Abstract
This paper examines narrativity in videos that are targeted at children who are 3-6 years old, using the channel "CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs" as the focus of the research. We argue that narrativity plays an essential role in the success of Internet content.
The paper attempts to test this thesis via qualitative analysis and by reflecting upon the responses of several respondents in a preliminary survey. First, we exclude factors such as SEO factors, mise-en-scène and characters to analyse the two most famous videos that have been produced by the CoComelon channel.
We have found that because these videos are characterised by repetitiveness, narrativity should be sought at the level of a single episode, not at the macro-level. In this sense, the videos contain a high degree of innovation and realism.
Next, we consider the construction of the characters to be a purposeful blend of stereotypes and individuation. The videos do not introduce narrativity into the material, instead depicting processes that are as such already narrative - bathing, eating, going to school, etc.
These are fundamental processes which compose the everyday experience of the target audience, and thus they are "stories which matter."