Indiana University Masters Program
Carmen Sandiego has become a name synonymous with educational geography programming for children. Beginning as a mastermind thief in a series of educational computer games produced by Broderbund Software in the early 1980''s, Carmen and her gang of henchmen led aspiring young players on a search for clues that spanned the globe. The concept from this series of computer games was then adapted to a game show, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? which began on PBS in the Fall of 1991. Recently Carmen Sandiego made the move to Saturday morning television in the form of an animated adventure series. It is on this most recent version of Carmen Sandiego that I intend to focus the majority of discussion in this paper. However, I also feel that it is important to look at intertexual elements that are involved in the construction of a larger Carmen Sandiego 'text.' According to Kinder, Saturday morning television has led to a blending of vertical and horizontal intertextuality into a single system that erases the boundaries between primary and secondary texts, enabling primary texts (such as television series and video games) to function as promotional material for other primary 'texts' (such as movies and toys), and vice versa. This is clearly the case with Carmen Sandiego in which the three primary texts--the computer games, the PBS game show and the animated series--all serve to promote each other. Therefore, in doing a textual analysis of an episode from the Carmen Sandiego animated series I feel that it is also important to consider each of the texts that have preceded it and to touch upon each of the versions that collectively comprise the elaborate and complex intertextual Carmen Sandiego experience.
Carmen is Born: The Carmen Sandiego Computer Game Series In 1985 Broderbund introduced the first Carmen Sandiego game, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. This game requires players to use clues to follow a thief around the world, successfully identify the thief from descriptions given by witnesses in order to get a warrant and apprehend the criminal before time runs out. Additional games such as Where in the U.S.A. is Carmen Sandiego?, and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? used the same basic formula but offered variations in the range of possible destinations for the criminals. These games introduced Carmen Sandiego as former spy for the Intelligence Service of Monaco who has become the ring leader of a world-wide crime organization known as V.I.L.E. (Villains' International League of Evil). These games were, and still are, popular both on the home computer market and in schools. It is important to note that early exposure to these games meant either having a home computer or having access to a computer at school, which usually meant attending an affluent school that had enough money to purchase classroom computers. As a result, distinctions were created early on between future viewers who had exposure to the educational computer game series and those who did not. There are now additional Carmen Sandiego games including a CD-ROM version and a Junior Detective Edition.
Carmen's Evolution: The Carmen Sandiego PBS Game Show Series and other Merchandise In the Fall of 1991 Carmen made the move to television and became the subject of a PBS game show in which school age children competed against each other using their knowledge of geography to track Carmen Sandiego and one of her henchmen around the world. With its flashy sets and costumes, the up-beat musical stylings of Rockapella, and an overall fresh approach to childrenŐs educational programming, this version of Carmen was highly successful. Like its computer game predecessors, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? was heralded as a breakthrough in educational programming. In its premiere season the program's audience reached over six million viewers, mostly between the ages of 8 and 13. According to research data: Carmen has been extremely successful in reaching its target audience. Nielsen's audience profile shows that 73% of the show's viewers are younger than 18, with 53% between the ages of six and 17 - an age group that seldom tunes into PBS. The data also show that Carmen is equally appealing to boys and girls.
This program, now in its fifth season, still airs daily on PBS. According to an Independent study conducted for Broderbund Software 'four out of five Americans between the ages of 10 and 14 recognize the Carmen Sandiego character and more than 60 percent of the children interviewed, when asked "What is Carmen Sandiego?," mentioned the PBS TV show first'. Although Carmen appears only as a cartoon in this version and her importance is minimized next to the Chief and ACME's special agent in charge of training, there is still a great amount of name recognition with the Carmen character. Carmen's fame is also spreading internationally. A French version of the Carmen game show program entitled, Mais ou se cache Carmen Sandiego? premiered on September 5th, 1995.
Carmen's fame has grown among Children's audiences and so have the products that bear her name. In addition to the computer games there are now Carmen backpacks, Carmen lunch bags, Carmen board games, Carmen puzzles, a Carmen book series, and Carmen Sandiego games for Nintendo and Sega game systems. There is also a Carmen Sandiego newspaper supplement that appears in newspapers across the country during National Geography Awareness Week in the middle of November.
