Clangers
Season 1 Episode 38: "Snapper" (11 minutes)
UK: Factory Create
CBeebies, Monday 23 October, 18:00
Now, I might be a little biased considering that one of my friends co-directs it, and I've met all the characters in person, but I love Clangers. Somehow, even if you've never seen it before, it just makes you feel nostalgic. Like a comfortable old blanket, it's warm, soothing and relaxing.
Visually and aesthetically, it's just everything I want to be. Hand-made, textured, cuddly, friendly, colourful and atmospheric and gorgeous. The music adds to the mood, and Michael Palin's narration is perfect for bedtime. But I wonder what educational content this series has?
In this episode, a robot lands on the Clanger planet. Clearly based on the Mars rover but simplified in design to a camera on wheels so that it's easier for children to understand. Hijinks ensue as the robot attempts to document this new world.
Getting along with strangers
There was next to nothing in this episode that I could class as academic education. I suppose you could argue that it shows the concept of a camera -- the robot goes around snapping photos, and later in the episode we see all of the pictures it has taken -- but in the era of the iPad, I imagine that children know how to take a photograph even before they can talk.
However, I did note some strong social messages. Family is very important to the Clangers -- mum, dad, grandma, brother and sister are literally the only "people" on the planet! When Small, the boy Clanger, encounters a "stranger" (the robot), he immediately goes to tell his parents, and they go to investigate. I did notice some elements of the Clanger children running around unsupervised, but considering the tiny size of the planet, I suppose it's analagous to children running around the house and garden.
There did seem to be a metaphor in this episode for how to act around strangers. There is a very clear message that it is wrong for the robot to run around taking photographs without asking permission... not only is he clearly portrayed as a nuisance, but the Clangers appear to be scared of him, and very startled to have their pictures taken. However, there is also a message of kindness: when the robot has an accident, the Frogletts laugh at him, but Mother Clanger tells them off, and the narrator explains that it is wrong to tease. At this point there is a new start between the Clangers and the robot where they learn to co-operate.
I also noted a small element of problem solving: the robot wanted to know what it looked like, but was not able to take a photograph of itself. Small Clanger worked out a solution of drawing a picture (we had seen earlier in the episode that Small likes to draw portraits, so this was probably a solution that young viewers would be able to work out for themselves).
Lacking
As much as I adore this programme in terms of visual style and mood, I found that this episode at least, was lacking in educational content, aside from some moral messages, and therefore probably not hugely relevant to my project.
Available to watch online until 20 November 2017.
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