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Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

According to Common Sense Media, Courage the Cowardly Dog was considered to be cutting edge while it was airing in 2000 (Antonia, 2006). This show was created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network specifically and later ended up on Boomerang. There were 52 episodes aired over the course of four seasons, starting in 1999 running until 2002. This show was based around a dog named Courage, who ironically doesn’t seem to have that much courage at the beginning of the episodes. Somehow Courage finds the bravery from within and is able to protect his eldery owners; Muriel and Eustace from ghosts, manipulators, and monsters that are out to get the family that lives in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. Throughout the series there are multiple obstacles that Courage has to face in order to go back to his normal life; and his main concern, to get back to receiving Muriel's love and affection in every episode. Technically Courage the Cowardly Dog was created for kids, but had strangely terrifying characters that would appear throughout every episode, making it somewhat questionable if children really were the target audience of this content. Typically an episode was 22 minutes long and within that time they had managed to have their lives interrupted by some absurd obstacle and Courage ends up being the savior that sends the creepy characters away. There are many connections to be made about Courage the Cowardly Dog and how it’s content has affected young children, using a content analysis of 5 episodes. There are themes and aspects of the show that connect to childhood development theories, such as the social development theory, uses & gratification theory, & concrete operational theory. More specifically, the focus is on how shows like Courage the

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

Cowardly Dog; horror animation has affected young children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. This age is important to understand because it is when children are able to take into account more than one perspective, which is a large part of a child's understanding that what they are watching is not real. According to Common Sense Media reviews, kids rated the show for ages 8+, while parents rated it for ages 10+. (Antonia, 2006) One of the reviews from a parent stated that the disturbing themes displayed throughout this horror animation “could have an impact on young kids who haven't developed the skills needed to know the difference between make believe and reality” (Antonia, 2006). This is around the age that kids start to understand things larger than themselves, larger than imagination. This is when the understanding of the bigger issues in life become relevant and it is easier to distinguish between what is real and what is a creative outlet. This connects to Piaget’s cognitive development theory that states, children grow in stages and have to complete one stage before moving onto the next. More specifically, the concrete operational stage. Children between the ages of 7 to 11 years old fall into this stage, and for 12 and up, the formal operational stage. Throughout the concrete operational stage, this is when children are able to start thinking logically about concrete vents, but have slight difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts. For instance, this can cause some confusion within children watching Courage the Cowardly Dog because it is difficult to understand that these monsters aren’t real; that they are just characters in the show. These stages are where children demonstrate abstract thinking and start to become concerned with the hypothetical, the future and ideological problems. This

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

relates because there are plenty of scary characters that, if the kids were younger would probably believe that they are real; however, being that these could be considered hypothetical situations Courage finds himself in, this would be the age that they would be able to grasp the concept of the content. The content analysis of Courage the Cowardly Dog revealed that there are noticeable themes that are presented, such as fear, bravery, trust and love. There are even plot commonalities that present themselves within the episodes. For instance, Courage has many phobias and this is clear as soon as one of the unwanted house guests shows up and Courage gets the jitters along with muttering that is not understandable by the viewers; it is clear that he is terrified about what is about to happen. No one ever takes Courage seriously when he tries to warn his family of trouble until after the fact. One obvious commonality within the plot would be Courage constantly trying to save his family despite how Eustace treats him, but that doesn’t matter as long as Muriel is safe. The very first episode in the first season, titled “Katz Motel” starts off with Eustace, Muriel and Courage in the car pulling up to the Katz Motel. Only one minute into the episode, Courage is frightened by lightning. The episode has a very ominous feel to it, with a plant dying in the background, everything is pretty dark and hazy. Immediately after walking into the motel that is ran by an actual cat, he snaps to the sign that says “NO dogs allowed” and Eustace doesn’t waste a second; he takes Courage outside to tie him up out there. Eustace then scares Courage to give himself a laugh; Muriel smacks Eustace for messing with Courage. Muriel then goes to put a blanket on Courage, showing her love and care for him. Meanwhile, Eustace is

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

displayed as the stereotypical grumpy old man that is constantly complaining. Within three minutes into the episode, it is clear who the villain is and what their plan is. This however, may not be obvious to an 8-12 year old because it is not clearly laid out for the viewer of their age. It is more so assumed about what Katz plan is with his newly checked in guests, especially with the human skull and bones on the floor as Katz spoke with a giant spider, telling her that he had gotten dinner. The show not only uses dialogue but also tone to scare children viewers. Anytime there is a villain or bad guy, they speak very slowly and their voices very raspy. Within the dialogue, the character that has some evil plan to get what they want from the Courage’s family, usually refers to them as food, or something less than who they are. There is dry humour that may even go completely over a child’s head. This was evident in all five episodes that the content analysis were performed on. There are specific incidents where the situation itself could scare a young child. The concept of being in the middle of nowhere; literally Nowhere, Kansas in Courage the Cowardly Dog, and some terrifying creature pops out and wants to do harm to you and your family. This is a disturbing thought for a young child, and could create psychological issues of trust and paranoia (Domaille & Wells, 2004). In the fourth episode in the first season, titled “Demon in the Mattress”, Muriel is in need of a new mattress and without realizing it herself, she gets a possessed mattress. The mattress actually lit her whole room up fluorescent green. Muriel’s hair then turns red, her voice got deeper and when Eustace went in to check on her, her head spun all the way around like in the Exorcist and fell off. These images are deeply disturbing for a young