Carmen Grows Again: The Carmen Sandiego Animated Cartoon Series Widespread success both as a computer game and as a PBS game show led to a vast awareness of Carmen Sandiego. It therefore does not seem that odd that she would eventually take her place among the variety of children's heroes and role models that appear each week on Saturday morning children's television. The Carmen Sandiego animated series, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? premiered on the FOX network in the Fall of 1994. In addition to Carmen, her V.I.L.E. henchmen and the ACME detective agency chief (all characters that were present in past forms of Carmen Sandiego), this program introduces the ACME crime fighting/brother-sister duo of Ivy and Zack.
Ivy is an out going, red-headed teenager who is presented as a physically skilled and outgoing crime fighter. Zack is her younger brother who is eager to help his big sister and shares her desire to apprehend the notorious Carmen Sandiego. In a clip from an early episode we learn that Zack has convinced the chief of the ACME detective agency that after considerable study of Sherlock Holmes he has developed keen detective skills that could be used to help his sister in her endless pursuit of Carmen Sandiego. Now a well established team, Ivy and Zack work together in their efforts to catch Carmen. Ivy tends to be in charge most of the time but Zack's analytic and logic skills are utilized frequently to determine the meanings of Carmen's cryptic clues. Even though they are both clearly children, Ivy and Zack are both depicted as being mature, clever, brave, intellectually skilled and able to solve problems using logic--traits which are usually associated with adulthood. They take turns sharing the spotlight to show both strengths and weaknesses. Zack is sometimes shown as a confident young man who can converse fluently with foreign diplomats. However, as we will see in 'Curses, Foiled Again' his reliance on luck and superstition are exposed as being childish weaknesses. Ivy has a great amount of confidence in her skills as well. When she catches up with Carmen from time to time Ivy always reminds her that she will eventually be brought to justice. Ivy repeatedly saves her brother from danger, often rescuing him at the last minute. We see this in 'Curses, Foiled Again' when she zooms in on a jet ski to pull Zack out of the path of a rapidly approaching ocean freighter at the very last minute. At other times, however, her efforts meet with disaster. But even after a flubbed attempt to capture Carmen she stands back up and continues her pursuit with determination.
The chief that appears in the animated Carmen Sandiego series is much different than past chiefs that we have seen. In the Carmen Sandiego computer games the chief is depicted as a middle aged, serious looking man. In the PBS game show version the chief is a powerful, albeit sometimes playful, woman. In this version of Carmen Sandiego the chief is a disembodied head that looks and behaves in a manner that is similar to Max Headroom, an iconic figure which became the Coke spokesperson for a brief period of time in the eighties. There are also shared similarities between the chief and the image of the Wizard of OZ, which is an image that more children might be familiar with. The chief's image is usually contained by a floating plane that appears periodically throughout the cartoon. Within this plane he moves around in a sporadic manner. He is largely responsible for educating the detectives and briefing them on the case at hand. In this way his intelligence is emphasized but it is often countered by his playful mannerisms and language. For example, in 'Curses, Foiled Again' the chief explains why Mars is called the red planet. In doing so he uses a very child-like way of speaking. As he shows the detectives an image of Mars he states 'Mars in known as the red planet because, well,...go ahead...look at it...Duh!, its red!' This is not an entirely professional way of providing this information but it does seem to serve its purpose, like the chief does in general as a simultaneous source of knowledge and humor. In many ways the chief is similar to other television educators that take a humorous approach to the dissemination of information such as Bill Nye from the Disney program Bill Nye the Science Guy and Beakman from Beakman's World.
Carmen plays a central role in the animated series. Unlike past versions in which she appears mainly as an icon for players to chase after, in this version she takes on a role of equal importance with the detectives that pursue her. She is depicted as an attractive woman who seems to be in her thirties. Her distinctive face is framed by her dark black hair and she wears a flowing red trench coat, which has become a trademark of the Carmen Sandiego character. As will be discussed in greater length later in this paper, Carmen represents both a cunning criminal mastermind and a nurturing maternal-like character. Her power is reinforced as she continuously proves herself to be one step ahead of the ACME detectives that pursue her, yet even so she cannot loose the nurturing traits that are so often attributed to women in our society.
