For many years in a row, people who (like me) grew up on wonderful Soviet cartoons, complained that Russia, as a country producing children's animation, had disappeared from the world map. The situation changed a few years ago, primarily thanks to the cartoon "Masha and the Bear", which became a worldwide hit. They look at him different countries people who are far from Russian folklore, with its eternal theme girls wandered among the bears.

"Just a couple of weeks ago in the States. We are sitting with relatives in a Japanese restaurant, eating sushi, talking... Then my daughter says, “I hear something familiar somewhere.” We listened - it seemed like there was something somewhere, but I couldn’t remember... My daughter went out for a walk, returned slightly confused: a couple of tables away there was a black woman with her daughter (the same one) and the daughter of “Masha and the Bear” on a tablet" - I read it on Facebook yesterday.

Something similar can be seen today in many countries: from France to South Korea. Moreover, the general opinion, which can be read in the reactions to different languages: This series belongs to that rare category that adults can watch with children. And burst into laughter together.

But not everyone is happy with the series. There are also critics who warn about the harm that Masha can cause to the child’s psyche, public consciousness, state ideology. About twenty years ago, one slightly hysterical head of a single-parent family (in common parlance: a single mother) told me:

- Why doesn’t anyone pay attention to the fact that the fairy tale “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats” is about the problems of fatherlessness.

- Fatherlessness?!

There is no goat. The goat raises the children alone. No goat.

This woman could be understood. I didn't argue.

But it was precisely with this method of interpretation that the critic approached the cartoon “Masha and the Bear”"Haaretz" Rogel Alper, seeing in the popular Russian cartoon "an annoying and gloomy sediment hidden in a double bottom." After seeing this news on IzRus website , I didn’t believe it at first.

Rogel Alper, following the method of interpretation of my friend, discovered main problem in the absence of parents: “Girl, where are your mom and dad?” He was able to diagnose a whole bunch of unhealthy and ideologically harmful complexes in the cartoon: from paranoid existential fears of loneliness in a girl who is afraid that a bear will run away from her, since people have run away from her before (where are her parents?), to an unhealthy sense of guilt and unrealized debt in dreaming of escaping from a child predator. With animal seriousness, Alper analyzed the relationship between Masha and the animals, which are hampered by a hyperactive little girl poking her nose into everything. “Masha is a foreign body in this environment that accepts her existence,” Alper concluded, urging parents to pay attention to the frightening essential content of the Russian cartoon. After all, children can unwittingly absorb these psychologically unhealthy, ideologically harmful and environmentally hostile messages.

People who, having read the text, immediately began to brand “left-wing bastard” and “Russophobia”, began to mock “what are they smoking in this Haaretz,” I hasten to assure. Alper is not alone. Russian professor Lidiya Vladimirovna Matveeva, who heads the Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of federal law 436 "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development" under the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of Russia for Children's Rights shared with the “Psychological Newspaper” with his thoughts about the impact the series “Masha and the Bear” has on the child’s psyche. Lidia Vladimirovna is a very serious person - Professor of the Department of Psychology Methodology, Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Doctor psychological sciences, head of the research group "Psychology of Mass Communications", studying the problem of the impact of the media on the human psyche and the problem of human psychological safety in the global information space. She is a learned official authorized by the state to oversee content. And her sentence also does not sound childishly serious.

“Let’s, for example, consider how the animated series “Masha and the Bear” affects children. It is made according to the laws of children’s perception and therefore children like it. But, as we know, not everything that a child likes is useful for him. As a specialist, I believe that this animated series is harmful to the children's psyche, moreover, with psychological point vision is an “information bomb” planted under Russian mentality", says Lidia Vladimirovna. Her sentence is so strict that it is completely unclear why she does not call for the cartoon to be banned and its creators to be sent to places not so remote.

She has a lot of accusations against the cartoon. And the pictures in the cartoon, as it seems to the professor, move too quickly, and therefore the child may develop logoneurosis. And there is also a “hierarchy discrepancy.” In an old folk tale, having come to the bears' house, the girl does not sit at the table in the place of Papa Bear, but chooses the place of the bear cub that is appropriate for her age, that is, the place of the youngest, then Masha from the cartoon, to the great professor's regret, behaves differently. “Showing disrespect towards the Bear (who simultaneously embodies the image of an animal sacred to our country and the image of a father) and constantly violates social norms with impunity, receiving positive reinforcement for this. That is, the father is not an authority...”. And if today a girl is allowed to break the taboo regarding her father and the Bear, then tomorrow, growing up, she will take aim at the “bearish” party “United Russia”, and even, scary to think, at the All-Russian father himself - President Putin!

