talking points #4 on Christensen

Premise:

• Teaching
• Manipulation
• Children
• TV
• Books
• Movies
• Secret
• Self image
• Racism
• Sexism
• Stereotypes
• Ignorance
  Misinformation
• Superior
• Inferior
• Discrimination
• Society's culture

Author's Argument:

Christensen argues that movies, TV, and books manipulate children into believing that there is one dominant sex, one dominant race, and one dominant class. Also, TV, movies, and books poison kids minds and teaches them how to act and live.

Evidence:

1. The author says that in Popeye Ali Baba and the 40 thieves depicts all Arabs with same face and same features and they are all thieves swinging swords. This is a stereotype saying all thieves are Arabs.
2. The author says that in Daffy Duck there is a lack of female characters and when women do appear they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds. This is going to show kids that females are only useful for their looks.
3. The last piece of evidence that the author mentions is that people of color are either servants to the whites or absent completely. This will give kids the wrong idea and teach them that people of color are inferior to whites.

Questions/Comments/Point to Share:

This article was very interesting and it is something that I never gave much thought to. As a white male I never gave much thought to this because white males are very common in movies and usually play lead roles. Though today, people of color are more frequently seen in movies and cartoons. I just want to talk a little about how magazines and TV shows tell young girls how to look. They show these pictures of these Super Models and all the girls want to look like that. I think that it is awful to secretly make these girls feel bad that they are a bit overweight or not as pretty as these girls. The way people look and act are influenced by hidden messages that the media sends out. For example, if curly hair is in many girls will get perms because the celebrities are doing it. TV, movies, and books influences many of our lives and it seems like people will do anything to fit in.

This article reminds me of the one that Carlson wrote. Carlson wrote about how gays are left out of school texts and Christensen talks about how there is no Cinderella that is a person of color. Both of these authors makes an argument that there should be more equality for people outside the norm. Both would say that kids are easily manipulated at a young age and they must be taught and shown that there are important people besides white upper class males. People that are not part of the norm are discriminated against even to this day and it is just as bad to leave them absent as it is to just come out and stereotype them.