This is what director Rafi and actor Fahadh Faasil's first collective venture 'Role Models' is all about. And if being labelled “woke” is the price to pay for providing multicultural Australian kids with role models that they otherwise may not have, I think we can live with that.Friendship, Fun, Love and Career.
Like their competitors, the Wiggles need to keep with the times. Much-loved shows such as Thomas & Friends and new Netflix phenomena such as CoComelon now feature characters from all around the world. Most children’s programs have recognised this in the US, 35% of main characters on children’s networks are not white, which is almost representative of the US population.
#ROLE MODELS CAST SKIN#
“If don’t see their skin colour, hair structure and body shape on TV, they will build an identity of being worthless,” said Maya Götz, head of the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television. Studies have shown that children as young as six months old can categorise people by gender and race while Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development suggests that young children look to emulate the behaviour of their role models, especially those who look like them. Photograph: The WigglesĮducators and researchers agree that diverse representation is imperative for early childhood development. And with Australian immigrant families estimated to spend $95bn in their first decade of settlement, targeting diverse demographics will increase the Wiggles profitability – and perhaps inspire a new group of kids to step into music themselves.Įthiopian-born Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins. Just as many young girls can now see themselves in Watkins, Australia’s multicultural kids will be able to see themselves in the oft-described “pale, male and stale” performing arts and entertainment industry. “It just seems financially bizarre that wouldn’t see as a growth opportunity.” Advertisers clearly realise that there is money to be made by representing the community,” he told Guardian Australia last year. “Most of the diversity on commercial television is in the commercials themselves.
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While University of Queensland emeritus professor Graeme Turner posits that television networks view racial diversity as a commercially riskier proposition, screenwriter and commentator Benjamin Law believes that TV advertising tells a different story. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images Alex Ishchenko, head of licensing and merchandise for the Wiggles, believes that 50% of Wiggles merchandise produced is now “Emma-specific”.įan favourite Emma Watkins, the first female Wiggle, brought a new wave of popularity to the group. “Sixty to 80% of the children are dressed like Emma,” group leader Anthony Field told Australian Story in 2018. In 2012, for instance, they added the first female Wiggle – and Emma Watkins sparked a new wave of popularity for the group. They’ve gone 30 years without a major PR scandal, and generally only shake things up if it makes clear commercial sense. A recent report from UCLA found that eight of the top 10 highest-grossing Hollywood films of 2020 featured a cast that was at least 30% non-white, and six of the top 10 films released online featured a cast that was at least 40% non-white. It’s worth remembering that Jeff and Lachlan Wiggles were regularly woke, and everyone thought it was hilarious and they made a song about it.- NickdMiller August 22, 2021Īdding a few non-white cast members is hardly “going woke”, for a start – and Canavan’s assertion simply doesn’t stand up to the facts: diversity in entertainment sells.
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