Week 10 Readings
Happy Halloween!
This week’s reading covered a range of different topics but I think the common thread was a commentary on popular culture’s influence on reality.
I really enjoyed the Retro Report video (plus, Sternheimer was in it!) as I just discovered that series last week and binge watched a few of the videos. I do think that things like music, video games, movies, etc. should have some sort of content or warning label on them. This is only because I think adults can sometimes be unaware of the content of different types of media and the labeling system can help guide choices that they buy for children. I have had this happen with my own parents a couple of times (buying books or movies that had content that were not necessarily appropriate for my age), however, we were able to discuss it and I was able to have questions answered. I don’t think that is the case for every family, though. I did find the part about “trigger” warnings being placed on class syllabi very interesting. I remember seeing it discussed on the news and I am still not sure how I feel about it. There have definitely been times that things have been brought up in class that I am not comfortable discussing based on experiences I have had in my life, however, I try to separate my emotions from an academic experience like being in a lecture. To me, they are two different things that should not necessarily have more importance than the other. What did you think? Have you had any trouble in your courses due to class content? Would you advocate content warnings on syllabi?
Next I read the APA report. I liked the way the article systematically broke down what sexualization is, evaluated different “evidence” and examples, and also gave alternatives to sexualization in the media. There was an ad referenced with Christina Aguilera that I looked up as soon as it was mentioned because it sounded familiar. It was from 2004 and I distinctly remember seeing it one of those cheesy tween magazines that I was once so fond of. Looking at it as a 20 year-old made me kind of question it more than I did then. I’m actually kind of shocked they ran that ad in a magazine meant for elementary/early middle school girls. Anyways, I also looked at a couple of the websites listed after the “What parents/girls can do” section. I was happy to see the New Moon website on the list because it was a publication I used to read in middle school and I really enjoyed its different take on girls and what it means to be a girl. I was very happy to see that it still exists and they take a lot of input from parents on what they want to see in the magazine. They also had a great section where people can nominate women/girls in their life that they admire and give reasons as to why they are great people. I love “girls supporting girls” type things so this made me happy to see. However, I kind of had a hard time understanding the main article’s points concerning “self-objectification”. Maybe I misread the sections but I didn’t really see a definition as to what this means or specific examples of it, just the consequences and negative affects of it. Any ideas?? And what would be the difference between self-objectification and self-confidence?
Last but not least, Sternheimer’s chapter on Changing Families. I really liked her saying that there is a “correlation between race and ethnicity and poverty, which is the best indicator of teen pregnancy” (p. 181). Once again, poverty plays a role much more than media actually does. Another line I liked was from the very end of the chapter where Sternheimer pointed out that pop culture is contradictory in that it celebrates marriage but also increasingly supports alternatives (i.e. cohabitation, divorce) (p.192). I didn’t have very many thoughts on this chapter as I felt as thought the content had already kind of been discussed previously in the chapters about poverty and popular culture respectively. Did you gain any new information or perspective from this chapter?
Hope everyone has a nice (and safe!) night!
