Hope and Longings in TV Shows for Children

TV shows play a significant role in childhood, and children become emotionally attached to their favorite shows. They relate to the characters, whether they are pink ponies, sparkling elves, or six-year-old superheroes. Thus these stories are vital to the children’s worldview formation. Many of these fictional stories deal with our longings and need for hope. How, then, can we help the children to identify how and where their favorite characters search for hope? And how can we use these stories to talk about our own longings and need for hope – and what The Great Story of the Bible tells us about where hope is ultimately found? Examples from My Little Pony, Mia and Me, and The Rocketeer will be used throughout the workshop in order to illustrate typical messages in TV shows for children and how to identify and respond to them.