"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us by: Linda Christensen

ARGUMENT:
Linda Christensen argues many points that all happen to be in a very similar context, including "Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream." When she says 'their minds' she is talking about students. She also argues that "children's books and movies, instructs young people to accept the world as it is portrayed in these social blueprints."

Linda had her students analyze children's movies and cartoons, trying to see the inequality that is present. They would then write their findings down on a chart that would later be used to form essays and even newspaper articles. These students were hesitant in the beginning because they didn't want to accept that these shows that they believed to be harmless, were actually affecting them in a negative way. This task made them all extremely upset in the end - two girls won't even let their children view cartoons on television. One boy turned off the television on his two young nephews because they were watching "Looney Tunes" and took them to the park. Another student was buying Christmas presents for young children and actually asked for a non-racist, non-sexist toy.

This article definitely gives me a different perspective on Disney movies and cartoons on television. Watching these shows as a child, I would have never noticed the racism or sexism that was manipulating minds. But, this article makes you take a second look at what is actually on television. This class had to grade shows on TV with a scale of A-F
DUCK TALES: C-
-This show gives off the impression that everything revolves around money
TEENAGE MUTANT NUNJA TURTLES: D
-Sending message that violence is the answer
POPEYE: F
-sexist/racist/political

Mary Carter Smith wrote a story based off of Cinderella, called "Cindy Ellie, A Modern Fairy Tale". This incorporates a black main character with "good humor and playful language". This story still has the same plot as the original Cinderella, the plan is to win prince charming. This may sound naive but I always saw Cinderella as giving a positive message towards children because it was loving, and I never really put it into perspective on other ways it could be seen. Cinderella - as well as "Cindy Ellie" - incorporates "two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption". This put ideas into children's - especially young girl's - minds that if you change the way that you look you can get the man of your dreams, which isn't true.

This is an issue that we will never escape. "Turning off the cartoons doesn't stop the sexism and racism."




Sexism and Masculinity in Disney Movies: by Sanjay Newton
Great video that explains many of the observations that were talked about throughout this article and that Linda Christensen and her class rebelled against.