In addition to the regular characters there are always a variety of Carmen's henchmen and ACME detectives that appear on each episode. Usually there are one or two henchmen that play a central role as they accompany or assist Carmen on her caper. There are also additional henchmen that appear every once in a while to block Ivy and Zack in their pursuit of Carmen. In general the henchmens' criminal skills are emphasized and they are depicted as characters with lower than average intelligence. Often, it is their weaknesses that play a part in foiling Carmen's plan. Their character flaws are also be used to teach lessons. In 'Curses, Foiled Again' Carmen takes it upon herself to teach henchwoman, Hannah Lulu, a lesson about superstitions. Hannah's constant fear of ghosts and curses is played up for humor in this episode while it is also used as an example to teach a lesson. The detectives that accompany Ivy and Zack share many of their adult-like characteristics such as maturity and their ability to solve problems using logic skills. They assist Ivy and Zack and often provide topic-specific knowledge--such as knowledge about pirates or birds (these were both thematic issues on recent programs)--or location-specific knowledge--such as a good understanding of the language and culture of Hawaii, as was the case in 'Curses, Foiled Again'. Their knowledge always proves to be helpful in tracking Carmen.
The colors that are used in the animation for this program are bold, vibrant and are accentuated by well defined lines. There are a variety of shot framings and 'camera' movements within the shots. The backgrounds are drawn with detail and there is an elaborate, often orchestrated, score of music that is present in the background adding emotional emphasis to important moments or instances of great suspense. In addition to the animated segments there are also real-life segments of the program which serve to frame the program almost as though it were occurring within the context of a Carmen Sandiego computer game. In some instances the framing is literal as in cases where the 'camera' pans out from the animated scene to expose the real-life computer monitor that has apparently been displaying all of the events that have been happening. In these real-life segments a young player is shown sitting at a computer terminal, communicating online with Carmen Sandiego or clicking on a computer screen that appears to be very similar to the one found in the computer games. Since the faces of these children are never shown it seems that their purpose is to largely serve as placeholders for a character that all children in the audience can identify with. In addition to the real-life segments which always occur at the beginning and end of the program and occasionally before and after a commercial break, the cartoon characters often make statements directed toward the real-life player. A common phrase is 'Player, C-5 us to...', which allows for the player to transport the ACME detectives anywhere in the world instantaneously. Real-life footage and computer generated images are also used in the chief's briefing sessions. All of these things combine to form a rich multimedia and intertextual program with seemingly high production values.
Although the major conflict and theme in this program revolve around crime, the overall emphasis seems to be on the learning and adventure that surround the crimes rather than the on the crimes themselves. As a result, the program seems to be predominately an action/adventure program but there are also elements of melodrama. The suspenseful journey in pursuit of Carmen combined with the program's use of technology and action-filled chase sequences suggest that it is an action/adventure program, but there are also some elements of the program that are characteristic of a melodrama--such as the characters' nurturing and cooperative natures.
The program begins with the theft of a valuable item or historical landmark. A clue is always left by Carmen at the scene of the crime to help the detectives determine where to go next. As the program proceeds, additional items are stolen and similar clues are left for the detectives. The program usually ends with Ivy and Zack showing up just in time to ruin Carmen's last theft and plans to get away with all of the goods that she has stolen throughout the show. The stolen items are returned to their rightful owners and Carmen manages to escape--thus, there is a return to the status quo.
A Closer Look at 'Curses, Foiled Again' The episode begins with an establishing shot of the Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii. A mellow, mysterious orchestral soundtrack, coupled with the night time chirping of crickets, provides an audio back drop for this first scene. The 'camera' slowly pans over to a close up shot of Zack who is voicing his concern for the fact that it is Friday the 13th. As the camera moves again to reveal Ivy who is staking out the palace from the top of a near-by tree, we hear her assurance that everything will be all right. This statement receives additional support from the guest ACME detective, Aileen, who speaks from inside a mailbox in which she has hidden. As we hear Zack responding that he is still glad that he brought along his lucky rabbit's foot--just in case, the shot shifts to Carmen Sandiego who has apparently overheard the entire conversation. This illustrates a recurring element in this program as well as in the series in general. Carmen is perpetually monitoring the young ACME detectives. Her ability to constantly remain a step or two ahead shows both her cunning, supreme intellect and ultimate power over the detectives as well as her special interest in their progress and general well being. Unlike most villains of her caliber, Carmen seems to be more of a nurturing character than a destructive character. This fact makes her abnormal compared to the stereotypical villain but seems to fit in comfortably with our stereotypic notions about women. Herein lies one of the central paradoxes of Carmen Sandiego. She is clearly the villain, but also takes on the role of a maternal figure in a situation otherwise devoid of parental influence.
