The Royal National Institute of Blind People’s (RNIB) Pears Centre for
Specialist Learning has teamed up with a TV production company to create
a new series for the BBC’s CBeebies channel.
“Melody”, a partially sighted girl with an incredible imagination, is
designed to introduce pre-school children to a variety of classical
music through stories and colourful animation.
In each episode the lead
character, Melody, discovers a piece of classical music and, as she does
so, imagines stories and characters conjured up by the mood of the music
– everything from trumpeting elephants to shoe-making elves.
Staff who work with the children at RNIB Pears Centre have been working
with producers from Wish Films and LAAH Productions throughout the
development process to help them understand and reflect the needs of
children who are blind or partially sighted, including those with
additional disabilities.
Their support included a piece of research to find out which animation
styles are easier for blind or partially sighted young people to follow.
RNIB’s Music Adviser also offered guidance to the show’s creator around
the special attention that many young children with serious sight loss
have for both listening to music and making their own sounds.
The resulting programme is a lively and colourful live action and
animated show that incorporates classical and contemporary music to help
stimulate the senses of children with sight loss and other disabilities.
Andy Moran, Executive Headteacher at RNIB Pears Centre said: “It is
really exciting that a children’s TV programme is helping to raise
awareness of what it might be like to be a child who is partially
sighted. I’m delighted that we’ve had this unique opportunity to be
involved with “Melody” and support the show’s development from early
ideas and research right through to scripts, props and animation for
each episode. We are all looking forward to “Melody” airing on
CBeebies.”
‘Melody’ airs on CBeebies from Monday, 2 December 2013, and runs for 20
episodes.
All very noble of the BBC, but as a parent I for one get so so sick of of the BBC forcing their political ideals down our throats. The program “Melody” is YET another in their long, long line-up of pre-school shows which champion the rights of either disabled or ethnic minorities. All fine and dandy but does it have to be EVERY show? Even in between the programs we get “treated” to one-armed presenter Kerry waving her stump at the camera – she refuses to wear a prosthetic limb or roll down her sleeves, she is oh-so-proud of her disability. Thing is, the BBC is the only company who would employ her like that – if she got a job in a shop serving customers she’d have to roll down her sleeves and keep it covered, and rightly so – sorry, but it looks really quite gross. What next – should we have ex-veterans who have lost limbs in battle…maybe someone with a hole in their face where their eye used to be, or someone with severe facial scarring? Children’s TV is not the place for this!
So far this morning we’ve had the dubious pleasure of Justin Fletcher with his flock of disabled children, Same Smile with Indian girl Nisha who today went to visit another Indian family – go ahead and claim that I am racist (I’m not) I simply get sick of E.V.E.R.Y. person on the shows being either disabled or of ethnic minority – it is just SO obvious it becomes really lame. Then we get Mr Bloom’s Nursery with today’s 4 children – 1 Indian, 1 African, 1 Asian, 1 in a wheelchair. Does this really reflect an everyday society…? Or is the BBC forcing it down our throats? I have absolutely nothing against ethnics nor disabled but like I mentioned I just get sick of EVERY program celebrating them – it’s starting to become rather tiresome!
Tobias personally as a mum I am not bothered by watching different people with or without disability being the stars of show neither is my 7 years old son who likes diversity because he was brought up in a family where we value that. You see, people are different and I find it so refreshing to see such diversity represented in a TV show, away from mainstream shows like X-Factor and similar where the main values are looking good, being slim, young, British white etc etc you get the idea. THE VOICE for example is the BBC answer to X-Factor and I find it really refreshing to see that only people who have talent get a chance of winning the show – last year winner deserved to win despite the fact the she was blind. So well done to the BBC for showing that diversity is also normal and good! I totally disagree with you when you say that Cbeebies only show diversity. I fact most programmes show normal healthy kids and people such as Grandpa in My pocket, show me show me, Old Jack’s Boat, Mister Maker etc etc It is unfair to say Cbeebies do not show British white kids milieus. Having said that, London, Britain and the world is changing right now. People move countries and we will see a lot more diversity in future, a lot more than today. I’ll throw this comment to the floor and see what other people think.
I have two children, 4 and almost 2 years old who both love cbeebies. I find this programme annoying because of the way it is done, not because who is in it. Melody asks her mum for a piece of music and her mum gives her the iPod, at the same time telling Melody what the music makes her think about. Then you get the animation based on this idea. At the end of the music, Melody asks the viewers what the music made them think about. My problem is that the viewer doesn’t get a chance to think about what it makes them think about as they have been told several times and watched the animation before this happens.
Tobias, I think that your opinions about Kerry in particular are hurtful and wrong, she should not be expected to cover up and I would be very surprised if she would be asked to cover up in any other role. I agree that sometimes the combinations of ethnicity etc on cbeebies programmes does seem a bit forced, however every child, irrespective of race/religion/ ability/ disability IS normal.
Maria you couldn’t have expressed it in a better way. Thanks for your feedback!