Changing Spaces: Globalisation, Media, Identity and Childhood

Abstract

An Armenian girl in the Netherlands watches a Brazilian telenovela on a Russian satellite TV channel. A Kurdish boy living in Athens records a video of himself singing a lyric by a Turkish poet, translated into Greek. In London, two girls, one Sri Lankan and one Kenyan, debate the merits of popular Hindi films. A Romanian family in Italy watches a Spanish soap opera — although none of them can follow the language. In a small town in Sweden, two Kosovan/Albanian girls act out a scenario for the video camera based on the Swedish version of Big Brother, originally a Dutch television format. An Angolan boy now living in London reminisces about watching Disney cartoons in his former home in Portugal. Turkish children in Germany, in Sweden and in Greece celebrate the Turkish winner of the Eurovision song contest, praising her ability to mix traditional Turkish music with contemporary Western pop. A Kenyan girl in the United Kingdom keeps in contact with her friends and grandparents in Nairobi through chat rooms and e-mail.