Dieter Wiedemann
“There is not enough experimentation”

The lifeblood of German children's television is the use of tried and tested, successful formats and popular classics. With new productions, however, the movers and shakers in this TV domain should show more innovation, says media researcher, Professor Dieter Wiedemann.

 

Professor Wiedemann, what types of children’s series are currently to be found on German television?

Prof. Dr. Dieter Wiedemann | Photo (detail) © private It is noticeable that there are relatively few live-action series. Schloss Einstein is of course one of the exceptions, which has just started its 20th season, or the detective series Die Pfefferkörner (The Peppercorns). Compared to the 1990s and 2000s there are also quite a lot of documentary series in the program: Krasse Kolosse (Crass Colossuses) about huge machines, Mein Bruder und ich (My Brother and I), a documentary about pairs of siblings from other countries, or Anna und die Haustiere. (Anna and her Pets). Furthermore there are also a lot animated productions.

In addition to the more recent series there are also traditional children's programs that have been enjoying large audiences for decades: The “Sandmännchen” (The Little Sandman) has been  on the air since 1959, “Die Sendung mit der Maus” (The Program with the Mouse), one of the most successful children's programs on German television, was first broadcast in 1971.

Most of the time it is the parents or the grandparents who decide what small children should be allowed to watch – I'm a grandpa, I know about these things. And as the parents and grandparents had good experiences with such programs, they  remember how much they enjoyed them. The fact that these programs are still going strong, of course, can also be ascribed to them being designed especially for children.

Big, strong boys and big, strong girls

What have been the main differences between the children's television of the GDR and that of the Federal Republic of Germany since the beginning of 1953?

The aim of children's television in the GDR was to imbibe both boys and girls with the firm standpoint of the proletariat, to ensure that they were committed to socialism and the strengthening of the GDR. In addition, the television professionals there started very early to produce series with strong independent female protagonists, like Das Mädchen Störtebeker (The Störtebeker Girl). In West German series the heroes were at first almost always boys. The two systems cooperated intensely with Czech children’s film makers, who had a strong influence when it came to content and aesthetics. In the 1980s, West German children's television was more original and innovative. In contrast, right up until the end of the GDR the fairy tale films produced there were better, because a lot more time and money was invested in the GDR productions than in the West.
  How has the content of children's TV series changed over the decades?

The early children's series were more strongly oriented towards the everyday lives of their young protagonists - what they experienced at school or in the family home. Towards the end of the 1970s ghost stories started to gain popularity in both East and West Germany, meaning that the content focus shifted from the everyday life of the children to the fantasy world of children. In the 1990s, however, the stories of everyday life enjoyed a comeback - although one got the feeling that the children in series like Die Mädchen-WG: Ein Monat ohne Eltern (Girls in a Flat Share – A Month without Parents) were growing up all on their own without parents and without adults. Since the 2000s animated series have dominated the scene, often with vampires or wild animals that have been humanized, or with classic children's characters such as Heidi and Vicky. Programs that show real life and help children to cope with their lives have, however, now become quite rare. In the children's series of the 1970s and 1980s stories about children with strong, individual personalities were told - even in some television series produced in the GDR, where conforming to the collective was usually the order of the day. In the live-action series of today, however, the focus is more on  "politically correct" childhood stories.

Between educational tradition and loss of significance

How do you assess the educational quality of children's TV series?

There are many education-oriented productions on TV, for example, Checker Tobi or Die Sendung mit der Maus (The Program with the Mouse), which in each episode deal with knowledge issues in an entertaining and child-oriented way. For me it is important to continue this educational tradition, but there is too little experimenting. Why, for example, do these educationally oriented programs so rarely embrace the experiences children have playing computer games?

Do children really need TV at all?

Children need entertainment, culture, education - and they need to obtain these things via communicative media and institutions such as books, radio, cinema, schools and sports clubs, as well as via their parents and via television, too. On average, children watch television for 88 minutes a day in Germany, far less than adults. In the next few years television is going to lose its attraction for children. Other mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones are going to become more important.

The Prix Jeunesse and other competitions provide us with an opportunity to regularly compare children’s TV productions on an international level. Which direction should German children's series be moving in?

The realm of German children's programs is currently dominated by Japanese, American and British series. German series have become something of a rarity. After the establishment of the Kinderkanal (Children's Channel) in 1997 there was a certain euphoria to be felt, but they neglected to produce enough of their own programs for children. We focused on successful formats like Schloss Einstein, a children’s soap opera about a boarding school. It is, of course, good that such programs exist, but the broadcasters have not given very much thought, for example,  to the idea of producing smaller series. We also seem to have forgotten that you have to cultivate the creative talent that goes into producing programs that appeal to children. I would only be too pleased to once again submit for discussion my idea of introducing a special course of study in children's film production – an idea which unfortunately failed to obtain financing a few years ago. There is, in fact, still a need for it.