Fair Haven – Students in grades 1 – 5 from across Monmouth County were invited to submit their original drawings and stories into the “If You Can See It, You Can Be It!” contest.
Small Factory Productions, an Emmy winning visual arts and media studio for kids and young adults, developed the contest in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media sponsored by the Friendship Train Foundation, to bring awareness to gender stereotypes in children’s media and entertainment.
According to the institute’s
research, children’s programming is one of the most imbalanced media, with less than a third of all on screen speaking characters depicted as girls or women. Negative gender stereotypes can greatly influence the choices and opinions children make in their lives. Organizers believe that this project and the work of the children who enter will show them the possibilities of a more diverse media landscape with different characters that can exist not only in imaginary worlds, but in their real lives.
Nine winners were selected to participate in a workshop that was held in March at the Small Factory studio where they drew and wrote their original animated cartoon short and song.
Winners included: Julian Mattioli, age 10 from Colts Neck; Stephen Makin, age 10 from Rumson; Adele MacGregor, age 7 from Oceanport; Quinn DeNunzio, age 10 from Navesink; Gianna Cofone, age 10 from Atlantic Highlands; Paige Jaenicke, age 9 from Fair Haven; Emma Belletier, age 10 from AvonbytheSea; Ginger Felumero, age 9 from Morganville; and Isabella Scott, age 11 from Sea Bright.
Small Factory and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media will produce and post the final cartoon on their websites and social media platforms. Curriculum will also be available to download for educators and parents across the country to share the cartoon’s message and inspire creativity blind to gender stereotypes.
“Our institute is committed to dramatically improving gender stereotypes in our media, and these videos are an important new tool for educating children and their families,” said Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. “The stark gender inequality in media aimed at little children is significant, as television and movies wield enormous influence on them as they devel op a sense of their role in the world. And because young kids tend to watch the same television shows and movies repeatedly, negative stereotypes get imprinted again and again.”
Founded by Academy Awardwinning actor and advocate Geena Davis, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDIGM) is the only research based organization working within the media and entertainment industry to engage, educate, and influence the need to dramatically improve, gender balance, reduce stereotyping and create diverse female characters for entertainment targeting children 11 and under.
“Children constantly amaze me. They see the world with a neutral eye,” said Christopher Dudick, owner, Small Factory Productions. “Superheroes come in wheelchairs. Girls explore the universe in rocket ships. The shy boy stands up to the bully. These are the characters our young artists dream up. It was natural for us to partner with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to run this contest. The winners should be proud of their achievements.”
For more information and to view the cartoon, visit www.mysmallfactory.com.
