Sunday, March 7, 2010

Talking point 4

Unlearning the myths that bind us - Linda Christensen


"The messages, or secret education, linked with the security of their homes, underscore the power these texts deliver."

I never thought of it before, but by giving our children these books and movies we are giving our approval to the material and subtexts contained in them, giving them even more power in the eyes of our children. We are telling our children that we approve of the messages they are recieving.

"Many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising."

This is probably true of students everywhere, nobody wants to view their childhood through a new "lens" and see that some of their favorite childhood memories might not be as innocent as they believed. As with other things in this course, ideas that hit "too close to home", make me feel the most uncomfortable. Especially when I begin to see that things that I have tought, said, or given to my children might not have been the best choice, it makes me question my effectiveness and capabilities as a parent, something that is definitely not comfortable.

"I'm not taking my kids to see any Walt Disney movies until they have a black woman playing the leading role."

Reading this article made my look at my children's shelf full of Disney movies in a whole new way. It left me in a difficult position. On one hand, I want to remove these movies full of obvious stereotypes from the eyes of my children. On the other hand, I have also grown up watching these movies, and they seem almost a part of childhood to me. For some reason, the thought of not allowing my children to see them makes me feel sad, almost as if they will be missing an important part of growing up. Intellectually, that doesn't make any sense, even to me, but for some reason I feel an emotional attachment to these movies. I am taking my children to disney world next week, and I almost wish I would have read this article after we returned, so that I wouldn't have to look at Disney world differently.

6 comments:

  1. Jessica,

    I totally agree with you about these movies being part of my childhood and even though you know all the stereotypes about them I would still let kids watch them, so its not just you. I get that feeling too that it would be like missing out on something. I feel like maybe the way to go about this would be to let them see the movies but then maybe show them other things that would disprove any of the stereotypes they may have seen. I don't know, but a life without Disney movies doesn't seem like a full childhood to me.

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  2. I think that removing all the movies would be a bad thing also! This article made it seem like all cartoons are bad for kids when thats the not case!

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  3. Jessica, I don't have kids but when I do I am not prohibiting them from any Disney movie. There are many classics like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, etc. I do not think you should feel bad at all for letting your kids have them.

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  4. I agree with what Mike has said (mainly because I talked about that in my essay) but kids shouldn't be prohibited from watching good movies because they may lead to some bad perspectives on the way things are, but that will happen no matter what they watch.

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  5. I totally agree with what your saying about having the movies be a part of your childhood and letting your kids watch them. The stereotypes are so hidden that kids dont understand that.

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  6. I know that children can pick up on things from t.v and movies just as we adults can, it's the values that their families instill in them that can override those messages or correct them that is imp. and we can all tell from the concern you show in class that you share those values with your children - Go to Disney not as an adult getting mad at the commercialism and hidden messages but view it through the eyes of a child with your children and have a blast!

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