%0 Journal Article
%T Socializing children into pop culture: A visit to Santa
%A Gillian Busch
%A Maryanne Theobald
%A Susan Danby
%J Global Studies of Childhood
%@ 2043-6106
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2043610618798930
%X Investigating childrenĄ¯s pop cultures that rely on myth-making provide understandings about how children are active agents in the socialization into cultural and moral practices in their everyday lives. An annual visit to Santa Claus is important in childrenĄ¯s pop culture in the Western world, however, the social practices associated with the continuation of the myth are under-reported. Drawing on the related methodologies of ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis, this article examines video-recordings of children talking to Santa at a North American shopping mall. An inherent problem for Santa across the interactions is how to talk about the childrenĄ¯s wished-for item without actually promising the gift. Analyses show that Santa manages this problem through the design of his turn and responses, which allows him to mitigate and propose why certain items might not be delivered. Despite the infrequency of the interaction between Santa Claus and a child, a visit to Santa highlights the interplay between child, adult and societal agendas. Findings presented focus on how culture-in-action is produced through the resources of conversation and permeating cultural practices
%K children
%K conversation analysis
%K culture-in-action
%K membership categorization analysis
%K morality-in-action
%K pop culture
%K Santa Claus
%K turn design
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2043610618798930