Advantages of puppetry as a communication medium

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Advantages of puppetry as a communication medium arises from the facts that

(a) Puppets are moving

Puppets come to life as characters, a hero to cheer or a villain to boo, a tragic figure who can move us to tears or a comic figure who will make us laugh. With a van, a portable stage, some battery-powered amplifiers and a few people for the ride, they can travel even to those areas inaccessible to the mass media. Not only do they adopt local customs and costumes but they also and neighbours get accepted as friends

(b) Puppets are safe

Since they are characters, not people, puppets are the ideal medium for discussing sensitive issues. They create a world in which we recognize ourselves and identify with the characters as the drama unfolds. It is an extraordinary fact that the audience accepts from a puppet what would have caused offence or embarrassment if it came from a live actor. That is why puppets are now widely used in teaching on AIDS and other sensitive matters.


(c) Puppets are for children

Children relate to puppets easily from their earliest years because they are used to making inanimate characters come to life. Children are puppeteers themselves from the first time they pick up a shoe, a squeezed-out half orange or a hairbrush and make them move and talk. The puppet can say what the child thinks; feel what the child feels and share a child’s sadness. It can show a poor child who knows only poverty and hunger that there can also be joy and love and a happy ending.

(d) Puppets are for adults

Despite the special relationships between puppets and children, puppets speak to adults too. The roots of puppetry are deeply connected with mystery, symbolism and religion.


(e) Puppets develop skills and teamwork in school curriculum

As an educational tool, puppets have become widely accepted because of their value in helping children in personality development and the creative opportunities the making and operation of puppets provide. Through the medium of the puppet, the child finds himself/herself able to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings that he/she otherwise could not have. In puppetry, the teacher finds many possibilities for enriching most educational situations. Creating a puppet show requires a wide range of people and special skills. Puppets create teamwork even as they entertain and inform the audience. This gives a golden opportunity for forming alliances between creative artists and those involved in development work.



Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India

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