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Professional book review: 'Learning how movies work'

Dr Cath Arnold reviews How Toddlers Learn the Secret Language of Movies by Cary Bazalgette and discovers why movie-watching is much more than a passive experience

Based on a PhDstudy by a media education specialist, this book blew my mind. I think that, in future, it is likely to become a seminal text.

Cary's attitude to the children and media is extremely refreshing. She challenges the idea that movie-watching is ‘passive’. She studied her twin grandchildren's use of media from 22 to 42 months. They are Connie and Alfie, and Cary refers to observations of each child throughout the book. She suggests that the children ‘focus intently’ rather than being ‘passive’. Viewing commonly referred to as ‘obsessive’ she reframes as ‘studying and working out what is happening’.

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