And Masha’s emotional limitations: “Even not the most developed child experiences much more emotions than the heroine. In fact, all her emotions manifest themselves only in the area of ​​cognitive experiences - she is interested in something, something surprises her, amuses her and she wants something find out. That's all. She doesn't sympathize with anyone and even with her own pain, for example, when she falls, she doesn't take criticism, and is indifferent to the condition of others." Indeed, here we can agree with the professor. In the image of Masha, the theme of the fifth level of civil responsibility and the line of readiness to die for the Russian Spring near Lugansk are not revealed.

And belittlement of the status role Russian woman also reflected in the image of the little girl Masha. “Historically, it so happened that in Russia a woman is the one who supports a man, helps him in his work, feeds him emotionally and energetically, accepts, unselfishly regrets, sympathizes.” And little Masha, as we see in the cartoon, is far from meeting this high standard. She gets the bear, but does not support it. It doesn't help with your work, it interferes and spoils it.

But in this note we are interested in the points in which the supervising professor is similar to the critic of a liberal newspaper. And the resemblance is striking. Matveeva also condemns the film for the fact that the girl in the forest is a foreign body, a destructive principle that all animals are afraid of: “In the first episode of the cartoon, we get to know the characters. We don’t see everyone yet, but as soon as the girl appears on the screen, we see the animals’ reaction “All the little animals are hiding more reliably, because a destructive force is coming, which is dangerous.”

The head of the Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of the Law “On the Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development” also believes that the cartoon is harmful from an environmental point of view, since it destroys the child’s connection with nature, with environment, a part of which a growing person should feel himself a part. The professor stigmatizes the emotionally limited Masha for her inability to love, irresponsibility, etc.

And the topic of the relationship between children and parents, which are absent in the cartoon, also worries Professor Matveeva: “How will this grown-up Masha treat her own children?” Professor Matveev’s interview is generally full of pearls. And I am making extraordinary efforts to stop quoting him, since I have already many times exceeded the size of the note recommended by the editors of the site.

I will not draw long-winded conclusions. I will not list the arguments of aesthetic, ethical, psychological plan in defense of "Masha and the Bear". This masterpiece does not need my protection. I have only one question: why does the opinion of the liberal author of the progressive newspaper Haaretz coincide so much with the opinion of the Russian reactionary government?

Difficult Masha!
I offer an article by a psychologist (in some abbreviation), which I fully subscribe to: “Let’s take an example of how the animated series “Masha and the Bear” affects children. It is made according to the laws of children's perception and therefore children like it. But, as we know, not everything that a child likes is useful for him. As a specialist, I believe that this animated series is harmful to children. Russian psyche, moreover, from a psychological point of view, it is an “information bomb” embedded in the Russian mentality. Historically, in Russia, a woman is the one who supports a man, helps him in his work, emotionally and energetically feeds him, accepts him, unselfishly regrets him, and sympathizes. The maximum embodiment of this role is a loving mother who selflessly gives her love. It was this position of a woman that for centuries helped our country overcome difficulties while preserving itself. It is this image, embodied, among other things, in art. Now, thanks to the advent of information technology, created by someone cartoons can see a lot of children. What images do they put into them and how do these images correspond to our mentality?

In the first episode of the cartoon, we get to know the characters. We don’t see everyone yet, but as soon as the girl appears on the screen, we see the animals’ reaction - all the little animals are hiding more securely, as a destructive force is coming, which is dangerous. From the very beginning, the opposition between the child and nature is laid down. As psychologists, we know that young children, on the contrary, often associate themselves with animals; they perceive themselves as part of nature and in harmony with it. The authors of the cartoon destroy this connection by showing the child that the world and everyone who lives in it is just a means to achieve your goal.

How does the plot develop further? We see that *** is very difficult to determine the boundaries of his behavior. We can remember the old Russian fairy tale about Masha and the bear: having come to the bears’ house, the heroine of this fairy tale does not sit at the table in the place of the papa bear, but chooses the place of the bear cub that is appropriate for her age, that is, the place of the youngest. Unfortunately, the cartoon heroine behaves differently, showing disrespect towards the Bear (who simultaneously embodies the image of a sacred animal for our country and the image of a father) and constantly violates social norms with impunity, receiving positive reinforcement for this. That is, the father is not an authority; the father can be used in any way. The message that girls secretly receive when watching this cartoon: “The world is interesting place, where you are in charge, you can play with this world and do whatever you want. Even if you break all social taboos, you will be fine.” This is scary for children because positive reinforcement teaches them that such behavior is safe and desirable. But, as adults, we know that this is not so.