Carmen's nurturing nature is further highlighted in the conversation that ensues with her henchwoman, Hannah Lulu. Hannah agrees with Zack and reminds Carmen that it is an unlucky day. Carmen replies 'You know I don't believe in luck--good or bad--it's talent and preparation that make things happen...you have to learn to overcome these unnatural fears, starting tonight!' Overcoming superstition and fear becomes the major theme in this episode and Carmen takes on an important role in teaching this lesson both to Hannah and Zack.
Carmen immediately jumps into action following this conversation and soon finds her way into the palace along with Hannah. It is here that they are confronted by the ACME detectives. Carmen and Hannah flee to roof the of the building and Zack chases after them while nervously clutching his lucky rabbit's foot. As Zack leaps out to catch Carmen his rabbit's foot flies out of his hand and becomes lodged in the pulley that Carmen is using to slide off of the roof. Carmen recovers from the initial shock of stopping and grabs the rabbit's foot before dropping to the ground. She is immediately surrounded by police and is taken into custody along with Hannah as the ACME detectives receive accolades from the chief and congratulate each other. Zack however, is frantically searching for his lost rabbit's foot.
As the detectives are enjoying their vacation in Waimea Kauai, Hawaii the Chief appears on his floating plane to inform the detectives that Carmen has escaped and has stolen a large hovercraft. The detectives reason that she is planning on stealing something large and analyze the clues that she left for them. These clues consist of a Hawaiian lava rock and a Hawaiian shark-tooth sword embedded in a second stone. Zach asks the player to 'info scan' the legend of King Arthur. After a brief recount of the legend about how Arthur became king by pulling a sword out of a stone, Aileen recognized the similarities that this story had with a Hawaiian legend about King Ka-mai-ha-mai-ha who became king by moving a large stone. The player is then asked to transport the detectives to Hilo where this large stone is located. They arrive just in time to see Carmen escaping on the hovercraft. As the detectives pursue her on jet skis, Carmen is shown from behind looking back at the detectives as she tosses out a silver briefcase to them stating 'Like I always say detectives, you haven't got a clue- until I give you one.' In his attempt to catch the briefcase Zack capsizes the jet ski throwing both him and Aileen into the water in the path of an oncoming ocean freighter. Fortunately Ivy manages to rescue them just in time and the clue is recovered. The chief reports that in the meantime Carmen has stolen the Menehune ditch which is considered, in the Hawaiian culture, to be a superstitious thing to cross.
The clue, which consisted of a telescope with a star map pointing to the planet Mars, led the detectives to conclude that she was going to be stealing a red statue of King Ka-mai-ha-mai-ha which was located into a museum next to one of the world's largest telescope observatories. The detectives arrive just as Carmen is speeding away in a car with Hannah. During the chase that ensues, Carmen and Hannah escape by driving over a cliff. As always, Carmen has a technological gadget that enables her to turn this seemingly disastrous turn of events into a clever escape.
The detectives determine that Carmen will soon try to get off the island. With help from Aileen they come to the conclusion that she must be expecting a helicopter pick up at the Nu-ana-polly lookout. This site, in keeping with the theme of the program, is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of dead warriors known as the marchers of the night. Zack and Ivy cover themselves in poi and move slowly toward Carmen and Hannah while impersonating night marchers. A helicopter arrives and Hannah and Carmen climb in, only to realize that it is a police set up. Carmen jumps out and escapes after tossing Zack's rabbit's foot to him with a message attached stating that she thought that he needed it more than she did. At the end we learn that all of the items that Carmen had stolen during the course of the program have been returned. Zack gives his rabbit's foot to Hannah and buys a lucky Hawaiian plant to replace it. In this way the program ends in much the same way that it began. Carmen is on the loose, everything is back where it belongs, and Zack still has faith in lucky trinkets. Viewers, however, have hopefully learned from Carmen that they should value their skills and talents over luck and superstition.
