What Is My Research Question?

After my outline and annotated bibliography, I feel like I have a better understanding of my research question. I had my idea, but Mrs. Haag helped me connect all the points so that I am able to stay focused on movies relating to audiences. So, I drafted a research question based on that: How do Disney/Pixar movies use character archetypes to relate both to adults and children?

I have narrowed my scope from children's movies to Disney/Pixar movies because they are some of the most influential movies in the industry. I have sources to back this up which will be provided in my lit review. Additionally, I am planning on focusing on movies from 2006 to the most recent movies for two reasons: it eliminated the variable of Disney and Pixar relations, since this is when Disney bought Pixar, and it makes my findings more relevant to today's generations and society.

Key terms in my question include character archetypes, adults, and children. Character archetypes are part of Jung's structuralist psychology. He believes that based on evolution and development of a child, we build archetypes of each role of humanity, which can also be represented in literature, and I will be looking at it in film. The definitions of adult and children are a big chunk of my literature review because there is a lot of debate on how to define it, but basically my conclusion is that it is a fluid process that is usually marked by maturity and responsibility.

As of right now, I envision myself doing a type of analysis involving either one or a few of the archetypes. So these are the closest things I have to variables. I plan on answering my question by looking at characters that relate both to adults and children, and what these characters represent in terms of the movie. So, if the jokester does dumb things that kids laugh at but makes comments that adults laugh at, this is the character that relates best both to adults and children. Then the next step is to look at what this jokester's role in the movie is and what insights he provides.

When comparing my research to other studies I have read, I am looking specifically at the audience and what speaks to them. An issue that I had with other studies is that they jumped straight from plot summary or analysis to societal implications. However, the audience is an important player in the morals and themes pulled out of family media. My goal for the research is to say something about how movies appeal to their audience. And since family film has a broad audience, there has to be a connecting thread that links adults and children. What this thread is will say something about a core value in viewers and a better understanding of the presentation of themes in family media.

Outline of Lit Review

1. Define family media, it’s influence, & establish that both adults and children are audience
1. I have yet to find a scholarly definition
2. Define children and adult or establish that it is a complex topic since it seems to be a fluid thing
1. Locke’s Philosophy- children do not possess the rights of adults
2. Valentine- There are three categories, children (6-16), youth (16-25), and adult (25+). However this can be skewed by a multitude of things such as responsibility, maturity, and behaviors. Therefore Valentine comes to the conclusion that the definition of child and adult are a lot more flexible and intertwined.
3. Luvmour- “Developing Together: Parents Meeting Children’s Developmental Imperatives”- a study that shows that children have significant effects of the maturation of an adult and can even help the adult deal with unresolved childhood issues. This could show that nurturing a child even helps finalize the “adult” stage of life.  
4. I’m still working on connecting all of these together. I think Valentine is helpful in understand the flexibility and complexity of the progression of age, however I find Luvmour’s ideas fascinating. I think they also serve to define the dynamic relationship between child and adult which could be reflected in characters in Disney films.
3. Disney is a prevalent and influential source of media for generations
1. Gillam- “Disney cinema, one of the most effective teaching tools America offers its children,..."
2. Disney produces multiple forms of media, so combined with media’s influence and the prevalence of Disney, one can see how influential Disney ideas are on viewers.
4. Current ways Disney has been studied
1. Gillam- Post-Princess New Male Model- This study looked at the wave of movies after the princess movies (late 1990s). In this analysis they found that all these movies had a central alpha male figure that then realized his flaws and came to a more “feminine” character.
2. Lawson- History of Pixar- Some attribute the changes in the movie concepts to aspects of the Disney and Pixar company. Disney and Pixar were separate then started collaborating, until Disney bought Pixar in 2006. However, Pixar has maintained their strong team of animators to develop a wide range of children’s movies.
3. Best- “The Disadvantage of a Good Reputation”- Again this deals more with Disney as a company, claiming that Disney has to maintain a good reputation by creating stories that do not offend or challenge certain social ideals to keep in touch with masses. However, Disney has been able to present social issues continually in their movies, and while some backlash, Disney continues to thrive.
4. Corliss- This analysis specifically looked at the portrayal of mothers in Disney movies. It comes to the conclusion that mothers are represented consistently with the role that they have in society at the time. For example, in early Disney movies, it was still common for mothers to die in childbirth, therefore the mothers were usually absent. However, the analysis lacked a well thought description for recent movies which shows that this is not the most fruitful way to view Disney movies in today’s society.
5. Jackson- “Diversity In Disney Films: Critical Essays On Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, And Disability”- Covering a lot of topics, this film analysis covered a lot of the most common ways of deconstructing Disney Movies. This source was able to talk about societal implications such as how globalization has affected the representations of race in movies.
6. Metz analysis of Up & Wiley analysis of Inside Out- While these are recent films I am interested in studying, neither of these articles addressed the parts of the film that appeal to both adults and children, nor does it talk about the societal implications of the movies. They were both more superficial and similar in the way they compared the movies to other theories.
5. While these are part of the answer, it still does not address how Disney is able to capture both adults and children
6. Since I have done research and understand the development of children and adult, I have the authority to analyze family film in a different way (this was a point Dr. Helmers made in my meeting but I am not sure if I should explicitly state, or is it implied that I’m building my ethos?)
1. SÁNCHEZ-ESCALONILLA- “Verisimilitude and Film Story: The Link Between Screenwriter, Character, and Spectator”- Brings up the idea of Verisimilitude and emotional stake in films as a way to reach a wide audience. However, I want to go deeper and say that this is achieved through a specific archetype.
2. Does the presence of [archetype] bridge the gap between adult and children viewers in Disney films in the last ten years?

