Gotta catch 'em all: Structure, agency and pedagogy in children's media culture

Abstract

This article uses an analytical case study of the Pokémon phenomenon as a means of addressing broader theoretical issues concerned with the relationships between structure and agency in children's media culture. It analyses the political economy of Pokémon, and its attempts to appeal to different sub-sections of the children's market; the textual appeals of the different Pokémon artefacts, and the role of 'knowledge'; and debates about the positive and negative consequences for child consumers. In the process, the article explores the notion of 'pedagogy' as an alternative means of understanding the relations between structure and agency, and assesses its possibilities and limitations in the context of the case study.