolls. Some episodes have no dialogue at all (“Rain”) and Halstian dreams set in outer space (“Sleep Time”). One of my favorite books is “The Market,” a satirical lesson in the principles of capital flow about the five-dollar bill Bluey got from the Tooth Fairy at the local fair.Visually, it’s a more romantic relative The Simpsonsthe soft Queensland landscape provides the backdrop for the wide-eyed canines.
But perhaps the show’s greatest triumph is that it eschews the tiresome old format of a few minutes of bland sermons punctuated by a few grown-up gags. Instead, creator Joe Brumm He said his goal was Create a show that allows for “true co-viewing, where two generations are not laughing at each other’s exclusion, but seeing how each generation sees each other”. . . Let’s get the 4 year old and the 40 year old together. “
bluesWhat’s brilliant is that it refuses to separate the adult world of mortgages and mealtimes from its childish fantasies about pixies and magic vegetables. It accurately describes childhood as a shared experience of parent and child. In that respect, it’s the first truly multigenerational children’s TV show. I just hope my kids understand this as soon as possible.
cordelia.jenkins@ft.com