Geography vs Psychology on Children and Media:

Gill Valentine, a Professor of Geography at the University of Sheffield: All the studies I seem to do on how geography affects people really only focus on adults. Have you ever wondered about how boundaries can affect children?

Johnathan S. Comer from Columbia University Department of Psychiatry (and other contributors): Of course we have. We find the development of children an especially rich area to study. 

GV: I think a child seems relatively easy to define. You can picture them as dependent, a little thing adults have to drag around. And adult is someone that is independent, one who can take care of themselves. What is harder to define is the weird youth period, like 16-25 where we fluctuate between dependence and independence, and maintain certain boundaries. 

Comer et al: I guess the definition of child is more complicated. Can you elaborate on this transition state of "youth." 

GV: In my observations, there are certain transitions like getting a job that help children mature into adults. They seem to have more responsibilities which make them closer to adult than child. However, for example if an "adult" reacts immaturely to a situation, he is more child than adult. 

Comer et al: With your definition of child, I can see how my studies of media influence are a complicating  factor. The results of our psychoanalytical study showed that "children's television use was associated with elevated perceptions of personal (but not societal) vulnerability to world threats (i.e., crime, terrorism, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods)." 

GV: That sounds like a type of maturation. Even though I did not address media in my study, I think your findings support my conclusion about maturing. Your study provides another perspective to my work and enriches the idea of child development, especially that media use could expedite the transition to "adult." 

Comer et al: Unfortunately, our sample size was small, only 90 kids ages 7-13. This is even considered part of your child, not "youth," category. However, since media is increasingly accessible to younger populations with little regulation from parents, we can see this is a type of independence a younger population receives. While they are dependent on parents for transportation and money, the things you analyzed, they are independent in their media use. Therefore, it allows kids to start the transition to youth even earlier than the boundaries you described. 

GV: Considering your research in comparison to mine has given me a new perspective. I can see that child development has any factors, but it looks like media is a significant factor. 

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Fueled by the words of the grade above me, I started AP Research terrified of the literature review. However, after reading samples and listing the skills we need, I feel confident in my understanding of a literature review. By threading sources into my own narrative, I have to set up the context and current conversation of the topic I am researching. The literature review combines different seminar skills we learned such as putting sources in conversation, choosing subtopics, integrating quotes, forming an argument, and writing a research question. The format is similar in that we will use subtopics to guide our paper, but also explicitly connect the ideas. I also have to define important or ambiguous terms as they come up. For example, in my literature review I will have a subtopic that defines children versus adults and will then have to relate that to film. A huge thing that I noticed about the literature reviews is how important your unique voice is. This will be challenging to me, since I often times, do not like the way I write. However, I can picture how proud I will be once I thoughtfully craft my own literature review.

As of right now, one of the best sources I have found is "Boundary Crossings: Transitions from Childhood to Adulthood." Although this source is from a geography journal, it has many insights on defining children and adults. While other sources focused on 18 being the legal age of adulthood, this sources stressed the fluidity and possible recursiveness of childhood. It defines child as 5-16, "youth" as 16-25, and adult 25 and older. While this adds to some of the confounding variables of defining the audience, it gives insight to the fluidity of these states. Maturity, Responsibility, Transportation, and Work were all topics that I took from the article to enhance my searches and hone in on themes. This source is one of the few solid sources I have that defines children and adults in an academic way. I think what it fails to acknowledge though are attributes like imagination and perception. These are other topics I have been researching. One specific quote I took away was "Rather than conceptualising childhood as a fixed or static category that we grow out of, it is important instead to understand childhood as a process that shapes up throughout the life course." I think this can be related to the ability for children's movies to speak both to children and adults.
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