Gender Roles in Disney Movies

Christensen

Linda Christensen – Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us

Quotes:

1. 1."We are not only taught certain styles of violence, the latest fashions, and sex roles by TV, movies, magazines, and comic strips; we are also taught how to succeed, how to love, how to buy, how to conquer, how to forget the past and suppress the future. We are taught more than anything else, how to not rebel.”

-          I found this quote to be very strong in summarizing the majority of this article. Christiensen gives us countless examples of how the media is obviously and also subconsciously teaching us negative things from such a young age. I believe in the last sentence when she says we are taught to not rebel she is referring more to staying in social norms. Kids are taught almost right away how to look and behave in order to be seen in a good light or as the “good guy/girl”.

2.  2. "Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from the wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption - in their case, through new clothes and a new hairstyle.”

-          Sadly, this statement is all too true. When I was younger I remember doing “make-overs” with my friends all of the time. We would do everything from makeup to facial masks to improve our skin. Looking back, we probably all got the idea to do these make-overs from movies like Cinderella or Clueless type movies with montages where the “ugly” girl turns into someone beautiful and popular.  Christensen also mentions on the page before about how when women finally do appear in cartoons they’re like Jessica Rabbit (sexy, busty, and with scarcely any clothing).                                                                                                                                                

3. 3. "But more importantly, students saw themselves as actors in the world. They were fueled by the opportunity to convince some parents of the long-lasting effects cartoons impose on their children, or to enlighten their peers about the roots of some of their insecurities.”

-          Assignments like this one that Christensen had her student’s complete do a great job at engaging their minds and interests. Rather than just having them realize how children’s cartoons affect our youth not just now but in their future, she gets them socially involved. She proves this to be a successful method in keeping them interested in the topic and giving them a positive outlet to release any anger they may be feeling about it. They also helped others by putting the information out there in their community.

Questions/Comments/Points To Share:

It’s disheartening when we first realize that the childhood movies we’ve loved contain “secret education”.  The media seems to be trying to rid some stereotypes in children’s movies but I can’t help but think that the sole purpose for this is for the image. They have just recently made a movie about a black princess, could this be because of people constantly mentioning the lack of one? There was a lack of females in cartoons then came women like Jessica Rabbit. Is that the image we wanted to portray to the young girls in our children’s shows?

Dennis Carlson: Multicultural Education, and Community                                                             Christina M.

Quotes:

1.  1. “This cleansing of gayness from the literary canon is often defended as an effort to maintain the reputation or “good name” of authors by not “outing” them. Yet such concern is, of course, another way of affirming that being gay is cause for a loss of respect”.

-          What I believe Carlson means by this quote is that if we don’t acknowledge that an author is gay as respect for their reputation, than we are saying that being gay is a shameful thing. It’s also what he refers to as “structuring silence”, those who don’t speak up about gay issues are part of the problem.

2.  2. “For example, it is now estimated that up to one-third of all adolescent suicide victims are gay, approximately one-quarter of all homeless youth in the United States are gay, and dropout and drug abuse rates among gay youth are likewise high (Gibson 1989)”.

-          This was somewhat of a shocking quote to read. Today we hear too often about disturbing rates like these. What I thought to be even more tragic was that this piece seems to have been written at least ten years ago, and much hasn’t changed. As a society we should have some along much farther since then.  

3.       3. “we have a responsibility as public educators in a democratic society to engage them in dialogue in which all voices get heard or represented and in which gay students and teachers feel free to “come out” and fine their own voices.

-          This was the perfect closing to a writing piece like this. As educators and role models to children, they set an example about norms in society. Children also spend a solid six hours in school a day, five days a week, adults who surround them during these six hours have an influence in their behavior. Teachers should make an environment that encourages everyone to be comfortable with themselves, which may include being gay. By changing the outlook of these young kids, they also change the outlook of our society in the future.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

This text was interesting to read through. I agreed with just about everything the author wrote about. He made very valid points and coming from someone who is gay, his argument (or opinion) was stronger than if it had come from someone who was not gay. The only thing that bothered me a bit about this reading was that it was written at least ten years ago. Even though what Carlson wrote was still informative, I would’ve liked reading something more up to date.  What I found to be funny and disturbing at the same time was the quote he included from Willard Waller that said “nothing seems more certain than that homosexuality is contagious.” I realize that is was written in 1932 but it’s still so absurd to me.

Meier “Why Can’t She Remember That”                                                              

Quotes:

-          “At one point when the teacher asked, ‘how many mittens are there?’ Gabriela (a pseudonym), the bilingual Puerto Rican child sitting next to me, turned and asked me, in an exasperated ton, ‘why can’t she remember that?’”

I thought this was an interesting quote because not only does this little girl sound quite intelligent, but it also shows what some of her classmates are probably thinking. During my service learning I see a few students who don’t necessarily raise their hands to answer some questions I find to be obvious ones. Until this reading, I hadn’t thought about the fact that at home asking an obvious question may be an unusual thing for them. This quote also ties into the paragraph about the African man explaining how in his culture they do not state obvious answers. Keeping these culturally ideas in mind and wording things in possibly a different way is important.

