Fantasies of fighting and fighters.

Author: Götz, Maya
Source: http://www.br-online.de.

Abstract

Dragon Ball Z, a TV series which is not officially regarded as children’s television, represents the current trends in children’s culture. It is almost exclusively concerned with aggressive conflict. Maya Götz investigates why children are fascinated by this series full of violence. Do any connections emerge between the glorification of violence and children’s fantasies and their behaviour? One of Götz’s findings is that mainly boys are fascinated by the strength and invulnerability of the characters of this series. The series mainly appeals to boys for three reasons: they can identify themselves with the characters in order to feel more secure, they might be able to control their emotions and fears and finally they hope to gain strength and self-confidence.

Götz, Maya

Maya Goetz, Ph.D.,
born in 1967 is the head of the international Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI) at the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Her main field of work is research in the area of "children/young people
and television". In addition to that she works and publishes in the field
of gender-specific reception research. Her publication included: "Girls
and Television" (KoPäd: Munich 1999, in German); "Only Soap Bubbles?
Significance of Daily Soaps for Children and Adolescents" (KoPäd: Munich
2002, in German).