The range of emotions that Masha demonstrates is very limited - even the least developed child experiences much more emotions than the heroine. In fact, all her emotions manifest themselves only in the field of cognitive experiences - she is interested in something, something surprises her, amuses her, and she wants to know something. This is all. She does not sympathize with anyone and even her own pain, for example, when she falls, she does not experience it. As a biorobot, she does not take criticism and is indifferent to the condition of those around her - in one of the episodes she creates a very difficult situation for Santa Claus (a sacred, archetypal character) and is amused by it. And many such examples can be given.

As a specialist, what worries me most is that the authors of the animated series, for some reason, consciously or unconsciously, created for our children a heroine who is deprived of the ability to love. It doesn't have what's at its core feminine- acceptance, sympathy and tenderness. We know that children learn to perceive this world by imitating their favorite heroes. The image of the heroine is an example that a little girl will be guided by, so psychologists and parents need to look very carefully at the image of the heroine that the authors created and decide for themselves whether they want children to perceive the world and communicate the way Masha communicates ? How will this grown up Masha relate to her own children? It is no secret that modern mothers often refuse to breastfeed their children for fear of spoiling their figure, and deny them attention and love when they cry at the age of three weeks or three months, or closer to a year, believing that the child is manipulating them with his cry. But in fact, the child simply has intestinal colic or is starting to teethe, he is simply in pain and scared. It’s enough for mom to hug him and hold him close, and the pain and fear go away, but for this, the grown Masha must be able to feel someone else’s pain as if it were her own, but our Masha from the cartoon practically does not experience this.
Returning to the beginning of the conversation: I want to emphasize that the problem of proper certification of media products is now very relevant. Psychologists should, in collaboration with other professionals, protect children from uncontrolled media content.”

They say the cartoon “Masha and the Bear” is harmful for children? What is the reason for such fears among psychologists? What is the negative component of this animated masterpiece?

Just recently, in the fall of this year, Russian psychologists compiled a rating of the most harmful cartoons for children's psychology. Imagine the surprise of Russians when the leader of this anti-rating was not the “masterpiece” of Western animated cinema called “SpongeBob” square Pants”, and our domestic product is “Masha and the Bear”.

Masha and the Bear - the most harmful cartoon, Is it so?

This animated film, created by domestic designers and programmers, using the most modern achievements IT industry. Indeed, at first glance, the quality of the cartoon is simply amazing: excellent detail, excellent color depth, play of light and shadows, truly lively animation, breathtaking in its realism.

Even though the film is already about 7 years old, it still looks quite decent. It is quite obvious that we are talking about a real breakthrough in the field of domestically produced animated cinematography, which sets it apart from other films of recent years.

It is based on the Russian film of the same name folk tale, but it would be more correct to say that the cartoon is based on a traditional Russian epic and has only somewhat similarities with the original storyline, which at the very beginning sharply leads into some not entirely clear direction.

From the point of view of children's perception, everything was created absolutely competently. The creators obviously faced specific task- to captivate the attention of children by creating a film that will appeal to the widest possible audience of children and will force parents to shell out money at the box office of cinemas and the counters of stores selling themed products. And it should be noted that they did it very well.

Why is the cartoon “Masha and the Bear” harmful?

If we abstract from the quality of animation and the degree of elaboration of the graphic elements of the cartoon world, defiant behavior simply catches the eye main character. From the first moments of her appearance on the screen, the whole animal world begins to turn upside down, the animals hide in their holes, but this is rather the only negative reaction of the cartoon world to the evil girl.

From the very beginning, the opposition of the restless child to the animal world is established. Many psychologists know that children are more willing to associate themselves with representatives of the animal world, perceiving themselves as part of nature and striving to live in harmony with it. In the cartoon, everything happens exactly the opposite.

Further development events helps to raise the age level for the viewer. Let me remind you that the film is devoid of any age restrictions. You can watch it literally from the first days of life - rating 0+.

The main character behaves provocatively and constantly violates any social norms. Her behavior leads to a lot of problems for those around her. She methodically builds various tricks, because of which the second one gets into an awkward position. main mountain- bear.

The image of the bear, perhaps, according to the creators of the film, personifies the image of the father. Masha behaves in such a way that there is no doubt about the complete lack of any respect for elders, and the bear, instead of punishment or at least condemnation, constantly forgives the main character all her pranks.

How can you interpret the events of this cartoon from the point of view of the psychology of a child, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a boy or a girl: the world is an amazing place where you can be yourself and do what you want. Any pranks, mischief, absolute disobedience to elders, everything will be forgiven. There will be no punishment for bad deeds. A true embodiment of the phrase “This world belongs to you,” although that’s a completely different story.

Psychologists' opinions

From the point of view of child psychologists, the cartoon has a strong antisocial orientation. That’s why it was included in the list of “harmful cartoons for children’s psyches.” Imbued with the ideas of the film, children may not formulate the boundaries of what is permitted and extrapolate the actions of the animated film to real life: if this was allowed to a certain Masha from the cartoon, why am I forbidden to do this, why am I scolded for what Masha was allowed to do?

