Nicole Greenberg Module 2 Readings
Sorry for the late post, work has been unexpected and crazy lately!
I was mind blown after watching the Smurfette Principle and the Bechdel test. I was surprised, yet completely aware, of the fact that women are often never seen in media, but if they are, they are used more as a sexy prop rather than a character- who does not only talk about boys the entire time. I loved her questions, “Are women in the film? Do they have a name? Do they talk about something other than men?” because as I watch any movie and or TV show, it’s scary how easily I can answer no to those questions. To me it seems like typical Hollywood because as I am taking this class, and becoming more familiar with media literacy, I have been noticing a lot more about how women are portrayed in movies, ads, TV shows etc.
After getting a little upset over the way women are seen in media, I moved onto reading the Media Lit Kit. I thought the 5 questions and 5 concepts are really important while watching movies, TV or even just looking at ads around town. Now that I have read this kit, I can never stop thinking about these questions and concepts while I attempt to enjoy TV now. I am actually pretty happy about this though because just over two weeks of this course has really opened my eyes to the reality of media, which is really helpful for me as a future educator.
I then went on to read Chapter six “The Inversion of Disability” of your novel Volatile Knowing. I can honestly say I was a little lost because of the usage of higher vocabulary and that I lack knowledge of certain references in education but if I am correct some of the main ideas include that teachers and parents are lacking a conclusion of why education is the way it is today and possibly how media is effecting education. I really liked the question posed, “What possibilities might exist for children in neighborhood schools if parents’ and teachers’ interests were successfully joined?” because I too have wondered this. I am not exactly sure the context in which is behind your question but if I was asked this, with no prior knowledge of an answer, I would assume great things would come of parents and teacher uniting. I think children could have many new opportunities if their parents and their teachers were able to come together, rather than act as two separate forces. I believe positivity is one of the biggest key factors in a child’s education and I think if teachers and parents come together, it can motivate the community to become more positive and bring everyone together.
After being extremely enlightened by Chapter 6, I began reading Carlos E. Cortes’ “The Children are Watching”. One of the first terms Cortes mentions is stereotypes- something we can never escape, especially in media. Then he poses a really great question asking the reader, “How can students learn about gender differences, the basic belief of various religions, and the core threads of diverse ethnic experiences without developing group stereotypes?” He then informs us on two solutions, which he claims are not easy to grasp but one major solution is informing students on the difference between generalizations and stereotypes. He then states the second solution is for students to use the distinctions to somewhat challenge or critique media. I think both of these ideas are very important for children to learn and distinguish because being open to other people’s cultures or religions is important for a child’s perceptions on generalizations and stereotypes. And although these generalizations and stereotypes are inevitable because society uses labels for everything, they can learn when it is appropriate to questions the media and its uses of the two.
As I began reading Larry Gross’s article titled “Out of the Mainstream” I was again a little confused because of his usage of high vocabulary but one thing I picked up quickly was his clear argument that people are very into television, which is not good. He writes, “The average American adult spends several hours each day in this television world, children spend even more of their lives immersed in its “fictional reality.” I feel as though adults get sucked into media very easily, which shows children get even more sucked into it to the point where they’re in a “fictional reality” because they are not yet aware of media literacy. Another major factor of his article talks about minorities and claims their positions and interest will not only be ignored, but as well will be discredited. I feel as though there was a slight connection between this idea and the assignment where we channel surfed and look at races, gender and disability. As I wrote in that, I only saw 3 minorities on the TV- 2 African Americans and one Latino male who were all on the news because they were being portrayed as criminals. I am not positive this connection works but I feel as though minorities are not portrayed positively on TV, if at all. Therefore, their responses to media and claims then become disregarded. Again, I am not positive if this is what Gross is trying to claim but that is how I comprehended it.
I then chose to write about Common Sense Media because the title “Advertising to Children and Media” really caught my attention in a somewhat negative way. I always find it chilling to hear about how much TV children are exposed to. The article shares several ways in which advertising to children can be done. For example, they can see ads on television, or gaming or completely away from technology like going to McDonalds and getting a free toy with their meal.
The article discusses all of the ways children are exposed to media and advertising and concludes by saying the media and ads are at an all time high. They claim, “…recent years have seen an explosion in new avenues for young people to be
exposed to advertising through media.” Children involved with social media, television, restaurants, movies, etc. are all being exposed to the media and most of them are still very unaware of media literacy or the effects media has over them.
This leads me to the last and most broad reading of all, chapters 3 and 4 of Sternheimer’s novel Connecting social problems and popular culture: Why media is not the answer. Again, this text is very dense and full of some really great points but I am going to discuss ideas and points that I found most intriguing through reading the text.
One of the biggest issues Sternheimer discusses in chapter 3 is suicide. She writes several news headlines such as “Mean Girls: Cyber Bullying Blamed for Suicide” which shows how much attention these suicides get. She then quotes The Washington Post who claims, “It’s just a matter of when the next suicide’s going to hit, when the next attack’s going to hit.” This quote is truly devastating because of the truth that lies behind it. Everyday there is another innocent child who commits suicide due to cyber bullying and it is becoming out of hand. Chapter 3 is full of statics on cyber bullying which is chilling just to read it.
Then I read Chapter four, and almost giggled to myself, because as I was writing this entire blog post I had television going on in the background and got distracted by my cell phone a handful of times. Then I read the first couple sentences of chapter four and almost spit my drink out when I realized how not-funny it was and how serious it actually was. I couldn’t answer one color she had asked of us. After I look at my phone or watch TV, I realize how zombie like I become afterwards. It drains my energy and I forget that I am sitting with my friends or my family. I am aware of my wrong doings and after I have been in this class I have been trying a lot more to stop sitting on my phone while doing homework because it takes up more time once I have to go back and reread each article several times! Then when I read the line, “Most recently, TV has been blamed for ADHD and even autism” which was sad to hear. Whether the research proves this or not, the fact that it’s even a controversial topic is scary. Sternheimer then moves on to an even touchier subject, which talks about low-income families. She writes, “Clearly, low-income families have more pressing needs, like food and rent, before buying a computer or buying internet” which shows how much technology has an effect on society. This can lead students to have an unequal learning experience because they are not caught up with technology.
Overall, media and advertising has a huge, often negative, effect on society. Thought all the readings, it is seen that children are most commonly targeted by advertising and media which is terrible because they are vulnerable and naïve. With more readings like these, society can become more aware of media’s power and effect it has over everyone.
