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TELEVISION AND IMAGINATION:

A PRODUCTION APPROACH
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TELEVISION AND IMAGINATION:
A PRODUCTION APPROACH

BY

Stana B. Martin

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Telecommunication

1990

ABSTRACT

TELEVISION AND IMAGINATION
A PRODUCTION APPROACH

BY

Stana B. Martin

This manuscript describes the need for a style of video
production for children that addresses specific developmental
needs. It outlines one production approach whose goal is to
stimulate imaginative participation in the child viewer.
There is a description of a program produced using this model,
and a description of the evaluation of the prototype with
members of the target audience. The program created moderate

to high levels of viewer involvement.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thesis are not created in vacuums. IMine is no exception.
My thanks are extended to Dr. Gretchen Barbatsis for her
patience and guidance; and to Dr. Charles Atkin for aid and
advice. A special acknowledgement must go to Constance
McCallum (BFAMA) without whose support I would never have had
the courage to finish. And finally, a warm thanks to the
actors (who made the characters I created live) and the crew
(who captured these lives on tape). Without all of these
people, "The Monster Under the Bed" would never have become

real.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables............................................vi
List of Figures..........................................vii
Chapter l--Introduction
Television and Its Potential for Prosocial Effects....1
Summary...............................................5

Chapter 2--Review of the Literature

Role of Imagination in Childhood. ............ ... ...... 6
Role of Creative Dramatics.... ..................... ...9
summarYOOOOO ........ .... ...... O OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 10

Chapter 3--Method
Production Design....................................12
1) Age Appropriate Material.....................13
2) Low Realism/High Abstraction......... ...... ..17
3) Minimal Cues........................ ....... ..18
Evaluation of the Design.............................19
Measuring the Objectives........................21
Summary..............................................24
Chapter 4--Results
Production Design.......... .......................... 24
1) Age Appropriate Material.....................24

2) Low Realism/High Abstraction.................26

iv

3) Minimal Cues.................................28
Evaluation of the Design...... ..... ........... ..... ..29
Findings............. ..... ............... ..... ..29
Summary............................. ..... .... ........ 34
Chapter 5--Discussion
Need for Further Research............................36
Summary38
Appendix A
Script...............................................39
Appendix B
Observer script.............. ..... .. ....... ..........55
Questionnaire............. ............ ...............61
Coding Schematic........ ..... . ....... ...... ..... .....64

Bibliography........... ......... ... ............... ... ..... 70

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1’ PrOduCtionMade10000000000000000000.0.00.00000014

Table 2' ObjectiveSOOOOOOOO......OOOOOOOO......OOOOOOOOOZO

Table 3' Raw DataOOOOOOOOOOO......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.0031

vi

Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure

1:
2:

3:

LIST OF FIGURES

Viewer Comprehension Tabulations..............32
Viewer Involvement Tabulations................34
Attention/Involvement Scatter Plot............35

Attention/Comprehension Scatter Plot..........36

vii

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

V N D 0 OR PRO 0 I EFFE

In the past twenty years, there has been much societal
concern about the relationsihp between children and
television. Schiamberg (1988, p. 436-7) points out several
statistics regarding the accessibility and use of television
in the American home:

-Television is accessible to virtually every child in the

United.States~ .Almost.every'household (98%) has at least

one television.

-Children two to eighteen watch an average of three hours
of television each day.

-Most children have few, if any, restrictions placed on
the amount or content of television viewing.

And finally, displacement hypothesis suggest that television
is occupying the time children used to spend doing other
activites such as reading or playing (Robinson, 1972, 1981 and
Selnow and Reynolds, 1984).

Thus, television plays a significant role in a child's
world. However, the totality of television's impact on a
child viewer may not be as simple as it first seems. As a
result of the rising societal concern regarding children's
programming, research has been undertaken in the past 20-25
years to try and understand this complicated relationship.

Many researchers have tried to assess the aggressive reaction

2
of children who viewed violence and child aggression in play
settings (Schiamberg, 1988, p. 438-9). This indicates that
children are not only utilizing and applying the information
gained from ‘television. but also ‘that. they“ are actively
choosing television characters as models for role behavior.
There has also been a wealth of information published
regarding the development of the Children's Television
Workshop. The focus of this research was two fold. Formative
research was aimed at learning what production techniques were
most able to keep a child's attention; evaluative research was
primarily concerned with the assessment of a child's gain in
pre-specified cognitive skills (Lesser, 1974). Neither of
these two research focuses has systematically addressed the
psycho-social developmental needs of the child viewer.
In fact, the majority of research has been dominated by
this type of behavioral approach. As Allen Kendall (1980,
p.5) points out:
There is a mountain of research on the tabula rasa
hypothesis that television content molds children and
comparatively little on the counter hypothesis that
children perceive television in their own individualized
ways, less on the way the medium itself modifies those
perceptions, ...and almost none on the actual process of
interaction. Until this imbalance is redressed, there
is much we do not know about the impact of television on
the developing child.

Egg best to present things on television is surely
as important to know as m; to present. But that is the
area which the mountain of research on the effects of
television content largely neglects.

One difficulty with the behavioral approach to television
research is that its basic assumption is one of a passive

viewer (for an extensive discussion of the passive vs. active

viewer controversy see Huston and Wright, 1989; and Choat and

3

Griffin, 1986). Given the established developmental needs of
children, this type of assumption needs to be reassessed.
Children bring with them to the screen a multitude of needs,
thoughts, ideas and stimuli. Perhaps most importantly they
bring with them a phenomenal capacity to sort and assimilate
information via their ability to imagine and engage in play
based on this information. The child viewer is anything but
a blank slate waiting to be imprinted. S/he is, rather, an
integral participant in the viewing experience. Therefore a
more appropriate model would be the uses and gratifications
approach where the assumption is based on an active rather
than a passive viewing behavior.

There is some support for this reasoning. Within the
"Sesame Street" research itself there are numerous examples
of children spontaneously dancing to music, reciting with the
characters, or shouting out comments to the screen. The list
could go on, citing examples of children actively reacting as
individuals to the stimulus of the program.

These examples argue the point of view that television
as it ggrrently exists is interactive; the medium itself is
inherently interactive for small children. This opinion has
been expressed by several. Let us here examine some of the
most prominent. Marshal McLuhan (as cited by Allen Kendall,
1980) sees television as a phenomenal revolution in the
development of media primarily because it is participatory.
He claims that the more sensory information we are given to
interpret for ourselves, the more involved we are in the

event. He uses this rationale to explain the popularity and

4
influence of this form of mass media (Kendall, 1980). His
theories, however have yet to be adequately substantiated by
sound evidence.
Grant Noble (1980) has been looking specifically at the
interactional qualities of a child's relationship to
television. He has come to a couple of interesting

conclusions. First he believes that children do interact with

television. He bases this assumption on children's
participation during the viewing of Play Sgnggl, a program

produced in Australia. Second, he maintains that television
is interactive because of the way characters on the screen are
perceived. ‘Unlike any other medium, the characters portrayed
on television are perceived as friends. Their presence is
immediate and accessible. They are invited into our homes
daily. Because of the societal use of the medium, characters
on the screen are perceived as aquaintances and sometimes even
good friends. This was exemplified by Gerald S. Lesser when
retelling an anecdote from Igssgns gamed Egon Sesame Stree .
A child who had been watching "Sesame Street" regularly at
home was able to meet one of the main characters from the show
at preschool one day. The two spoke casually for a few
minutes until the TV character asked the child where he lived.
The child was much put out replying exasperatedly, "You know
where I live. You visit there everyday." For the child, at
least, the viewing of television was akin to playing with a
friend: the child was indeed interacting with the TV. Grant
Noble further claims that perhaps the reason children are so

fascinated with television lies not in its apparent passivity,

5
but rather because it engages them in a type of interaction
most familiar to them...imaginative play. His opinions, like
Marshall McLuhan's, are as yet unsubstantiated by a body of
research, however, and more work in this area is needed before
an undisputed claim may be made that television is interactive
in and of itself.

Television, however, is undisputably a large part of the
childhood experience. And children, far from being passive
receptors, are actively involved.with the TV image. They are
receiving a processed message. Television is thus one of many
stimuli in a child's life. If we take a pedagogical stance
that stimuli in a child's environment should be designed to
facilitate psycho-social development, then a style of
television production should be developed with this specific
need in mind. One of the important areas of psycho-social

development is stimulation of imagination.

SUMMARY

Television is a powerful and pervasive force in the lives
of children. It has the potential to have a positive psycho-
social impact on them. There is currently no model for
designing television that addresses the psycho-social needs
of the child viewer» There is a need, then, to explore styles
of production techniques from the perspective of enhancing
psycho-social development in general, and more specifically,

imagination.

CHAPTER 2 -- REVIEW OF LITERATURE

BQLE_QE_IMAQIEAIIQH_IN_QHILDHQQD

There is an undeniable essence to childhood that involves
turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. These magical
transformations occur from the largese of an every day
miracle: imagination. Imagination is such an integral part
of childhood.that its presence is often taken for granted. But
imagination can be a child's greatest ally as s/he grows.
Imaginative play marks an important stage in a child's
development. At the root of a child's pretend play lies a
need to understand the events and interactions of the
environment. This learning process provides the child with
a battery of skills that help him/her to master self and to
better cope with the environment. Children engaging in "let's
pretend" exercise abstract thinking skills and interactional
social skills; they learn to control their physical selves and
come to terms 'with. their* emotional selves. In. short,
imaginative play affects everything from language acquisition
to coordination, from mental and emotional development to
social sephistication. In addition, imagination is the
volatile moving force behind creativity. .As Dr. MCNamee
observed, imaginative play "provides the most comprehensive

curriculum for the child" (1983).

7

While every child has an inherent ability to engage in
imaginative play, child development theorists claim that
children whose imaginative efforts are actively encouraged
fare better socially and academically (Einsiedler, 1985:
Lansing State.Journal, 1989: Rubin.and Pepler, 1982). Stimuli
in a child's environment should be designed to nurture a
child's imagination: the larger the amount of a child's
imagination that is engaged, the greater the mastery of
applicable skills.