Child psychology will not find an intelligible answer to these questions, and moving along the path of least resistance, it will hasten to declare the adults around them the culprit of their troubles.

I believe there is no need to explain how harmful a situation can be in which a child is firmly convinced that adults do not love him, but are only trying to plot intrigues, constantly oppressing him. A long stay in this state can lead to defects in personality formation, the development of persistent hostility towards parents and a host of other equally dangerous complexes.

Conclusion

Answering the question: is the cartoon “Masha and the Bear” the most harmful masterpiece of animated cinema for a child, I think it will be difficult to answer unequivocally.

Of course, if you just sit your child in front of the TV, turn on the treasured channel and go about your business, then, probably, yes - it is. This animated series may pose a threat to children's psychology.

On the other hand, if the viewing is joint, and the parents are able to explain to the child in time that this is an anti-example and such behavior is unacceptable, perhaps the child’s reaction will be different and in the mind little man the understanding that Masha is not a very good character will be established.

Do your children watch the cartoon "Masha and the Bear"? Yes? And our children too! And then it turned out that this cartoon, according to psychologists, is the most harmful. Experts suddenly (five years after the appearance of the cartoon) started talking about the danger of Masha and the Bear. “Monster High,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “Tom and Jerry” were also blacklisted. Why exactly these cartoons were considered dangerous for the child’s psyche, and which ones you can then watch, we tell you in our “Question and Answer” section.

Why is the cartoon "Masha and the Bear" dangerous for children?

Psychologists have found out that in this cartoon Masha demonstrates bad behavior and bad character. At the same time, the girl always gets away with far from childish pranks (by the way, I did this even without the cartoon as a child).

Young children tend to believe everything that happens and also copy the behavior of the main characters. Thus, the child initially develops an incorrect model of behavior, and subsequently parents may experience great difficulties in raising him.

The bear appears in the cartoon as kind and gentle. In the cartoon, Masha systematically mocks him. But, in fact, behind the appearance of a bear there is an image of an adult, a little inhibited, but adequate person. He can only be offended. Experts believe that the child takes an example from Maria and forms his own model of behavior in communicating with adults: they must be mocked!

But you know what... Yesterday we tried to stop the daughter of the deputy editor-in-chief from watching the next episode of the cartoon, so she screamed all evening. And at that moment, the absence of Masha and her Bear from children’s lives seemed more dangerous to us than their presence. Although this is our subjective opinion and it apparently disagrees with the opinion of psychologists.

Let's say I agree about Masha, but what's wrong with Tom and Jerry?

We all grew up watching this cartoon, and nothing bad happened to us (at least we didn’t notice it). But psychologists say that in “Tom and Jerry” the mouse mocks the cat, and this also affects the child’s psyche.

The cartoon "Monster High", which ended up in second place in the anti-rating, is, to put it mildly, bad lexicon in children. The main characters in it speak slang and also show bad example for skipping classes. Here the experts are probably right. "SpongeBob SquarePants" teaches a child to conflict, argue with friends and scold adults (bad Bob!).

What kind of cartoons should you watch if they only show monsters and Pokemon?

It is not at all necessary to watch what is shown on TV. Almost every home has the Internet or a DVD player. Parents can choose their own repertoire of cartoons and fairy tales for their children.

Psychologists from the Center for Psychological and Pedagogical Expertise of Games and Toys recommend giving preference to old cartoons and fairy tales. Older children will enjoy adventure cartoons. Well, remember these wonderful "12 months", "Geese and Swans", " The Snow Queen", "Thumbelina", " Winnie the Pooh"These cartoons instill in children kindness, justice and mercy. We grew up with them, and they still evoke the warmest memories.

So why not watch new cartoons at all?

Of course, you can watch it, but you need to approach the repertoire very seriously. In many modern cartoons There is a rapid change of episodes, because of this the child does not remember the plot and cannot retell the content. Such cartoons will definitely not do any good. You should also beware computer games, where fights occur, since the child can subsequently transfer some episodes into real life.

At what age can children be shown cartoons?

Psychologists recommend not turning on the TV for children under two years of age. Watching any, even the kindest, cartoons can cause irreversible mental changes in them. So until this time, you shouldn’t sit your child in front of the TV, even if you really don’t have time and you need to keep your child occupied with something. It's better to give your baby a toy.

If your child has already blown out three candles on the cake, then he can watch cartoons. But the session should not last more than 15-20 minutes. At the same time, parents are recommended to be present during the viewing and, as the cartoon progresses, to give their explanations of what is happening on the screen and why the hero acted this way and not otherwise.