-          “The children were too noisy, they were always calling out, always commenting, always jumping up to punch the monsters in the book or to act it out. They were not listening.”

I found this quote to be a bit sad. This teacher may have a disruptive class and that could be why she sounds so frustrated. However I like how involved (even in a disruptive way) the kids are with the story. She thinks they are not paying any attention but I believe it’s just how they express what they are being told. She should have kept in mind that these are very young children that may not be used to the regular silent reading time. Patience is key.

-          “One Asian American educator wrote, ‘I turn the pages, book after book, and ask where are we?”

This quote ties the story together. I personally could not relate to seeing imagines in books that didn’t look like me when I was a child. Reading from the point of view of those who did go through experiences like that, I felt a bit of sadness. Books are a part of our education that we cannot avoid and I know that for most students it’s not always enjoyable. I do feel that being able to enjoy reading as a leisure activity is important and also very beneficial.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

I enjoyed this reading a bit more than most of the others we have read so far. I found it to be an easy and beneficial read for someone like me who could not truly relate to what some of these students felt. I’ve always had books where the kids or people in them were white, like me. If I hadn’t had that I may not have the love for books that I do now, which is something I didn’t realize before reading this.

Still Separate, Still Unequal

Jonathan Kozol

Quotes:

  1. “There is something deeply hypocritical about a society that holds an eight-year-old inner city child ‘accountable’ for her performance on a high stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years earlier.”

-          - In this quote I think Kozol really brings to light the way those in charge of our educational system can so easily brush aside minority and poor children. These people don’t step outside themselves and feel what the families of these children are feeling. If it were their own children’s education at risk, the system in these schools would be very different.

2. “Do kids who go to schools like these enjoy the days they spend in them?”

-           - The way these schools are described by Kozol is in a very systematic way. It makes education seem like a math problem, in which you have to do this and this in order to get the correct solution. In reality this makes day to day school seem like a boring task children must endure. Which I believe in turn may make a much higher drop-out rate when these kids reach highschool.

3. “At Fremont High, in contrast, this requirement was far more often met by courses that were basically vocational and also obviously keyed to low-paying levels of employment.”  (p.18)

-           - Following this statement was a conversation between a few students and Kozol. I found this conversation along with this quote to be the most powerful piece of this article. Intellgent students from these low income areas are seen as not that important. Those in charge of our educational system believe that there will have to be low paying jobs in the future and who’s going to do them? The wealthy, powerful people whose voices are heard do not want their children working in these factories and diners so these vocational courses are provided in inner cities rather than wealthy neighborhoods. It’s an obvious thing that happens but that we all seem to just not openly talk about.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share: 

    Although it was upsetting and disturbing to read this article, I did enjoy how open and honest Kozol was. The letters written by the eight-year-old students brought an emotional side to the reading. This article very much related to “The Silenced Dialogue” by Delpit. They both talk about the poor minority population getting the shaft when it comes to education. These children and their parents are not being heard. Instead, they are given excuses or what I think sound like cover-ups. They are making it seems as if they’re trying to put effort into these students educational, when in reality they are not.

Delpit - The Silenced Dialogue

Lisa Delpit – The Silenced Dialogue                                                                                 Christina M.

Quotes:

1.       1. “There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a culture of power.” (pg.4)

-Delpit was listing the five aspects of power and this quote was number two.  What I believe she means is that statement is that to be a successful person in this society, you have to follow these unspoken “codes”. These codes are really just a way that we carry ourselves, speak, and interact with others.  She later went on to give an example about a student who spoke “black English” and that although this is something that is good culturally, in a professional setting it wouldn’t help him. Delpit suggests that students should continue to speak the way they normally do but also learn the standard English. This way they can use this formal English to become successful in our society, like playing a role.

2.  “To put our beliefs on hold is to cease to exist as ourselves for a moment-and that is not easy.”  (p.18)

- This quote was taken from the very end of the article. It’s a very powerful and true statement in which she means that in order to see what is best for the poor and black children, the silenced, we must step out of ourselves. We have to put ourselves in their position and also really listen to their needs in order to help them get ahead. This process can be a hard and uncomfortable task but is necessary to really help these students.

3. “I am also suggesting that appropriate education for poor children and children of color can only be devised in consultation with adults who share their culture.”

-  What Delpit means by this statement is that to help the children who are poor or of color, there should be at least one person involved in the discussion who can relate. Having an adult who shares the same culture will greatly benefit these students because this person should really know which way or method would be best. At the beginning of this article she states how she has felt silenced by many of her peers during discussions or meetings.  This is exactly what we must avoid because we need the input of adults who may have been where the who need extra help are.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

Of the articles we have read so far, this one was one of the more interesting ones. I agree with Delprit that we have to step outside ourselves to an uncomfortable spot and try to understand where these students are coming from. I liked the five “aspects of power” because they were things that we subconsciously all know about but don’t openly speak about.  The Silenced Dialogue gives insight on a point of view that many of us wouldn’t have experienced. This article related quite a bit with “Our House is on Fire” by Allan Johnson. They both speak about race and education.