Christensen argues that children learn from a very early age stereotypes from the everyday media. she expresses that it is the parents and teachers jobs to help the children differentiate the difference between what is real and what is not and to teach them the correct values and morals.
1. "When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated."
i feel like this is true not only in books but especially in movies like Disney. Fairy tales usually have the young beautiful girl with flowing perfect hair winning over the heart of prince charming and the villain is usually disgustingly ugly and covered in warts with terrible fingernails. the common town folk are usually dressed in tatters or just arent that beautiful. children think that you need to be beautiful to have everything and get through life and i feel like we need to teach them that that isnt true at all. look at Bill Gates.
2. "Cartoon images , in particular the Disney movie Peter Pan, were cited by the children {in a research study} as their number one source of information. At the age of three these children had a set of stereotypes in place"
Since i posted my blog a tad late i can relate this to a clip of Beauty and the Beast that we watched in class
together. i can understand why children get all their information from movies, parents think that Disney is great and
wholesome for their children to watch {i have to agree} and while they watch it they absorb all the information
about how people are viewed in their sponge of brains. i know that in most early movies african americans were
the only ones working and poor old Dumbo was dubbed that because of his oversized ears and i have heard
many children pick on others that have bigger ears by calling them Dumbo. it made me feel bad. so perhaps the
good 'ol wholesome movies parents think are good for their kids, aren't so good at all. i remember my friends mom
would only let her watch Disney movies. i wonder if she would have changed her mind if this was revealed to her
then.
3 "After viewing a number of cartoons, Kenya scolded parents in an essay,
"A Black Cinderella! Give Me a Break." She wrote: "Have you ever seen a
black person, an Asian, a Hispanic in a cartoon! Did they have a leading
role or were they a servant? What do you think this is doing to your child's
mind?" She ended her piece: "Women who aren't white begin to feel left
out and ugly because they never get to play the princess." Kenya's piece
bristled with anger at a society that rarely acknowledges the wit or beauty of
women of her race."
I wonder if DIsney will ever have a Black or Hispanic main character. They got an Asian one a few years ago in the movie Mulan. yet Mulan was not really considered a princess like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty or Ariel were. i think the best thing Disney could ever do would be to make a handicapped main character. so many little girls and boys go to Disney {especially those who go via make a wish foundation} have disabilities or conditions and i feel like those children, more than others, need a little prince or princess like them.
i suppose i liked this article. it made me realize little things about Disney movies that i normally wouldnt have. when we were in group i learned a few things about disney movies too. like on the cover of The Little Mermaid theres penis's and in another movie for 2 quick frames, you could see a woman in a window with no top on. i guess the artists go a little crazy drawing happy little cartoons all day
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