The role of imagination and imaginative play has long
been assigned an important function in child development.
Wolgang Einsiedler (1985) cites Karl Buhler (1918) as being
one of the earliest theorists to place importance on fantasy
play. Since. then, many other' prominent theorists have
recognized fantasy play as a tool children use to understand
their environment. Piaget (1945) considered fantasy play a
means of consolidating' symbolic 'thinkingu .According' to
Gillian McNamee (1983) , however, Freud and Erickson both
attribute a broader use for play. Recent research suggests
that imaginative play not only consolidates or reinforces a
child's schema, but also facilitates the development of new
schemas. These schema range from problem solving and
perspective taking (Rubin and Pepler, 1982) to the power of
abstract thinking (Smialansky, 1982 as cited by Einsiedler,
1985) and the ability to develop alternative actions in every
day life (Bretherton, 1984).

In short, play involving imagination allows for the

practicing of known behaviors and events, and allows for the

8

safe exploration of new and unfamiliar territory in order to
develop a repertoire of knowledge for interacting with the
world. Finally, longitudinal studies have shown that children
who had rich opportunities for fantasy play scored higher on
intelligence quotient tests than children who did not have
this opportunity (McNamee, 1983). Children who engaged in
imaginative play showed.more highly developed language skills
(McNamee, 1983) and were better adapted socially (Imagination,
1989).

While this literature establishes a need in a child's
life for imaginative play, there is little research available
on the nature and use of imagination m. Part of the
problem is identified by Einsiedler (1985) as he points out
in his study of fantasy play and toy structures:

We cannot say simply that object imitations (one type of

play) require less or more imagination than simpler

representations. We cannot exclude the possibility that
the imitation of noises (e.g. chopping wood) and use of
replicas (e.g. imitatively using dishes) in some children
is accompanied by reification (e.g. imagined. wood,
imagined cake)...
It is difficult, then, to separate out imagination from its
primary manifestation...imaginative play; Therefore, we must
make an intuitive leap that stimulating imaginative play will
be fostering the production of self generated ideas. In this
same vein Einsiedler states (ibid.):

[We must make]...the assumption that cognitive

representations emerge during fantasy play, and that

conclusions can-be drawn about cognitive processes and
the stimulation of development during free play.

Einsiedler concludes from his study of the impact of realistic

vs. non-realistic toy structures on children's imaginative

9
play behavior that "children should be offered low realistic,
unstructured, simple materials" in order to maximise

imaginative play behavior.

BQLE_QE_£BEAIIEE_DBAMAIIQ§

Creative Dramatics is a body of knowledge and techniques
developed over many years whose main purpose is the personal,
development of each participant through imaginative play. The
parameters of creative dramatics activities are hard to
delineate as creative dramatics are as versatile, fluid and
holistic as children's play itself. Eleanor York (1961)
discusses this diffiCulty in her article about the benefits
children gain from creative dramatics (p. 124-130). Not
surprisingly, the benefits she lists in this article mirror
those that are defined by child development specialists
regarding the role and function of imaginative play.

The principles of creative dramatics are based on the
nature and form of childhood play itself. Winifred Ward
(1961) outlines several. The most relevant were:

1) It's objective is the individual and social
development of every child who participates,

2) The adult is a guide rather than a director,

3) Material chosen as a stimulus should be suitable to
the age and interests of the children using them and
should. be regarded as the basis for further
exploration...not as an end result,

4) A part of the group becomes an audience while others
perform: the audience thus may appreciate and evaluate
the ideas presented, and

5) If a performance is shared with an audience other
than a part of the group, such a presentation should be
informal: costumes, scenery and make-up are rarely used
and minimal....

10

From these five principles we can glean that creative
dramatics activities are ususally fluid, child centered, and
minimally executed with props and scenery. Material used is
always a stimulus and never the end product.

Participation as an audience member is a major aspect of
the creative dramatic process. Viewing dramatic works invokes
a Child's natural understanding of "let's pretend" and
requires a willful suspension of disbelief. Because children
engage in role play naturally, they have an instinctive grasp
of the dramatic genre. When one person assumes a role
(pretends to be someone else), people viewing participate by
tacitly agreeing to believe that one person can become another
person for the duration of the event. Such dramatic
presentations do two things: 1) they allow the viewer to
engage in reflective thinking in order to appreciate and
evaluate the ideas presented and 2) they provide tailor-made
roles with which children can identify and upoanhich.they can

model play behavior.

EHMMABX

Children have a developmental need to interact with their
environment. This interaction primarily takes place in the
form of imaginative play. It is very important for a child
not only to engage in imaginative play but also to be provided
with stimuli (such as low realistic toys or idea generating

stories) that enhance and promote imaginative play.

11

Creative Dramatics specialists emphasize these same
ideas. Children should be provided with a few props or a
vivid story in order to inspire them to use their imagination
in constructive ways. Play that is stimulated by the least
realism (toys and/or props) involves the most imagination and
provides for greater growth. An important part of the
creative dramatics process is to view presented dramas. Drama
invokes a child's understanding of "let's pretend" and the
willfull suspension of disbelief requisit to any viewing.
Drama also provides opportunities for reflective thinking and
provides tailor-made roles with which children may identify
and upon which they may base susbsequent play behavior.

Television, since it plays such a large role in a child's
life, should be approached according to the developmental need
of the child. No production model currently exists that
specifically addresses this need. Production techniques for
drama must be explored that are designed to enhance a child's
imaginative participation. The goal of such a production
would be to explore the potential of the TV medium in order
to stimulate a child's imagination. In so doing, it would
allow the imaginative participation of the child in the
viewing experience by utilizing strategies outlined by
Einsiedler (1985) and echoed by York (1961) and Ward (1961)

of age apprpriate material, low realism and minimal cues.

CHAPTER 3 - METHOD

The previous section established the need to explore
production techniques that serve to create a style of
television conducive to imaginative participation in a child
viewer. This endeavor must be discussed in two parts. The
first part is the production design and will include the
parameters upon which decisions are based to create a program.
The second part is the evaluation design and will include the
means by which the effectiveness of these techniques will be

assessed.

0 CT

A framework for designing a drama was developed by
grouping production techniques into two broad categories:
content and form. Content is primarily the dramatic
characteristics, while form is primarily the medium
characteristics. In designing the framework to produce a
drama, content and form variables were manipulated to create
a stimuli that possessed the dynamics identified by child
development and creative dramatic specialists: 1) age
appropriate material, 2) low realism/high abstraction, and 3)

minimal cues. Each of these three attributes are discussed

12

13
below in terms of the content and form variables manipulated

to produce that attribute (see Table 1, page 14).

1) AGE APPROPRIATE MATERIAL - This attribute can be
defined as the accessibilty of the content and form of the
drama for a child viewer. As Winifred Ward points out,
"...material...should be suitable to the age and interest of
the child." The drama, through content and form, created a
scenario where a child of the target age faced and solved a
childhood problem.

Content: The framework for designing the content of the
drama focused.on.characters and.plot~ Characters in the drama
were either real or imaginary that occur naturally in a
child's world. Examples of such could be family members,
professionals from the community (teachers, doctors, pastors,
etc.), playmates, toys, or imaginary characters. The plot,
or storyline, dealt with a child facing a childhood dilemma.
It should have been told from the child's point of view. The
child character defined the problem, devised and executed the
solution, and realized the results. All activities should
have occured in a setting that is natural to the character.

Egrm: Age appropriateness was also enhanced by varying
the form of the production characteristics. By utilizing the
techniques of visual presentation, controlled audio, and
editing, video can create the real and imaginary perspectives
of childhood.

According to Zettl (1973), there is a psychological

difference in the angle from which things are viewed.

14

Table 1
Production Model

_____AIIBI§UIE§ PRODUCTION VARIABLES

 

I. QQDEQQI
(Dramatic Characteristics)
* Characters

* Setting
* Plot
Age Appropriate
Material
11- EQIE

(Medium Characteristics)
* Re-create real and imaginary
perspectives of childhood
a) Visual Presentation
b) Literal and non-literal
audio
c) Capture the presence of
non-presence of objects,
people, and events

 

I. Qontent

* No reference to time and
space in script
* Make thought processes
abstract and externalized
Low Realism/High
Abstraction
11- EQIE
* Create an Abstract Space
a) set - no defined
perimeters
b) lights - cameo
c) costumes - symbolic
rather than

 

presentational
I. 922292:
* Drama structure without
resolution
Minimal Cues
II. EQIE

* Properties
* Costumes

 

15

Physically, children see the world from a low angle. Things
which appear normal to an adult are quite large to a child.
Unfamiliar things or frightening things can loom "larger than
life", while familiar things or things tailored to their small
size are seen as normal. Television has a versatility in
terms of shot angles that makes it a medium capable of
recreating this type of world view. It also provides the
option of a subjective camera angle where the viewer sees what
the character is seeing. This use of perspective taking does
two things: it communicates a sense of age and size by
visually creating the world as children perceive it: it draws
the viewer into the action of the story as s/he will not
always be a third party "looking on" but will occassionally
seem to step into the main character's shoes and become that
charcter.

Children live in a holistic universe within which things,
ideas and activites flow smoothly one to the next. A
trashcan, for example, becomes a drum - becomes a shield -
becomes a dead body - becomes a trashcan again all within the
time spent taking out the trash. There is no discontinuity
in the activity of the child's perception of what is
occurring: the child is taking the trash out all the while
s/he is being herald, warrior, and hero returning home. This
duality is possbile because of a child's imagining ability.
Television is capable of communicating this dual perception
by using literal or non-literal sound and by using editing to
capture the presence or non-presence of imaginary objects,

people and events.

16

When children play, their concentration is so great that
they often manage to block out the ordinary everyday sounds
of the environment in which they play. This can be testified
to by any parent who has called a child home only to be
ignored or told "I didn't hear you." Children, so engrossed
in the play, do not hear a parent calling: they are listening
to the sounds with which they have populated their imaginary
world. By using literal sound (sound that is natural to the
scene) for times of non-play and adding non-literal sound
(sound that has no referent to the scene and is used to evoke
an image or a feeling. i.e. theme music) to the existing
audio, the drama was able to reproduce sound as the child
hears it. As Zettl points out, "sound mixture communicates
what the event is and how it feels. It 'shows' the outside
and inside of the event simultaneously" (1973, p. 337).

