Children's interpretation of violence in television programmes: The notion of proximity realism

The present study explores the various ways in which young viewers interpret occurrences of violence in television programmes aimed at children under the age of twelve. The analysis is based on the screening of two sequences from TV shows in front of 16 children. The TV shows were specifically chosen because of their genre differences (a full feature film with real-life actors versus an animated cartoon) and because of the presence of diverse types of violence. The content and discourse analysis of the interviews obtained allow us to identify the notion of "proximity realism", as an enhancer element of the perception of violence depicted. To conclude we propose the introduction of a variable analysis, the "proximity violence", with regard to the significant interpretation which young viewers tend to form about the phenomenon of mediated violence.