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

mind and the concept would be very difficult to grasp, that these wouldn’t be concerns in real life. There are many aspects that a child could find scary about this show. Courage the Cowardly Dog has a very ominous feel to it, from the way it is drawn, the animation, to the music and sound effects used. In the very first episode, only 3 and a half minutes in, Kat from the Katz Motel peaks through the eyes of a framed photo hanging in Eustace and Muriel’s room; just watching them (Dilworth, "Courage, the cowardly dog"). According to The Horror Genre: From Beelzebub to Blair Witch, psychoanalysis has been used as a tool to understand and criticize movies, especially horror cinema, revealing that movies and shows are very much like dreams in the sense of messages hidden within the content (Domaille & Wells, 2004). The uses & gratification theory asserts that individuals interact with media & purposefully select media content from among alternatives to meet their personal needs or wants. I believe that this theory applies to this tv show because children are choosing to watch this even though it may seem a little intimidating at first or strange. However, they are choosing this content in order to meet their needs or wants; whether that’s the acquired learning they are gaining from watching or just pure entertainment wants. Children tend to have a need to feel brave and watching the show helps them to feel brave; the need to feel “adult” or older, and watching the show makes them feel mature, “like the big kids” (Fiscus, 2000). There are positive effects on children from watching horror animation. Seeing Courage overcome his fears could be considered very inspiring to young children,

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

showing them they can accomplish anything they put their mind to even if it seems unattainable. In every episode Courage is able to put his phobias aside to do what he feels is the right decision. There are times when it is obvious he questions why he’s going through so much trouble, but then his morals get the best of him. These are lessons as well as one of the hidden messages within this horror animation content. In a more general sense, in horror, the goal is to fight through the fears and what better way to teach children this than through a fun animation? The social learning theory from theorist Albert Bandura could also be applied to this TV show. This theory is about how behaviors and learning are acquired by watching others. This could be said for the messages that are displayed throughout the show and the constant theme of Courage looking out for his family. This theory is focused on how children are most influenced by what they see & who they identity as with most strongly; this would be Courage and his courageous actions. “Decades of research have shown that the relationship between media and childhood is not unidirectional but reciprocal” (Valkenburg, Piotrowski, & Vossen, 2008). These could be considered prosocial cues, that positively influence children to do better and to affect others positively based on the messages they are receiving through the content. The third category of prosocial behavior classifies self controlling behaviors with the ability of the material to diminish fears (Rushton, 1979). This applies to the show due to the accomplishments displayed by Courage and how he realizes he is larger than his fears and not let them take over. On the other hand, there are still negative messages that could come from horror animation. For instance, the consistency of the monsters or villains could teach young children that there is something to constantly worry about. Also, the fact that when

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

Courage encounters these monsters, he is literally turned inside out and sometimes has to kill the monsters. This could be very disturbing for a young child, not fully understanding that things don’t work the same in the real world like in the show. This could even be compared to young children playing violent video games. Studies have shown in some cases that “aggression in the context of a video game discharges children's aggressive impulses in a socially acceptable way, leaving the children less defensive and more assertive (Graybill, Kirsch, & Esselman, 1985). One of the underlying messages that is continuously displayed throughout this horror animation is gender roles. Being that this show was airing between 1999 and 2002, gender roles weren’t as much of a concern as they are in today’s society and culture. The social learning theory, reveals that children tend to model the aggressive and prosocial behaviors they witness on TV and within animations (Thompson & Zerbinos, 1995). As mentioned in the article, Gender Roles in Animated Cartoons: Has the picture changed in 20 years?, “gender portrayals in the media are cause for concern because of the importance of the media in the socialization process for children” (Thompson & Zerbinos, 1995). Within Courage the Cowardly Dog, Muriel is the stereotypical housewife that mostly tends to her husband, Eustace. Meanwhile, Eustace is ungrateful no matter what Muriel does for him. These stereotypes influence young children to grow with this mindset that women are supposed to take care of a man and the home. For instance , Muriel doesn’t seem to have any friends within the show, which pushes the theory further that her life revolves around being the caregiver. The characteristics of the main characters in terms of gender do not influence a very positive message, especially to children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old because this is

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

when they are the most influenced by the content that watch. All and all, there are a lot of messages and lessons that can come from watching Courage the Cowardly Dog. Connections can be made to childhood developmental theories; the way children take in and process the information being provided by this horror animation or any horror animation available to the public. Courage the Cowardly Dog originally being available on Cartoon Network and Boomerang opened this genre up and intrigued many with their disturbing and creative concepts. Even though there are negative messages, it seems as though the positive messages are most influential to young children and the way they tend to process content as such.

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

References Antonia, K. J. D. (2006, December 2). Courage the Cowardly Dog - TV Review. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/courage-thecowardly-dog. Dilworth, J. R., Courage, the cowardly dog. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x36ddxs Domaille, K., & Wells, P. (2004). The horror genre: from Beelzebub to Blair Witch. London: Wallflower Press. Fiscus, L. (2000). Older and younger kids help each other learn. ProQuest, 65(9), 25– 32. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/e3e01aeb0112ed649a3d2dc2689ec8e8/1. pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=25066 Graybill, D., Kirsch, J. R., & Esselman, E. D. (1985). Effects of playing violent versus nonviolent video games on the aggressive ideation of aggressive and nonaggressive children. Child Study Journal, 15(3), 199-205. Rushton, J. P. (1979). Effects of Prosocial Television and Film Material on The Behavior of Viewers. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Volume 12, 321–351. doi: 10.1016/s00652601(08)60265-8 Thompson, T. L., & Zerbinos, E. (1995). Gender roles in animated cartoons: Has the picture changed in 20 years? Retrieved from

Jade Colon Courage the Cowardly Dog & its effect on children ages 8-12

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01544217. Valkenburg, P. M., Piotrowski, J. T., & Vossen, H. G. M. (2008). Media Use and Child Development. The International Encyclopedia of Communication. doi: 10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecm052...