Because of the holistic nature of a child's world view
and because of the lack of discontinuity between real and
imaginary, the video medium is faced.with a unique problem of
conveying this situation visually; Video can do this through
editing and shooting techniques. Objects, people and events
are made to appear and disappear through changing the shot
angle and dissolving or cutting between the shots. For
example, a box that might be imaginary to a character can be
visually shown and manipulated by an actor in a series of
shots. At some critical point when the box is no longer
supposssed to be visible, the shot angle is changed, the box
is removed and in all subsequent shots the box does not exist.

The chracter'may react or not to the missing box as the script

17
dictates. But the box itself has been treated visually to

help capture the way it is perceived by the character.

2) LOW REALISM/HIGH ABSTRACTION - This attribute is
defined as little to no attempt to represent the real world.
The concept "non-realistically' generated" references the
production aspects of a program and not the subject matter.
Subject matter should be highly realistic - children dealing
with childhood problems. However the production should strive
for a high degree of abstraction in content and form.

gnntgnt: In its content, the drama itself should make
no mention of a specific time or place that is not absolutely
neccessary to the plot development. Once the writer
delineates "suburban, middle-class, fall 1988" (or any other
such specifics), all other options have been foregone: the
viewer has no room to fill in these gaps. If no reference is
made, the drama takes place in a physically abstract space and
the viewer will need to make some choice placing the action
somewhere, somewhen. By doing so, the viewer engages in
imaginative discourse with the program.

Egzm: The production characteristics of the drama were
rendered abstract in terms of set, costumes, and lights.
Instead of using these plastics to replicate a realistic room,
the essence of the room was communicated by using abstract
shapes to represent the elements of the room.

Costumes should be abstracted in the same manner.
Attempts should be made to dress characters in unisexual

clothing with one item added that is an abstraction of the

18

essence of that character. A type of performance that uses
this same abstraction motif is pantomime. However, where mime
artists pantomime an item and then take on the character of
the person who would have the item, this design framework
analyzes the character and then abstracts the item. This one
item then becomes representational for the character to which
it attached, Some examples of these :might. be: Ihats
(sombrero, pillbox, dunce), shoes (oversized, boots, heels)
or coats (mink stole, cape, sports coat).

The set should be cameo lit. There is no motivated
source for light because there is no need to create realistic
lighting when the set is abstract. The lights should be
carefully controlled to light only the playing area. This
will create a feeling of an island in the dark and will focus

attention on the characters rather than the surroundings.

3) MINIMAI.CUES - In addition to being non-realistically
generated, the framework for production was designed to be
minimally generated as well: it should give as few verbal and
visual cues as possible.

antgnt: Drama structure had deliberate open-endedness.
Every issue raised did not need to have resolution presented:
anomalies should.be built in and.not explained away to provide
areas of speculation for the viewer.

m: In terms of form, the minimum number of properties
and costumes to be used the better. Where most rooms may
consist of multiple items of furniture (i.e. a desk, shelves,

chairs, bed, dresser, toy box, closet, carpet, tables, etc.),

19
the production should use only those that have to be
manipulated by actors. All others exist only in the viewer's

imagination.

EEALQAIIQH_QE_IHE_2§§I§E
According to the literature, a video produced with the

attributes described above should stimulate imaginative
participation. In order for a production to do this, it must
be able to accomplish two primary goals: viewer comprehension
and viewer involvement. The evaluation design, then, assessed
how much imaginative participation children exhibit by
measuring viewer comprehension and viewer involvment. These
are further broken down into the separate objectives discussed
below (see Table 2, page 20).

Viewer comprehension is primarily a cognitive goal. For
any production to be of worth to a child viewer, s/he must be
able to understand what is occuring on the screen. No matter
what production variables are manipulated, the finished
product must not be so far from a child's experience that the
child is lost. While viewing the production, a child ought
to have a grasp of the difference in characters, a basic
understanding of the problem and solution in the plot, and a
sense of the setting in terms of time and space.

Viewer involvement is a goal that can include physical,
cognitive and affective activities. For the purposes of this
study, viewer involvement was defined physically as
attentiveness to the screen during viewing: cognitively as the

extent to which a child can (1) take the perspective of the

20

Table 2
Objectives Table

x._2hxsisal____§.csnitiy_e Affective.

-Recognize Character
Roles

 

-Recognize Problem

 

Viewer
Compre- -Recognize Solution
hension
-Recognize Setting

-Attentiveness -Fill in Details -Perspective
Viewer to scene of setting taking
Involve-
ment -Fill in Details

of monster

 

 

 

 

 

main character and define solutions to the problem(s) , and (2)
create therdetails of the setting given that the stimulus will
provide minimal visual cues for the setting, and fill in the
details of the fantasy monster given that there are no visual
cues.

Viewer involvement on a physical level was measured by
the number of times the child was distracted from the stimuli
as evidenced by verbalizations about, or physical referents
to some object other than the stimuli itself. On a cognitive
level, viewer involvement was measured three ways. The first
was verbal complexity of the child's repsonses to requests for

possbile solutions to the main character's problems. In order

21
for a child to generate solutions to the problem s/he must be
able to empathise with the character. If the child can
produce a possible solution, then perspective taking has
occured and this will indicate some imaginative leap from self
to other. The more complex the proposed solution, the more
imagination it employed.

The second was the extent to which a child can create a
realistic setting given that the setting is minimally
reproduced in the stimulus. The program had no specific
verbal or visual reference to a time or place. Therefore, in
order for a child to be able to state a definitive time and
space or to be able to identify specific details that were not
acutally shown, s/he would have had to fabricate them from
his/her own fertile imagination.

Finally, cognitive viewer involvement was measured
according to the verbal complexity the child exhibits in
describing the fantasy monster under the bed given that the
stnmulus provides no visual or aural cues. The more complex
the description of the monster, the more imagination employed

by the child.

MEASURING THE OBJECTIVES: The cognitive objective
(viewer comprehension) was measured according to a child's
ability to correctly recognize the following:

1) character roles as represented by each (i.e. "mother",
"Cleo", "Storyteller", "pretend friends"),

2) the problems facing the main character (i.e. the
monster under the bed and disliking her name),

3) the one presented solution to one of the problems
(i.e. chasing the monster away), and

22

4) the setting* of the. drama (i.e. bedroom, house,

apartment, etc.).

These measures are indicators of viewer comprehension. A
child answering all four appropriately was considered to have
a high comprehension of the presented material.

Viewer involvement is a more complex objective and will
be dealt with according to its two parts. Physical attention
to the screen, was indicated by the number of minutes of
script that the child viewer looked away from the screen.
This data was correlated with viewer comprehension data and
with content analysis of the production variables.

Cognitive elements ‘were indicated. by' the number' of
adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs and idea descriptors the
viewer can verbalize within the following activities:

1) perspective taking -- being able to place oneself in
the main character's place and think as that character,

2) naming the parts -- filling in the details of the room
within which the drama took place even though the
production variables were minimally and abstractly
generated, and
3) monster manifestation -- recreating a vision of what
the monster under the bed looked like even though the
production variables specifically do not show a monster.
These measures were indicators of imaginative interaction with
the stimulus. Mental imaginative play is assumed if a child
scores high in any one category. A child scoring high in all

three categories will have a high level of involvment.

23

EHMMABX

The method consists of two parts: production design and
evaluation of the design. The production design manipulated
content and form variables to produce a drama that had the
attributes identified in Chapter 2: 1) age appropriateness,
2) low realism/high abstraction, and 3) minimal cues.

Evaluation of the design assessed imaginative
participation through viewer comprehension and viewer
involvement. These two goals are broken down into measurable
objectives. They are: recognizing the character roles, the
problem, solution and setting of the drama, and "perspective

taking", "naming the parts", and the "monster manifestation".

CHAPTER 4 - RESULTS

The previous section divided the research into two parts:
the production design and the evaluation design. The
methodological discussion treated the decision making
parameters for each separately. For clarity's sake, the

results will be discussed according to that paradigm.

R0 UC I N SIGN

The script was developed and titled "The Monster Under
the Bed" (see Appendix A). The characters were: a
storyteller, Mom, Cleopatra Lysandra (age 6-7, female), and
two imaginary friends (Dominoe - male, and Ribbon - female).
Characters‘were refined via live performances in front of four
groups of 30-60 children at local elementary school gyms. 'The
taping occurred over two separate weekends and was shot film
style. The finished tape was 16 mintues long and skips from
looking for the sword to the storyteller's last speech.
Significant and irreplaceable footage was lost during the last
day of taping: adjustments in the script and testing
instrument were made accordingly.

1) AGE APPROPRIATE MATERIAL

Content: In this production, the setting is conceived

of as a child's bedroom: the main character is Cleopatra

24

25

Lysandra (age 6-7) who is struggling with self-doubt. This
is manifested in the duality of the problems she faces. Her
first problem is that she doesn't like her name. The children
at school have been teasing her. The second problem is her
fear of the imaginary monster under the bed. In the original
script, both issues are resolved by her when she decides that
she is a hero with a hero's name and when she chases the
monster away using a weapon of her own devising (see Appendix
A). Due to missing footage, only the solution to her fear of
the monster is presented with the name issue being left open-
ended.

m: The visual presentation uses subjective camera
shots when the storyteller addresses the viewer directly and
when the viewer turns to look at the action (this move
utilizes a pan and a light transition). Subjective angle is
also utilized during moments of tension created by the issue
of the monster under the bed. Angles are canted to further
communicate instability and unease. The viewer thus sees the
world from the main character's viewpoint and psychological
perspective. At all other times, objective camera angles are
used.

High and low' camera angles were ‘used on ‘very few
occasions due to the constraints of the taping conditions.
High and low angle shots appear during moments of tension
surrounding the fear of the monster.

Literal and non-literal sound was employed to
differentiate real vs. play moments. When the storyteller

addresses the viewer, there is no audio other than the

26

character speaking. As the transition is made to the action,
natural house sound is added underneath the characters' audio.
The audio is further layered with non-literal sound effects
that pertain to the moments of play. Examples of these would
be: the magic sound effect that cues the appearance and
dissappearance of the imaginary friends: the music that comes
and goes as wedding, Michael Jackson, dancing, circus, Pee Wee
Herman and princess are mentioned and acted out: and the
myriad sound effects associated with activities played out
such as tumbling, marching and wrestling.