Even though children play a large part in this program, there are no characters that completely represent the traditional notions of children. Zach and Ivy, with the exceptions of character flaws that could be the result of their youth, behave in a very mature manner even though they are clearly children. Carmen's criminal side-kick, Hannah, possesses the same weakness as Zack. In addition to character traits, there are also aspects of Hannah's appearance that suggest her child-like nature, such as the fact that her hair is styled with pig-tailed braids--a style usually worn by children. Even though Hannah is an adult, she possess many of the characteristics of a child who is in need of Carmen's nurturing assistance and guidance. In this respect Hannah is similar to the ACME detectives that otherwise seem much more mature.
There is little doubt that Carmen is an adult in this program. Even though she views her work as a game of sorts, she goes about things in a very serious manner. She also appears to be the only true parental figure on the show. This is not to say, however, that Carmen is a stereotypical parental figure. It is in fact quite perplexing that she possesses so many maternal characteristics given the fact that she is a criminal. In general, age is presented in a very ambiguous fashion. The distinctions between children and adults that are usually present in other cartoons, and to an even larger degree in real life, are drastically blurred. The program pits children detectives against adult villains on an apparently level playing field.
Carmen Sandiego is one of the only strong female characters who can be found on Saturday morning television. Many find the lack of female heroines and the great amount of emphasis placed on gender differences in most cartoon programs to be problematic. While children's programming in general may contain great amounts of gender stereotypes, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? makes an effort to correct this problem with a large scale elimination of these stereotypes.
Within the program gender--like age--is another characteristic that is treated with ambiguity. There are no real differences between the male and female characters. They appear in almost equal proportions and are always shown to be capable of doing the same things. Ivy is just as physically skilled, if not more so at times, than her younger brother. And Zack is just as talented as his older sister in collaborating and using verbal skills to help find the solutions to problems. Another example of how the program deviates from traditional gender-based conventions is the fact that all action takes place outside of the domestic sphere. Usually programming which involves children and women as its primary actors finds at least part of its action occuring in a domestic environment. In Carmen the domestic sphere is completely absent. In this respect, many of the gender stereotypes that are present in other programs are missing from the Carmen Sandiego program. Ellen Seiter suggests in her book, Sold Separately, that "the best things that could happen to children's television would be for boys' series to borrow some of the emphasis on communication and feeling so typical of My Little Pony and for girls' series to stir up more play interest in things like computers and technology. Girls' heroines could stand to gain a sense of humor and might express a bit more anger on television. Boys' heroes could lessen their reliance on guns and gadgets -- and try talking their way to victory instead." As a program that has appeal to both boys and girls, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? makes progress in achieving some of these changes by removing many of the gender stereotypes that have plagued other children's programming.
The Carmen Sandiego program series can also be separated from other children's programming due to its focus on education more so than commercial issues. Unlike many children's programs that are created to sell a line of relatively inexpensive action figures and playsets, the main product that Carmen could arguably be trying to sell is a much more expensive computer game whose value lies largely in its educational nature. This is problematic in that it creates a distinction between viewers that have access to the game and those who do not have access to the game. Viewers that have played one or more of the Carmen Sandiego games may have a greater understanding and can find value in the program's intertextual elements. These viewers bring past knowledge about Carmen Sandiego and a deeper understanding of the elaborate collection of Carmen Sandiego 'texts' to the viewing experience. This knowledge and understanding will inevitably contribute to their construction of the program's meaning--one which is likely to be different than that of viewers who have not had the same level and variety of exposure. Viewers that have not had an opportunity to become familiar with the computer games may feel distanced and alienated by the heroes' use of technology and the same intertextual features that enhance the experience of other viewers. Geography has been an area where American children have traditionally lacked knowledge. The entire line of Carmen Sandiego programming has set about to improve children's knowledge of geography while making this learning process fun and entertaining. Even though there may be distinctions among members of the audience, there is still educational value in the program for all viewers. It would be difficult to watch the program and not learn at least one new thing. In this respect, the animated series shares with its predecessors an ability to teach children about geography and problem solving skills.
When read in the context of a complex collection of different versions, one finds that Carmen Sandiego has definitely become one of the leaders in innovative and educational programming for children. Despite her criminal line of work, Carmen inspires her viewers to learn about the world and to develop their logic and reasoning skills while serving as an example of a modern female role model.
I am currently attempting to get the notes online as well. Please check back soon.
(A disclaimer from Laurie: Though Jennifer leaves us with a note that she is attempting to get the notes online, she has not been able to. A pity. Also, in case anyone is wondering, this paper was written sometime in 1995, I believe. At least, that's when I found it online originally.)