Christensen

Nicole Pickering
Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us
Linda Christensen

1) Many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising. No one wants to admit that they've been "handled" by the media.
     1. Many people want to believe that the media has no power over them and that they are making their own choices. But people don't even realize that they are being "handled" by the media. For example, the media provides society with images of girls and their set roles in life, and people tend to wish to look like said girls. A lot of people's self images have been formed because of being exposed by TV and many do not even realize it. Another example is how Disney movies affect children. Little kids watch these movies and think that they are going to have a "fairy-tale life". It is difficult for children to interpret the real meaning of life.

2) They noticed the absence of mothers, the wickedness of stepmothers.
     1. This quote is 100% true. In a lot of movies either the mother has passed away, is never present, and a rude stepmother fills in her place. But why? In a lot of Disney movies, like Cinderella, Aladdin, and Pocahontas, for example, mothers are always absent. Some people may believe that the reason for this is because it shows that a happy family doesn't have to consist of a mother, father, and a child and that a family can be one parent and a child, such as in Pocahontas, or one parents and many siblings, such as in The Little Mermaid. Many children are noticing things like this today. And they tend to question people as to why it is like that.

3) Children's cartoons, movies, and literature are perhaps the most influential genre "read".
     1. I completely agree with this statement. Young people tend to watch these movies over and over again and they read stories over and over again. Children often watch these movies with their mother or father. The mother and father are also the ones who read the stories to their kids. Children feel safe when they are watching or reading with their parents or an older sibling. Stereotypes can take place very easily by watching/reading these kinds of movies/stories. It makes it easier for people to critique them too. The impact of racism also develops earlier. Children are misinformed with information of people different from themselves. So they tend to keep that information stored in the back of their mind and when they get into a certain situation they remember what they saw in the movie or read in a story and automatically think of something wrong.

This piece of work is very strong. It was very easy to read and understand too. Cartoons have a long lasting effect on people and they can also have a very convincing effect. The effect is not always bad, but it is not always good either. Movies provide children with racism, an absence of mothers, and stereotypes. They may not realize it the first time they watch the movie or read a story, but once they watch/read it over and over again something will eventually hit them. People have to accept the fact that sometimes the media is taking control of them because of all the information that they are providing.