Some children have imaginary friends. This friend, while
completely realistic to the child, is one not percieved by
adults. Imaginary playmates were written into the drama and
were played by actors while no adults were on the set. They
disappeared (were edited out) when an adult character was in
the playing space. In this way, the editing capabilities of
the television medium were used to capture the essence of
imaginary friends. During the first "disappearance" the
characters dissolve out of the image as Mom enters the room.
An audio sound effect is tied to this disappearance and
thereafter, this audio sound effect cues the event and the
characters appear and dissappear through a change in shot
angle.

2) LOW REALISM/ABSTRACTION

M: The script for the drama contains two imaginary
friends who are abstractions of the main character's thoughts.
As adults we engage in "thinking" or "internal dialogues".

Children's internal dialogues are often externalized and

27

transformed into imaginary playmates. In the script, two
imaginary friends are conceived, written and performed as
abstractions of parts of the main character's personality.
Consequently, they often have the same mannerisms, speech
patterns, and thought processes. No attempt was made either
in the script or in performance to make them as multi-
dimensional as the main character was: they did not define
problems or produce solutions. While they may occassionally
have initiated action on their own, it was never related to
the main issue or without the presence of the main character.
One imaginary friend was an externalization of the main
character's 'more rational, cautious, think-things-through
self: the other imaginary friend was an externalization of the
main character's emotional, enthusiastic, try-everything-at-
once self. The imaginary characters were played more as
.ngfifli§__ggl__§1£§. characters (one-dimensional, slapstick,
broad) while all other characters behaved in a more normal
fashion.

Egzm: The set had no walls: there was a door frame and
a window frame to convey the edges of the room. Along with
these, there were three other pieces of "furniture": a
dresser constructed of a blue block with yellow dots for
handles: a bed constructed out of a block frame with a cover
and a pillow: and a large square red box representing a toy
box. Set pieces were painted primary colors and placed on
four sides of the playing area to create a sense of
"roomness".

One unforseen result was the versatility of shot angles

28

the lack of walls provided. Shots were used from a 360 degree
angle around the playing area, from above, and from the floor.
Frequently, set items that defined the playing area functioned
as foreground in the shots. This had the effect of completely
negating the concept of enclosed space. Not only were there
no walls shown, but the fourth wall concept inherent to
dramatic performance was not adhered to. In set and shot
angles (physically and psychologically) there were no
boundaries: no room existed. Any concept of room created by
viewers must be a result of a developed schema for room and
imaginative investment in the visual presentation.

The costumes were as follows: Storyteller - brown
sweater and lap robe: Mom - peach sweater and tan slacks:
Cleopatra Lysandra - blue dress: Dominoe - blue unitard with
dots painted on it and boxer shorts: Ribbon - red unitard,
boxer shorts and one large red bow on her head. The one
character who deviated from the design framework in terms of
costuming was the storyteller. Besides the items listed
above, make-up and additional props were used to help convey
an aspect of age that the actor himself did not possess.

3) MINIMAL CUES

antgnt: According to the framework, the script should
not resolve every issue raised nor explain away all anomalies.
The script written for "The Monster Under the Bed" never
specifically addresses the issue of where the imaginary
characters come from when they appear or where they go to when
they dissappear. This is deliberately left open ended so that

the audience is allowed to imagine options or make assumptions

29

unimpeded. Another example of this is the relationship
between the storyteller and the main character. The script
never specifically states whether or not the main character
is a product of the old man's dreams and stories, or whether
they are both real people and have some undefined
relationship. Also, the problem of not liking one's name was
not resolved in the final video even though it is in the
script.

Enxn: A door frame and a window comprised the edges of
the room. A bed, a toy box and a dresser comprised the
elements of the room. The set was cameo lit. Costumes used
only one (or none) prop or addition to epitomise the

character.

EXALHAIIQN_QE_IEE_D§§I§H

Evaluation of the tape was done as fecus group work.
Eight children within the target age range (6-8 yrs.) viewed
the tape in a home environment in groups of 1 or 2. ‘While the
children viewed, an observer recorded their attention to or
away from the screen (see Appendix B). After viewing, each
child was asked a series of questions (see Appendix B). ‘Where
aided recall was used, photos taken from the tape stimulus
were shown. Three observer/interviewers were trained during
a three hour session to insure symmetry of treatment among
them.

FINDINGS

Due to the small data base, data for each subject is

presented for all four elements of viewer comprehension and

30
all four elements of viewer involvement (see Table 3, page
31). In addition, a comprehensive score is computed for both
viewer comprehension and viewer involvement.
V o 5

Each of the elements of viewer comprehension were tested
by one or more questions. Table 3 (pg. 31) reports the data
for each child on all elements tested, Only child 1 and child
8 recognized all four characters: most of the subjects were
able to recognize at least three of the characters. The tape
presented two problems and five of the eight subjects were
able to state both problems and every child could state at
least one of the problems. Child 1, 2, and 3 were able to
answer correctly all three questions pertaining to recognizing
the setting: most were able to answer at least two and only
one child could answer none. All the subjects were able to
correctly identify the solution presented to one of the
problems.

The subjects' answers were scored one point for each
verifiably correct answer. This creates an objective scale
ranging from 0 (no answers correct) to 10 (all answers
correct). This is the comprehension score (CS). The CS is
plotted against the number of children receiving a given score
(see Figure 1). From this it is easy to see that 7 out of the
8 (87%) scored 50% or higher on comprehension. 5 out of the
8 (62%) scored 80% or higher on comprehension. It is
indicative that the one child who did not score above 50% on
comprehension was the youngest participant. The scores from

this child (number 7) are consistently low on all items in

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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32
comprehension. The data from this child may be skewed due to
a maturity level that has not yet developed a schema for
cognition of the content or the form of the video. The mode

of the comprehension score was 8 with the mean being 7.5.

Figure 1

Viewer Comprehension Tabulations

 

 

 

# of
Subjects
5 - - - - - - - - - - . - _ _ - _ _ - _ - -
4 - - - _ _ _ - - - - - _ _ _ - - _ - - - -
3 - - - . _ - , _ _ - _ _ _ - - - _ _ _
2 - - - - _ _ - - .. _ - , -
1 5 ~ — - - v. -— — — .- — o .-
0 J 1 1 II 1 l
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Comprehension Scores
V‘ we volvem t

Viewer involvement was measured according to indicators
of physical, cognitive and affective activity. Physical
activity was indicated by attentiveness to the screen. The
attention level of the child was originally defined as the
number of minutes of viewing time a child looked at or
verbalized about something other than the stimulus. The data
gathered reveals that most instances of dis-attention were

much shorter than one minute. Consequently, attentiveness

33
data can not be reported accurately in a form that has a
minute as its base unit. Data is reported in the viewer
involvement section of Table 3 above as raw numbers of
referents away, with each referent accounting for one line of
script. The assumption is made that each line of script is
approximately the same in duration.

The other three elements, cognitive involvement (filling
in the details of the monster and filling in the details of
the setting), and affective involvement (perspective taking)
were tested by open ended questions. As such, they have no
objectifiably correct answers.

Table 3 (pg. 31) reports the data from each child on the
four elements of involvement. Child I scored highest on
attention with no referents away from the screen during the
viewing: child.6 scored least with eight referents away during
viewing. Child 5 scored highest on perspective taking with
a raw score of fourteen: child 7 scored least with a raw score
of zero. Details of the setting scores ranged from a high of
eight (child 2) to a low of three (child 7). Details of the
monster had a slightly larger range from a high of twelve
(child 6) to a low of zero (child 7). Child 7 set the lowest
score on 3 of the four measures. This pattern reinforces the
earlier suspicions about the age appropriateness of the
subject.

The scale for each element ranges from 0 (no answer at
all) to the number of the participant who scored maximum.
This range was then divided into three equal parts and

labelled "high involvement", "medium", and "low". A viewer

34
involvement score (VS) was then calculated by assigning a
number to each category (high =3, medium=2, low=1) , and adding
each participants values for the three elements of perspective
taking, deatails of setting, and details of monster. For
example, child 1 scored low on perspective taking, medium on
details of setting and medium on details of monster. This
child's score was calculated as 2+2+1=5. Involvement scores

are represented by the solid bars on Figure 2.

Figure 2
Viewer Involvement Tabulations

# of
Subjects5

 

 

  

 

 

123456
Involvement Score

— Without Attention Data

With Attention Data

The dotted bars are the same viewer involvement scores
after the data from attention is added. This is done because
the attentional data is measured differently from the other
three elements. By examining the relationship between the two

curves, it is obvious that the attentional data alters the

35
shape of the curve. This indicates that the attentional data
may be different than the other three elements. In Figure 3,
attentional data are plotted against the composite score from
the other three elements of viewer involvement on a scatter
plot. There does not appear to exist a relation between how
much attention a child paid to the screen and the
corresponding level of involvement (i.e. a child who had a low

level of attention did not neccessarily have a low score on

involvement).

Figure 3

Attention/Involvement Scatter Plot

Attention ‘ ‘ ‘ r -' - ~ — - -
Data

 

OHkammNmO
r
r
r
I
r
r

Involvement Score

The data do not seem to represent a relationship between
attention to the program and comprehension either (see Figure
4). This assumption, that a child needed to pay attention to
the stimulus in order to understand it, was in the opening

statements. However, the scatter plot between attention and

36
comprehension (Figure 4) does not seem to bear this out.

These results may be due to the low sample size where the laws

of probability can not come into play. It may also be a

result of the low variance in the scores and the subjective

scale of high/medium/low based on that variance. However,

Aimee Dorr (1986) , and Robert Hawkins and Suzanne Pingree
(1986) also report attention to the screen was not a good

predictor of comprehension. This study seems to indicate a

similar finding. The rest of this analysis, then, will be

based on the involvement data minus the attentional aspects.

Figure 4
Attention/Comprehension Scatter Plot
Attention ..- .. - .. - - .. - - - .. - - - .. - - .. - -
Data 9.- -- -------_..---......
8---------_--,-- .. l-
71-.---- -.--_-- ...... -
5 -- - - - - - - - .. - - - - _ _ - - - - ..
5.- -----_-_--------..
4.-----_-- ..... ...-------
3 f ‘ " “ ‘ ‘ ' ' ' ‘ " - ' “ ‘ ‘ " ‘ '
2 .. ---------..- .....-
1 P _ - - - - - - - - - - , .. - - -
O r 1 ll 1 1 JJ 1‘

 

 

12 34 5 678 910

Comprehension Score

From the viewer involvement graph (Figure 2, pg. 34) it

can be seen that 4 out of 8 (50%) were moderatly involved and

3 out of 8 (38%) were highly involved. The mean was 5.7 with

37
a mode of 6. Once again, the low outlier in the data was the
youngest participant in the evaluations.

