The thesis undertakes a historical evolution of thought and ideology about the child in Western society with the final aim of contextualizing current images of the child in advertising. Throughout this evolution, ideologies of "innocence" and "experience" are articulated over the child in varying ways, defining the child as Nature, original sin, salvation, etc. The parent-child relation is analyzed according to the determining components of narcissism, the Oedipal wish and the incest taboo. The taboo's role in social organization is studied to determine how it has evolved in a consumerist society. Evolution of child imagery begins with manifestations of the incest theme in mythology and literature. The Romantic child is then contrasted to the Victorian child, revealing a "subversive echo" to child innocence. Power structures directed at controlling the child are reinforced in the modern and post-industrial families, the media and consumerism. Finally, the child in advertising is profiled within a mainly poststructuralist and psychoanalytic framework.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.24083 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Gideon, Valerie. |
| Contributors | Levin, Charles (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Graduate Communications Program.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001537884, proquestno: MM19894, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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