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Article published In:
Multimodality, Politics and Ideology
Edited by David Machin and Theo van Leeuwen
[Journal of Language and Politics 15:3] 2016
► pp. 337–351

Mike the Knight in the neo-liberal era

A multimodal approach to children’s multi-media entertainment

| Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden
| Mälardalen University, Sweden
| Stockholm University, Sweden

Goal-oriented learning seems to be a ubiquitous demand for almost all kind of play activities today. This demand, the article argues, is related to a specific neo-liberal discourse about the “superchild”. The article shows how this discourse is articulated multimodally in a number of media texts aimed at young children based around a trans-medial brand; Mike the Knight.

Keywords: Children, discourse, multimodality, popular culture, apps
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.A framework for analysis
  • 3.Discourses about children and childhood
  • 4.Analysis of media texts related to Mike the Knight
    • 4.1Meet Mike - app for tablets and smartphones
    • 4.2Potion Practice and other online games
    • 4.3The Chivalrous Reward Chart
  • 5.Conclusion: a trans-medial kit for construing ‘superchildren’
  • References
Published online: 4 August 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.15.3.07lin
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Cited by

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Danielsson, Kristina & Staffan Selander
2021. Introduction. In Multimodal Texts in Disciplinary Education, ► pp. 3 ff. DOI logo
Engel, Juliane & Benjamin Jörissen
2022. Schule und Medialität. In Handbuch Schulforschung, ► pp. 615 ff. DOI logo
Engel, Juliane & Benjamin Jörissen
2022. Schule und Medialität. In Handbuch Schulforschung, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Selander, Staffan
2022. The Role of Bodily Experience for Learning Designs. In The Palgrave Handbook of Embodiment and Learning, ► pp. 407 ff. DOI logo

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