In general, there appears to be no strong correspondence
between comprehension and involvement. Individual children
who scored high in comprehension did not consistently score
high or lOW’On involvement" There was a concern that children
who were already sensitized to the topic matter might respond
in a stronger manner than others. Two questions addressed
whether the viewer liked his/her name or was afraid of
monsters. There does not seem to be a strong relationship
between prejudice toward an idea and empathy with that idea.
Children who liked their name offered as complex solutions to
the problem of disliking one's name as the children who did
not like their names. The same holds true for fear of

monsters.

fiflflfléfil

A video was produced according to the design described
in Chapter 3 entitled "The Monster Under the Bed." It
contained the three target attributes with a few minor changes
due to production constraints.

Evaluation of the design with eight members of the target
audience revealed.that.62% of the subjects scored at least 80%
or higher on comprehension and 50% were moderate or highly
involved. There appears to be no strong relationship between
these two goals and there appears to be no relationship

between prejudice toward an idea and empathy with that idea.

CHAPTER 5 - DISCUSSION

The problem addressed in this study was the exploration
of a production style of television designed to specifically
address the psycho-social needs of a child viewer. The
developmental needs of a child are many: for the purposes of
this study, the focus was the nurturing of imagination.
Utilizing methods recommended by child development theorists
and creative dramatic specialists a video was designed to
stimulte imaginative participation in the child viewer.

Imaginative participation was measured by two objectives:
viewer comprehension and viewer involvement. These two
elements were identified based on the assumption that if the
stimulus was too far from a child's ability to understand,
then it would be difficult for the child to use the stimulus
as a springboard for imaginative participation.

Finally, the uses and gratifications approach to research
about children and television is born out. If television
viewing is truly and strictly a passive medium, all children
would exhibit the same response to the stimulus. The range
of responses given in the open ended questions is testimony
to the fact that children come to the screen filled with past
experiences and recieve a resultant processed message. A

poignant example of this is the children's perceptions of

38

39
where the playing area was located. All the children but one
placed the bedroom in a type of abode similar to the one with
which they were familiar. Most perceived the room to be
placed in the abode corresponding to where their room was
within the abode (i.e. "upstairs", "down the hall from Mom's
room", etc.). Children, primed.with information, experiences
and opinions based on their own environment will apply these
to the message they receive. This is at the very heart of the
issue -- children use their imagination to sort and understand

new stimuli based on previous knowledge.

EEEQ EOR FURTHER RESEARCfl

This research project, like all studies, had its own set
of limitations. One of the major drawbacks of this study was
its small sample size. Results from small samples can be
stated as tentative conclusions rather than definitive
statements. Larger sample sizes open up realms of reliability
and validity that focus group type work does not and cannot
ever achieve. Therefore, the first recommendation is for the
reseach to be repeated with a larger sample size.

Secondly, this design was a post test only. This does
not allow control for extraneous variation due to inherent
differences among participants. Some children may be imbued
naturally with a larger share of imaginative capacity than
others. Also, the operationalized definition of the dependent
Variable was based on a child's ability to verbalize his/her
responses. The abiliity to verbalize develops at different

rates in children of this age range. It may also be dependent

40

on such uncontrolled for variables as social-economic status
of the parents, the sex of the child, and the availability of
opportunities for the child to practice verbal skills
elsewhere. The recommmendation for research in this instance
is for an evaluation design that can control for intervening
variables: or perhaps, to develop a measure for the dependent
variable that is independent of other factors.

Finally, a series of comparative studies are needed.
Within production research, it is nearly impossible to
separate out the impact of content on a viewer from the impact
of the production style itself. Some content ‘will be
inherently more interesting than other content for a given
audience. Several different kinds of content need to be
produced in this same style so the data can be analyzed
irrespective of content.

The flipside of this coin is that the production forms
themselves are so interrelated that they are difficult to
separate from each other, much less from the content. This
study manipulated several production variables to achieve an
effect. This effect was demonstrated. However the design of
this study did not test how each individual variable
contributed to the outcome. To echo Grant Nobles' comments
from the literature review, we still do not know a definitive
"11933 to present to children. There are models for production
such as the one presented above and the ones covered in the
literature review. However, these models do not include a
taxonomy' of 'what children ‘understand from ‘the forms of

television. We do not know if they perceive and understand

41
subjective vs. objective camera angles: we do not know at what
age they develop visual literacy, or for that matter what the
rules and operating procedures for that visual literacy might
be. We do not know whether the myriad traditions that have
developed for production of video are understood (or how they
are understood) or not.by the child viewer. This is one of the
most curious aspects of children's television research. In
no other form of communication does the communicator set out
to send a message with out knowing how the elements will be
understood by the receiver. Does a poet create a poem without
an understanding of how others read words, phrases,
punctuation and images? Does a musician play without an
understanding of how rhythm, melody, and volume impact the
listener? Yet for some reason with children's television we
do just that: hours and hours and hours of programming for
children are aired and no one knows how those children
percieve what we send. This indeed is an area for further
research. It is a frontier for production research that has

only begun to find pioneers.

SQMMABX
The style of television developed did not significantly

lessen children's understanding of the program's content.
Nor did it produce consistently low or no imaginative
participation on the part of the viewer. Understanding the
program did not bear on a child's ability to utilize the
program as food for imagination as was the original

supposition.

42

The need for research in this area is broad as we are
only beginning to understand the relationship between
television and the child viewer. The two primary questions
are: 1) What do children understand from the forms of
television, and 2) When and how do they develop this visual
language. Answers to these questions will take us a long way
to understanding how best to present information to children

via the video medium.

APPENDIX A

DIRECTOR'S SCRIPT

43

Director's Script

FADE to Low Angle shot (dolly in)

Lights Up on set 2
W

 

FS Cleo (x to Camera)

 

MCU Cleo behind dresser
FS Cleo (x to Camera)

MCU Cleo from under bed
0

climb out of Toy Box and
x to camera

DISSOLVE to same image w1magic __

SFX. Ribbon and Dominoe are

 

gone
Mom d
W

 

 

OLD MAN: Eh? What? Come
in. Come in. Don't be shy.
I don't bight....hard.
No. No. That was a joke.
Come in. Now what is it
ye' want? Speak up. Eh?
What? A story? A story,
is it! Well, you've come
to just the right man.
Stories I have. The very
besta Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit.
Now. Hm. I've got just
the thing for a bedtime
story. A story about
a wee bit of a girl and a
certain fear she had. But
it starts with a poem. . .an
invitation. It goes like
this....

If you are a dreamer, come
in

If you're a pretender, come
sit by my fire

For' we have some flax-
golden tales to spin.
Come in.

Come in!

ENTER CLEO

CLEO: "(enters) I'm in!
Heyi Where are you guys?
Ribbon? Dominoe? I know
you're in here. (begins to
search the room) Behind
WW Nope-
You guys are under the bed.
HA. You guys? Are you

(crawls under
bed ad libs continue)

‘ENTER DOMINOE AND RIBBON

BED BUSINESS AND WRESTLING

|VOICE: Hey! Cleo! What

is all the racket up here?

MOM ENTERS
MOM: Cleo! What
happened to your bed?

CLEO: Well, Mom, I was

44

MS Mom

MCU Cleo

 

OTS Cleo

FS room from door

 

Iights up scene 1

DISSOLVE to MCU old man
lights down scene 1

Lights up scene 2
Pan and roll focus

MCU Cleo

MCU Mom

 

MCU Cleo

 

W

WS bed from front

 

looking for Dominoe and
Ribbon when they jumped me
from the bed and then...
MOM: I know. I know. They
made this entire mess.
CLEO: Well, they helped.
MOM: Never mind. Here,
help me put the bed back
together. Or did you think

you would sleep on the
floor tonight?

CLEO:
bed)Oh.

(Cleo gets off
Could I? It...

MOM: No. I'm sorry I
mentioned it. Here, pull
that down.

OLD MAN: Now tonight was
special to Cleo. See, the
kids at school had been
teasing her about her name.
They would dance around her
and say "Cleopatra Lysandra
looks like a salamandra.
Put her in a great big
Panda, Cleopatra Lysandra"
And that was pretty mean.
So she decided to ask her
mom about it.....

CLEO: Mom?
MOM: Hm?

CLEO: Why did you name me
Cleo?

MOM: Because I was reading

Nile at the

CLEO: (prompting) And
because you knew I was
going to be special.

time.

MOM: And I knew you were
going to be special.

CLEO: OK. But then why
did you have to make my
middle name Lysandra?

MOM: Because Cleopatra Sue

45

zoom in to 2-shot

CU Mom

CU Cleo

OTS Cleo as she sits up

MCU Mom
OTS Cleo

MCU Mom

MCU—£129.

 

QTS through door

MCU Cleo

OTS through door
MCU Cleo

 

didn't sound right. Or
maybe I should have called
you Cleopatra Sally. (Mom
grabs up Cleo and begins
to tickle her) . Cleopatra
Jane. Cleopatra Mary.
Cleopatra Harry!

CLEO: Ok. OK! Cathrope.
Cathrope! I give up. But,
geez , Mom . Cleopatra
Lysandra?

MOM: Oh. You'll live
through it. Besides.
You're not the first to
have an unusual name in our
family. It's a fine
tradition. Your
grandfather's name was
Cornelius Otho. He was a
hero in the war, you know.
Received a medal of honor
for courage.

CLEO: He did?
MOM: Yes. He did.

CLEO: Well, how'd he get
it?

MOM: Oh, they gave it to
him.

CLEO: No. I mean what did
he do?

MOM: Oh, something about
fighting off an attack
single handed. Ask him the
next time he is over. You
know how he loves to tell
stories.

CLEO: Yeah. Grandpa tells
good stories.

MOM: Now, it's about
time...

CLEO: But, Cornelius?
MOM: For you to get ready

for bed.
CLEO: Otho!

46

OTS through door

MCU Cleo

 

magIc SFX
OTS Dominoe and Ribbon

MCU Cleo

OTS Dominoe and Ribbon
x to camera climb on bed

2-shot Dominoe and Ribbon

MCU Cleo

 

2-SHOT Dominoe and Ribbon

 

Q-SHOT of all huddled on bed

 

 

MOM: I'll be up later to
check on you. (she leaves)

CLEO: Yeck!

