Asst. Prof. Aslı Kasar, Head of the Department of Communication and Design at Istanbul Gelişim University, Faculty of Fine Arts, conducted a detailed analysis of the popular animated films Minions and Minions 2: The Rise of Gru within the framework of Gerbner’s Cultural Indicators and Cultivation Theory. Published in the 4th volume of Art/icle: Journal of Art and Design, the article examines the negative effects these films have on children.
In her statement on the topic, Asst. Prof. Kasar explained:
"Media, which reconstructs reality according to its own interests and perspectives and transmits it to the masses, has recently highlighted the concept of 'evil' in children’s most preferred animated films. By reinforcing behaviors and skills related to this concept, media poses a serious threat to the development of healthy future generations. In this context, this study aims to raise awareness and contribute to the literature by analyzing the Minions films, which emphasize the concept of 'evil,' within the scope of Gerbner’s Cultural Indicators and Cultivation Theory.
Gerbner argues that the media instills existing values and attitudes of a culture, or in other words, dominant values and attitudes, into the audience's consciousness through the stories they tell and the heroes they create. He emphasizes that this has a significant impact on children, who begin to model their behavior after cartoon heroes and real-life figures featured in television and films. The behavioral changes these evolving value judgments instill in future generations are of great importance to public health.
The study focuses on the Minions and Minions 2: The Rise of Gru films, released in 2015 and 2022, respectively, analyzing them in the context of Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory. The research employed the content analysis technique, which Gerbner developed to reveal the portrait of the world depicted by television.
In these films, value cultivation is evident through phrases such as ‘Hooray for evil,’ and ‘Being bad makes you feel truly good,’ while behavioral attitudes are cultivated through expressions like ‘Is your evilness impressive?’ and ‘When I grow up, I’ll be a super villain.’ The film’s characters are portrayed as engaging in theft, deceit, and various criminal acts, and they also evoke admiration for traits such as disloyalty, lying, anger, and mockery.
When analyzed through the lens of Cultivation Theory, this reveals that there is cultivation of attitudes that present 'evil' as something positive. The cultivation of these values during childhood, a period of rapid development in social, emotional, cognitive, and language skills, is of critical importance."
We congratulate Asst. Prof. Dr. Aslı Kasar on her achievement and wish her continued success.
