I grew up on Disney and the Disney Channel- I loved it. Every show- every movie, I was captivated and always had it on in my room. I feel like I subconsciously adopted the belief of a fairy tale and that beauty standards were the most important things for women. Adding the fact that I grew up with Latino and more "traditional" ideals the movies I watched only reinforced that. My parents bought me a low of dolls ranging from Barbie to the Disney Princesses, and I never really thought much about the fact that they were always portrayed as white women. I never thought twice about it until Disney introduced Tiana and I realized that outside of Mulan or Pocahontas there wasn't a princess that looked like me. Christiansen's "
Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us" challenges and critiques the cartoons and movies that have shaped the upbringing and beliefs of the generations that consumed them. Throughout every early cartoon you can see racism, sexism, really all the isms- and the lack of diversity when it comes to main characters. The author writes that her student Omar wrote, “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 took what was taught and ran with it, pictured myself as a princess in search for a prince; not a profession, not a career but making myself desirable for boys. Gross. Like her students, it was uncomfortable seeing how many of my beliefs were shaped by what the media I consumed taught. To this day I carry a lot of these beliefs and subconsciously pass them along to my daughter- who is even named after a Disney Princess.
I did however begin to challenge the traditional beauty standard when I watched Disney original movies and shows because they portrayed what I saw as "real life." In Disney's Thats So Raven there was an episode where Raven was going to model in a fashion show and was cut because she didn't "look the part." Another example was on the Suite Life of Zack and Cody when London and Maddie where so obsessed with their appearance that they were either trying to loose weight or gain weight in order to be more appealing. I remember being so shocked
Vi, I love that you pulled from past shows and movies in this post. That That's So Raven episode is still so ingrained in my memory the way they treated her just because she was “bigger” really highlighted how society views women who don’t fit the “norm.” I really appreciate how you ended your post; it’s so true we can’t let history repeat itself with our kids or the next generation. But at the same time, how do we give our kids that fairytale view of life if we’re constantly having to filter out the films and stories because of outdated gender roles and norms? It’s such a tough balance.
ReplyDeleteV, I really love that you included this specific quote: “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.” This is a powerful quote and a strong caution for teachers as we have such an important job in selecting materials to support lessons and classroom goals.
ReplyDeleteVi,
ReplyDeleteThat quote you used at the end was one that really stood out to me as well. So much of what we learn and value is generational. This is obvious when it comes to parenting, but it also applies to teaching. It is so important for me to think critically about what I absorb from media. It's important for myself, but it's even more important so that I am not passing on false stereotypes or bad values to my students.