DOMINOE: Cleopatra?
RIBBON: Lysandra?

CLEO: Cut it out you guys.

DOMINOE: (chanting)
Cleopatra...

RIBBON: (chanting)
Lysandra...

DOMINOE: . . . looked like. . .
RIBBON: . . .a salamanda. . .
DOMINOE: . . .put her in a. . .

RIBBON: ...great big
Panda...

DOMINOE: Cleopatra
RIBBON: Lysandra!

CLEO: That's not funny.

DOMINOE: Cleo?
RIBBON: Cleo?
DOMINOE: We're...
RIBBON: ...sorry.

DOMINOE: When you grow
up. 0 O

RIBBON: ...you could
change your name.

CLEO: I could?

DOMINOE: Sure. It
happens...

RIBBON: ...all the time.
People...
DOMINOE: . . . get married

47

Wedding SFX

FS as she gets off bed

 

2-SHOT Dominoe and Ribbon
as they rise

ugg Cleo lipsynching the words
28 Cominoe and Ribbon dancing

 

Mia—<3—

F Dominoe and Ribbon
MCU Dominoe

Crowd SFX full

FS room as Cleo speaks to cam

MCU Dominoe on bed

 

 

and change...
RIBBON: ...their name.

CLEO: EEWWW! Do I have

to get married?
DOMINOE: Umm. I guess

RIBBON: . . .not. You could
juSto O O

DOMINOE: . . . change your
name. Because...

RIBBON: ...when you're a
grownup....

DOMINOE: . . .you can do. . .
RIBBON: ...anything...
DOMINOE: ...you want to.
CLEO: Yeah! That's right.
When I grow up I'll change
my name! And I'll be

anything I want. When I
grow up, I'm gonna be....

MICHAEL JACKSON

MUSIC FULL and MJ' ACTIVITY

DOMINOE: When I grow up,
I'm gonna be.....a.....

BIG TIME WRESTLER

CLEO: In the big time
center ring we have...

DOMINOE: King Sting and
I 'm gonna wrestler wrestler

 

wrestler and break her

48

F8 room

 

MCU Ribbon on bed

 

FS room

2-shot from front

MCU Ribbon

 

WS front

 

as m'

 

OTS Cleo

 

FS front

 

3-SHOT from side for flip
z-gngt from front for bow

 

MCU.Dominoe

 

Q-SHOT through dresser

 

C O

 

WS from front

 

W

 

Princess SFX

 

face. GRRRRR!

CLEO: Thank you King Sting
and we have...

RIBBON: Mad Molly and I'm
gonna cream him!

CLEO: Thank you Mad Molly.
And the bell goes DING DING
DING. (Ribbon and Dominoe
wrestle on the bed) And
she's lookin like.

And mad Molly is going
down. Yes! And King Sting
won! WOOOOOOO!

RIBBON: When I grow up,
I'm gonna be.....a.....

DANCER!

MUSIC FULL and ALL THREE
DANCE

MUSIC OUT

CLEO: When I grow up, I'm
gonna be....

IN THE CIRCUS!

MUSIC FULL
BUSINESS

and CIRCUS

APPLAUSE

DOMINOE: When I grow up,
I'm gonna be....

PEE WEE HERMAN!
The word for the day is
"Chair“. Oh! I'm sitting
in a chair.

PWH BUSINESS

RIBBON: When I grow up,
I'm gonna be.....a...

PRINCESS!

49

2-SHOT Dominoe and Cleo

 

DISSOLVE MCU Cleo

 

magic SFX
MS Mom at door

MCU Cleo

OTS Mom at door

OTS Cleo through door

Light change
DISSOLVE to MCU old man

 

 

DOMINOE AND CLEO: A
Princess? Ewww.

MOM (off): Cleo? (enters)
What's going on? I didn't
know getting ready for bed
took so much noise.

CLEO: Ah, Mom. Do I have
to go to bed yet?

MOM: Now, no arguing
tonight. March off to that
bathroom and brush and
wash. When I come back,
I expect to find you
tucked into bed. (exits)

CLEO: OK. OK, guys, we're
bathroom bound. (EXIT)

DRUMS

?CLEO: ‘When.I grow up I'll

change my name.

DOMINOE AND RIBBON: When
she grows up she'll change
her name.

CLEO: And then I'll never
be the same.

DOMINOE AND RIBBON: Then
she'll never be the same.

OLD MAN: And so they
marched off to the
bathroom. Well, you know
how bathroom's are. There
was splashing and giggling
until the bathroom became
a swamp and Cleo became the
Swamp Monster. She sat
back on her royal throne.
And before you know, the
bathroom was quite a mess.
A rather odd thing happened
in the bathroom though, and
as Ribbon entered the room,
you could hear Dominoe
saying, "Well....

50

light change
pan and roll focus

 

MCU Window frame...each
walks throug shot

FS front

Canted angle of bed

 

3-SHOT from across bed - dolly in

canted angle of bed

3-SHOT from across bed

FS through door

 

DOMINOE: well, you said
it was a hat.

RIBBON: ‘Yes, but.I didn't
say to put it on!

CLEO: (entering) Oh quite
arguing you two.

DOMINOE: (entering) Oh,
that's fine for you to say.
You don't have a plunger
stuck on your head, now,
do you?

MOM'S VOICE: Cleo. Are
you in bed?

RUSH TO BED

CLEO: Do you see what I
see?

DOMINOE: There's a
shadow...

RIBBON: ...under the bed.
DOMINOE: It could be...
RIBBON: ..the Monster.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Tae's
a monster under the bed.
By morning we could be
dead.

He'll suck on our toes
And stomp on our head.
There's a monster under the
bed!

There's a monster under the
bed.

By morning we could be
dead.

He'll suck on our toes
And stomp on our head.
THERE 'S A MONSTER UNDER THE
BED!

CLEO: (yelling) MOM!
MOM!

MOM: (enters) What?

51

MCU Cleo

2-SHOT front

2-SHOT from under bed

FS front as Cleo gets in bed

MCU Cleo

r

OTS Mom at door

MCU Cleo

 

 

 

zoom out 2-SHOT

 

CLEO: There's a monster
under my bed.

MOM: Cleo. There is not
a monster under your bed.
Here. Look. See? Nothing.
No monster. No boogie man.
Now, please get into bed.

CLEO: Well, it was there
a minute ago (looking
suspiciously at bed).
Maybe it's hiding’ or
something.

MOM: Well, it's probably
as scared of you as you are
of it. Goodnight dear.
(she ‘tucks Cleo in and
starts to leave)

CLEO: Mom?
MOM: Hm?

CLEO: ‘Would it be ok, if,
when I grow up I change my
name?

MOM: Change your name?
Why?

CLEO: Weelllll,....

MOM: You don't like your
name do you? I mean really
don't like it. Why not?

CLEO: Weeeellll , seeee .
The kids at school tease
me.

MOM: What do they say?

CLEO: (chanting in
imitation) Cleopatra
Lysandra looks like a
salmanda.

MOM: Oh. Cleo. I 'm
sorry. Kids. They can be
so cruel.

CLEO: Does that mean it's
ok to change my name?

52

OTS Mom at door

W
MCU Mom

MCU Cleo

FS Mom

MCU Cleo
FS Mom

MCU Cleo

OTS Cleo mom leans into shot

MCU Cleo
OTS Mom at door

MCU Cleo

 

OTS Mom at door

magic SFX

MOM: I tell you what. If,
when you are grown up, you
still want to change your
name, I will help you.

CLEO: Really?

MOM: Sure . (They hug .
She starts to leave)
CLEO: Mom?

MOM: Hm?

CLEO: Did kids tease you
when you were little?
MOM: Oh, yes.

CLEO: About your name?
MOM: Nooo. They teased

me about my pantaloons.

CLEO: Your what?

MOM: Pantaloons. My
Mother used to make me wear
them under my dresses.
They were sort of frilly,
ruffly long underwear.
And they teased me
terribly . Pantaloon Patsy.
That's what they used to
call me. And I promised
myself that my child
would not ever have to wear
pantaloons.

CLEO: That's why I don't
wear 'em, huh?

MOM: That's why you don't
wear them . Huh . Good
night dear.

CLEO: 'Night Mom. Mom!
MOM: Hm?

CLEO: Leave the door open
a little, 'kay?

MOM: OK.(leaves)

3-SHOT on bed

53

 

MCU Cleo

 

3-SHOT from high angle

 

3-SHOT from front as they sit up

 

RIBBON: Pantaloons?

DOMINOE: Eewww! You
woudln't catch me dead in
'em.

RIBBON: Well , I don ' t
know....

DOMINOE: Ribbon! Really.
CLEO: (distracted)
Cleopatra Lysandra looks
like. 0 O

DOMINOE: ...a slaman
RIBBON: ...dra.

LONG PAUSE
MUSIC IN

RIBBON: Dominoe, stop
making that noise.

DOMINOE:
a noise.

I'm not making

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Cleo!

CLEO: I'm not making any
noise!

ALL THREE: The Monster!
DOMINOE: Now what...
RIBBON: ...are we...
DOMINOE: ....gonna....
RIBBON: ....do?

CLEO: I don't know.

DOMINOE: There's a monster
under the bed.

RIBBON: By morning we'll
all be dead.

DOMINOE: He'll suck on our
toes

RIBBON: And stomp on our
head.

54

PS throughdoor as Cleo moves

2-SHOT Dominoe and Ribbon

MCU Cleo

FS both as they peek

2-SHOT Dominoe and Ribbon

 

MCU Cleo

2-SHOT both

W

CLEO:

 

Z:§fl21.§2§h

 

MCU Cleo

2-SHOT both

MCU £180

_QTS Dominoe and Ribbon

o
2-SHOT both

 

DOMNOE: There's a....

RIBBON: .... Monster...

DOMINOE: ...under...

CLEO: STOP IT! We're just
going to have to... do...
something about it.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Right.
What?

CLEO: We'll. . .chase it

out.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Right.
How?

CLEO: Ummm (peeks over'the
edge and leans back) How

far out do you think
monsters can reach?
RIBBON AND DOMINOE: (peek

out and lean back) Not very
far.

Are you sure?
RIBBON AND DOMINOE: No.

CLEO: Great. Do you think
we could jump off?

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Yeah.

CLEO: Are you sure.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Nope.

CLEO: Great. OK, Dominoe,
you...

DOMINOE: Not me.

CLEO: OK, then, Ribbon
you. . .

RIBBON: Not me.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE : You
go.

55

MCU Cleo

FS through door

CLEO: Right. OK. On the
count of three. One. Two.
(looks over edge and leans
back)

 

2-SHOT both

 

MCILElso

 

FS through door

DOMINOE: Fraidy...
RIBBON: ...Cat...
DOMINOE: ...Fraidy...
RIBBON: ...Cat....
DOMINOE: ....Cleo is a....
RIBBON: ...Fraidy...
DOMINOE: ...Cat.
CLEO: I'm not a Fraidy
Cat. I come from a long
line of heroes. I'm
special. My Mom said so!

i Alright. I'm going. One.

 

CU eo'

 

W11 door

 

MCU Cleo at toy box

One and a half. . . .Three!
(she jumps off). HA! HA!
Now I'll just find me a
weapon here in the toy
box. . . . (begins digging and
throwing things out of the
box) and I'll just chase
that old monster right out
from under the bed.

 

 

 

 

ES from front
TOY BUSINESS - FIGHT

MCU Dominoe

MCU Ribbon CLEO: No. Not this. Not
this. No that won't do.
Hey, you two keep it.down.
We don't want Mom back up
here. How come I don't
have a sword? I'd better

W ask for one for Christmas.
Geez! What's a toy box

MCU Ribbon without a sword? No. No.

 

3-SHOT front

Hey, do I have two of
these? Hey, what's this?
I've seen this may
once. What? Hey! What
are you two doing? Stop.
STOP!

 

56

MCU Ribbon

 

MCU Dominoe

MCU Ribbon

MCU Dominoe

M92 gibbon
W
W
MCU Dominoe

 

 

MCU Cleo as they spit on her 1

OTS Dominoe

OTS Ribbon

FS front as she x
MCU across bed

 

RIBBON: Cleo, Dominoe is
taking all of my toys. And
you know how he breaks
them. We don't have any
transformers left because
he...

DOMINOE: That is not true.
You broke the train. You
sat on it. And. besides
you're the noisy one. Cleo
is always in ‘trouble
because you are so loud.

RIBBON: That is not true.
DOMINOE: Is so.

RIBBON: Is not.

DOMINOE: Is so!

RIBBON: Oh yeah?
DOMINOE: Yeah.

RIBBON: WEll, TBHTHTBHT!

DOMINOE: Well, TBTHTHBTH
on you too!

CLEO: STOP IT! This is
serious. And you two are
arguing. Over toys! If
you are not going to help,
then be quiet. Here give
me that. (takes the
plunger off Dominoe's
head). And give me that.
(takes roasting pan lid
from Ribbon). (faces

bed) Hey. Monster. My
name is Cleopatra Lysandra.
My grandfather was a hero
named Cornelius Otho. And
I'm special. And if you
don't get out from under
my bed this instant, I'll
be forced to hurt you.
(pause. then with less
bravado) Hey, monster.
Did you hear me? (looks to
Ribbon and Dominoe for
support. Gets none) Ummm.
Ok. Here I come.

57

WS {992 from through dresser ’

MCU Cleo

MCU Dominoe

MCU Ribbon
MCU Cleo

Dominoe

ES from front as Dominoe and
Ribbon hide in box

lights up

lights down

.M§H_Ql§0
2-SHOT of both in box

MCU Cleo

2-SHOT

 

MONSTER STALKING BUSINESS

X AND LAY ACROSS BED
CLEO: AHA! Look! His
pillow. The monster's
pillow. (get off bed)

He must be gone. I got
him. I got him!

CELEBRATION BUSINESS

RIBBON/DOMINOE/CLEO:
There's no monster under
the bed.

By morning we won't be
dead.

He won't suck on our toes
He won't stomp on our head
'Cause there's no monster
under the bed!

MOM (off) : Cleopatra
Lysandra! What is going
on up here? (enters) Cleo!
What happened to your room?
Look at this mess.

CLEO: Um, well, see Mom,
there was this monster...

MOM: Never mind. I don't
want to hear it. I want
you to get in bed right
this minute and not another
word out of you. The first
thing you are going to do
in the morning is clean
this room. And I'd better
not hear anything else
tonight!

CLEO: Yes Ma'am.

MOM: Good Night. (leaves)

CLEO: (whispered) G ' night .
Dominoe? Ribbon?

DOMINOE: Hm?
RIBBON: Hm?
CLEO: I'm not going to

change my name.

DOMINOE: NO?

MCU Cleo

2-SHOT

MCU Cleo

ZéSHOT

MCU Cleo

light change

DISSOLVE MCU old man

drop "eyelid" over lens

OTS Cleo

FADE to black

58

 

RIBBON: NO?

CLEO: No.

DOMINOE: Hmm.

RIBBON: Hmm.

CLEO: Guys?

DOMINOE: Hmm?

RIBBON: Hmm?

CLEO: I love you.
DOMINOE: That's nice.
RIBBON: We love you.

CLEO: That's nice.

OLD MAN: And that's how
Cleopatra Lysandra dealt
with the monster under the
bed. Oh, he was still
around. Cleo knew because
she would find all sorts
of things under the bed
where the monster had drug
them to hide them...as
monsters will you know.
But each night the monster
was gone by bed time. Cleo
thought he might be
sleeping somewhere else.
How was that for a story?
Hmmm? Oh. All asleep are
you? Well, I suppose that's
what a bed time story is
all about. (he leans back,
looks to Cleo) Goodnight
Cleo.

CLEO: Goodnight Grandpa.
OLD MAN: Cornelius.

CLEO: Otho.

THE END

APPENDIX B

OBSERVER'S SCRIPT
QUESTIONNAIRE

CODING SCHEMATIC

Yes

No

Observer Script

OLD MAN: Eh? What? Come in. Come in. Now

what is it ye' want? Speak up. Eh? What? A

story? A story, is it! Well, you've come to

just the right man. Stories I have. The very
best. Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. Now. Hm. I've got
just the thing for a bedtime story. A story
about a little girl, just about your age. Bu
it starts with a poem. . .an invitation. It goes
like this....

If you are a dreamer, come in If you are

a dreamer, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic

bean buyer...If you're a pretender, come

sit by my fire. For we have some flax-

golden tales to spin.

Come in. Come in!

CLEO: (enters) I'm in! Hey! Where are you
guys? Dominoe? Ribbon? I know you're in
here. Behind the dresser. HA. Nope.
Behind the curtains. HA. Nope. Under the
bed. HA. You guys? Are you under here?

RIBBON AND DOMINOE WRESTLING

VOICE: Hey! Cleo! What is all the racket up
here? (MOM enters) Cleo! What happened
to your bed?

CLEO: Well, Mom, I was looking for Dominoe and
Ribbon when they jumped me from the bed
and then...

MOM: I know. I know. They made this entire
mess.

CLEO: Well, they helped.

MOM: Never mind. Here, help me put the bed
back together. Or did you think you
would sleep on the floor tonight?

CLEO: Oh. Could I? It...

MOM: No. I'm sorry I mentioned it. Here,
pull that down.

STORYTELLER: Now tonight was special for Cleo.
All day long the kids had been teasing her
at school. They danced around her saying
"Cleopatra Lysandra looks like a
salamandra. Put her in a great big pa/nda.
Cleopatra Lysandra. And that was pretty
mean. She wanted to talk to her mom about
it. So she asked her, "Mom....

CLEO: Mom?

MOM: Hm?
CLEO: Why did you name me Cleo?
MOM: Because I was reading glggpatgaL_Qgggg

mm at the time-
CLEO: (prompting) .And because you knew I was
going to be special.

59

Yes

No

60

MOM: .And I knew you were going to be special.

CLEO: OK. But then why did you have to make
my middle name Lysandra?

MOM: Because Cleopatra Sue didn't sound right.
Or maybe I should have called you
Cleopatra Sally. (Mom grabs up Cleo and
begins to tickle her). Cleopatra Jane.
Cleopatra Mary. Cleopatra Harry!

CLEO: Ok. OK! Uncle. But, geez, Mom.
Cleopatra Lysandra?

MOM: Oh. You'll live through it. Besides.
You're not the first to have an unusual
name in our family. It's a fine
tradition. Your grandfather's name was
Cornelius Otho. He was a hero in the war,
you know. Received a medal of honor for
courage.

CLEO: He did?

MOM: Yes. He did.

CLEO: Well, how'd he get it?

MOM: Oh, they gave it to him.

CLEO: No. I mean what did he do?

MOM: Well, he was fighting in a battle....I

don't remember all the details. Ask him the

next time he is over. You know how he loves
to tell stories.

CLEO: Yeah. Grandpa tells good stories.

MOM: Now, it's about time...

CLEO: But, Cornelius?

MOM: For you to get ready for bed.

CLEO: Otho!

MOM: I'll be up later to check on you.

CLEO: Yeck!

DOMINOE: Cleopatra?

Ribbon: Lysandra?

CLEO: Cut it out you guys.

DOMINOE: (chanting) Cleopatra...

RIBBON: (chanting) Lysandra...

DOMINOE: ...looked like...

RIBBON: ...a salamanda...

DOMINOE: ...put her in a ....

RIBBON: ...great big Panda....

DOMINOE: Cleopatra

RIBBON: Lysandra!

CLEO: That's not funny.

DOMINOE: Cleo?

RIBBON: Cleo?

DOMINOE: We're...

RIBBON: ...sorry.

DOMINOE: When you grow up...

RIBBON: ...you could change your name.,

CLEO: I could?

DOMINOE: Sure. It happens...

RIBBON: ...all the time. People...

Yes

NO

61

DOMINOE: ...get married and change...

RIBBON: ...their name.

CLEO: EEWWW! Do I have to get married?

DOMINOE: Umm. I guess...

RIBBON: ...not. You could just...

DOMINOE: ...change your name. Because...

RIBBON: ...when you're a grownup....

DOMINOE: ...you can do...

RIBBON: ...anything...

DOMINOE: ...you want to.

CLEO: Yeah! That's right. When I grow up
I'll change my name! And I'll be anything
I want. When I grow up, I'm g o n n a
be.....Michael Jackson!

DOMINOE: When I grow up, I'm gonna
be.....a.....

Big Time Wrestler!

RIBBON: When I grow up, I'm gonna
be.....a.....
Dancer!

CLEO: When I grow up, I'm gonna be....a....
in the circus!

DOMINOE: When I grow up, I'm gonna be. ..a. . . . .
Pee Wee Herman!

RIBBON: When I grow up, I'm gonna be.....a...
Princess!

DOMINOE AND CLEO: A Princess? Ewww.

MOM (off): Cleo? (enters) What's going on?
I didn't know getting ready for bed took
so much noise.

CLEO: Ah, Mom. Do I have to go to bed yet?

MOM: Now, no arguing tonight. March off to
that bathroom and brush and wash. When
I come back, I expect to find you tucked
into bed.

CLEO: OK, guys, we're bathroom bound.

rALL: ‘When I grow up I'll change my name. And
then I'll never be the same.

OLD MAN: And so they marched off to the
bathroom. Well, you know how bathroom's
are. There ‘was splashing' and. giggling
until the bathroom became a swamp and the
Rabid Swamp Monster foamed at the mouth
with crest as it sat upon it's royal
throne. The bathroom became a big old
mess. A funny thing happened in the
bathroom though, and as Ribbon came into
the room you could hear Dominoe saying,
"Well,..."

DOMINOE: Well, you said it was a hat.

RIBBON: Yes, but I didn't say to put it on!

CLEO: (entering) Oh quite arguing you two.

DOMINOE: (entering) Oh, that's fine for you

to say. You don't have a plunger stuck on your

head, now, do you?

Yes

NO

62

MOM's VOICE: Cleo. Are you in bed?
CLEO: Do you see what I see?
DOMINOE: There's a shadow...
RIBBON: ...under the bed.
DOMINOE: It could be...
RIBBON: ..the Monster.
RIBBON AND DOMINOE: There's a monster under the
bed.
By morning we could be dead.
He'll suck on our toes
And stomp on our head.
There's a monster under the bed!

There's a monster under the bed.
By morning we could be dead.
He'll suck on our toes

And stomp on our head.

» THERE'S A MONSTER UNDER THE BED!

CLEO: (yelling out door) MOM! MOM!

MOM: What?

CLEO: There's a monster under my bed.

MOM: Cleo. There is not a monster under your
bed. Here. Look. See? Nothing. No
monster. No boogie man. Now, please get
into bed.

CLEO: Well, it was there a minute ago. Maybe
it's hiding or something.

MOM: Well, it's probably as scared of you as
you are of it. Goodnight dear.

CLEO: Mom?

MOM: Hm?

CLEO: Would it be ok, if, when I grow up I
change my name?

MOM: Change your name? Why?

CLEO: Weelllll,....

MOM: You don't like your name do you? I mean
really don't like it. Why not?

CLEO: Weeeellll, seeee. The kids at school

tease me.

MOM: What do they say?

CLEO: Cleopatra Lysandra looks like a

salmanda.

MOM: Oh. Cleo. I'm sorry. Kids. They can
be so cruel.

CLEO: Does that mean it's ok to change my
name?

MOM: I tell you what. If, when you are grown
up, you still want to change your name,
I will help you.

CLEO: Really?

MOM: Sure.

CLEO: Mom?

MOM: Hm?

CLEO: Did kids tease you when you were little?

MOM: Oh, yes.

Yes

No

63

CLEO: About your name?

MOM: Nooo. They teased me about my
pantaloons.

CLEO: Your what?

MOM: Pantaloons. My Mother used to make me
wear them under my dresses. Ther were
sort of frilly, ruffly long underwear. And
they teased me terribly. Pantaloon Patsy.
That's what they used to call me. And I
promised myself that my child would not
ever have to wear pantaloons.

CLEO: That's why I don't wear 'em, huh?

MOM: That's why you don't wear them. Huh.
Good night dear.

CLEO: 'Night Mom. Mom!

Mom: Hm?

CLEO: Leave the door open a little, 'kay?

MOM: OK.(leaves)

RIBBON: Pantaloons?

DOMINOE: Eewww! You wouldn't catch me dead
in 'em.

RIBBON: Well, I don't know....

DOMINOE: Ribbon! Really.

CLEO: (distracted) Cleopatra Lysandra looks
like...

DOMINOE: ...a slaman...

RIBBON: ...dra.

RIBBON: Dominoe, stop making that noise.

DOMINOE: I'm not making that noise!

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Cleo!

CLEO: I'm not making a noise!

ALL THREE: The Monster!

DOMINOE: Now what...

RIBBON: ...are we...

DOMINOE: ....gonna....

RIBBON: ....do?

CLEO: I don't know.

DOMINOE: There's a monster under the bed.

RIBBON: By morning we'll all be dead.

DOMINOE: He'll suck on our toes...

RIBBON: And stomp on our head.

DOMNOE: There's a....

RIBBON: .... Monster..

DOMINOE: ...under...

CLEO: STOP IT! We're just going to have

to...do...something about it.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Right. What?

CLEO: We'll...chase it out.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Right. How?

CLEO: Umm. How far out do you think monsters
can reach?

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Not very far.

CLEO: Are you sure?

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: No.

CLEO: Great. Do you think we could jump off?

Yes

No

64

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Yeah.

CLEO: Are you sure.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: Nope.

CLEO: Great. OK, Dominoe, you...

DOMINOE: Not me.

CLEO: OK, then, Ribbon you...

RIBBON: Not me.

RIBBON AND DOMINOE: You go.

CLEO: Right. OK. On the count of three.
One. Two. Ahhhhh!

DOMINOE: Fraidy...

RIBBON: ...Cat...

DOMINOE: ...Fraidy...

RIBBON: ...Cat....

DOMINOE: ....Cleo is a....

RIBBON: ...Fraidy...

DOMINOE: ...Cat.

CLEO: I'm not a Fraidy Cat. I come from a
long line of heroes. I'm special. My Mom
said so! Alright. I'm going. One. One
and a half....Three! HA! HA! Now I'll
just find me a sword in this here toy box
and I'll just chase that old monster right
out!

OLD MAN: And that's how Cleopatra Lysandra got
rid of the monster under the bed. Oh, he
was still around. Cleo knew because she
would find all sorts of things under the
bed where the monster had hid
them. . .monsters do that you know. But
each night the monster was gone by bed
time. Cleo thought he might be sleeping
somewhere else. How was that for a story?
Hmmm? Oh. All assleep are you? Well, I
suppose that's what a bed time story is
all about.

THE END

65

Questionnaire
"The Monster Under the Bed"

For each of the following questions with an *, show the
correspondingly numbered picture.

Introduce yourself, then explain that you are going to ask a
few, easy questions and that there are no right or wrong
answers. Be sure the child understands and agrees that this
is ok.

AGE: SEX:

 

 

(Spread Pictures Out)
1)* Can you remember who this was?
If NO: They were in the show you just watched. What do
you think his/her name might be?
If YES: Who was it? Then go to next picture.
Circle one for each picture:

a) CLEO LITTLE GIRL I DON'T KNOW OTHER

 

b) MOM LADY I DON'T KNOW OTHER

 

C) GRANDPA STORYTELLER I DON'T KNOW OTHER

 

2)* These two were "Dominoe and Ribbon". What can you tell
me about them?
If NO response: Who were they? Why weren't they around
when Cleo's Mom was in the room?
Write comments here:

3)* Do you remember her?
If YES: "She had some problems. What do you think her
problems were?"
If NO: "This was Cleo, the little girl you just watched.
What was bothering her? What was it she didn't like?

Probe for more than one answer: Anything else?
Write comments here:

66

4) What did she do to solve her problem(s)?
Write comments here:

5a) Some people we've talked to like their name. Some people
don't like their name. How do you feel about your name?
LIKE DISLIKE NULL

6) Do you think Cleo liked her name? YES NO

7a) Let's pretend you are Cleo and you don't like your name.
How would you feel?

Probe: What do you think you would do?

Write comments here:

7b) Ok. What if you were Cleo and you had a monster under
your bed? What would that be like?

Probe: What do you think you would do?

Write comments here:

(Introduce Picture...have them examine it)
8a)* This is another picture from the story. Where do you
think Cleo and her Mom are?

8b) Where do you think the iS? (Fill in
blank with the answer from a)

 

8c) Where do you live?

9) Tell me all the things you can remember in her room.

Probe only twice for multiple things: Anything else?
What do you think this is?

Write list here:

67

10) Some little kids are scared of things when they go to bed
at night. Some aren't. When you were little, how did you
feel when you went to bed?

Probe: Were you ever scared of anything? Can you tell

me about it?

Write comments here:

11) Do you remember what Cleo was afraid of?
If no, tell them it was a monster under her bed. Skip to
question 12.
If yes, ask them what it was.
Write comments here:

12) What do you think the monster looked like?

Probe only twice for multiple answers: What else might
he have?

Write comments here:

Caution: If the child seems to be afraid of the monster s/he
has just made up, go through a process of making this monster
less dangerous, i.e. Ask what ways the child could keep the
monster from hurting anyone on the bed. Suggest tactics such
as magic wands, monster traps, monsters being afraid of light,
etc. The importance is to make monsters less real.

68

CODING SCHEMATIC
Viewer Comprehension

l) Recognizing character roles: Tested by questions la, b,
c, and 2. ‘A scale of 0 through 10 with.each question counting
for one point.

2) Recognizing problem(s): Tested by question 3. A scale
of O‘to 2‘with each issue (monster and.name) counting 1 point.

3) Problem solution: Tested by question 4. If correct
solution obtained, one point. If incorrect, then 0.

4) Setting of drama: Tested by questions 8a and b. Scale
of 0-3 with these items receiving one point: bedroom, type
of abode, and relational idea of where within abode the room
was located.

Viewer Involvement

1) Attention: Each line of script that participant is
focused away from.screen is counted as one point and.each line
of script is assumed to be of the same length.

2) Perspective taking: Tested by 7a and b. Scale of O to
infinity. Count adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs. This
excludes only conjunctions, articles and exclamations.

3) Naming the parts: Tested by question 9. Scale and
criteria are the same as number two.

4) Monster manifestation: Tested by question 12. Scale the
same as number two. Count adjectives, adverbs, nouns and
verbs that apply to the physical attributes of the monster.
An additional point is added for eadh phrase that implies
psychological aspects of monster as well.

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