Choice #4: A gritty picture of Adolescence

Movie: Thirteen (2003)

This film is one of the most provacative and hardest movies I have ever watched. The first time I saw this film I was 18, and a freshman in college. At some parts I couldn't even bear to watch. Tracy is a thirteen year old who is smart, but kind of awkward and naive. She wants to fit in with the "cool" crowd at school, especially the most popular girl, Evie. Evie and Tracy eventually become friends and Evie takes Tracy down a path of rebellion. Tracy is ultimately transforming her identity to that of her friends, and in this movie it shows the power of peer-pressure, and what a teenager will go through to fit in.

Evie and Tracy's "adventures" include experimenting with sex, stealing from stores, and basically experimenting on each other. They do drugs and swear, and think that they are invisible. They treat their parent's like crap and talk to them like they are the ones in the heirarchal position. It is hard to portray the rebellious behavior that these girls exhibited in writing, so definitely take a look at the trailer to get a better idea (if you haven't seen the movie).

The film for me was hard to watch. My teenage years were not like these girls', but I knew of kids that rebelled and wanted to grow up fast. It is a hard movie to critique strongly because I believe it is a good portrayal of a thirteen year old girl, lost in her own head, that latches onto the first thing that makes her feel alive and "cool." It is amazing movie and the camera angles and the music make it so much better. I think that everybody should watch it. I don't think that a teenager watching it would want to do anything that the characters in the movie are doing because they don't portray it as being particularly happy. Although the girls have fun together, the repercussions of their behavior does not make it seem worth it.

The movie also emphasizes the dominant discourse that teens living in poverty, or in the lower middle class are more apt to rebel. Tracy and Evie are both from broken homes, and lack money. Hence the reason they steal.

Hine says, "the 'teenage mind' reacts to crises while using a part of the brain associated with impulsive action, while adults make greater use of the areas associated with rationality and experience." This statement can be directly linked to Tracy, who had a hard time trying to fit in, and was described as naive. She acted on impulse and hung out with Evie, thinking that everything she did was "normal," especially for a thirteen year old girl. In turn, she talked back to her single mother and acted as though what she was doing wasn't bad.

The movie represented the first year of "teenage-hood" from one perspective. There are many other takes it could have gone with, but it represented 7th/8th grade from one stand point. It is hard to connect it to the texts, because the texts we have read cover some forms of rebellion and growing up, but none that were displayed in the film. It is hard to find texts that suit the movie.

Choice #3: Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Whatever.

Movie: Clueless (1995)

I'm sure everyone has seen this movie. It was a staple in the 1990's and I know that I lived for it. I can remember it first coming out, and the T.V. series on abc; me and my friends used to watch it every friday on TGIF, and the movie at least once a month. We lived for it. The movies antagonist, Cher, is a highschool student who is used to getting everything her way. She is a spoiled, get-anything-she-wants, daddy's girl who ends up falling in love with her step brother. Aaaa young love. Her friends are just like her, and the life-style they lead is extremely materialistic and superficial. The movie chronicles typical high school drama; drinking parties, boys, sex, getting your liscence, school, and just keeping up your self-image. Although the issues presented are typical teenage obstacles, the movie takes place in rich, suburban Beverly Hills, adding a level of monetary achievement that most of its viewers could not and would not achieve.

I watched this film because it had such a great influence on my childhood and is a perfect example of unattainable positions in life. It shows that the greatest factors in making a "perfect" life are money, being spoiled, and getting everything you want. Even when Cher doesn't do well in school, her and her best friend Dion make it a point to set up two of their teachers to make them happy and in turn, give the class good grades. This is something that would never happen in real life, but it shows kids and teenagers that if you want, it is easy to get by. That you don't really have to work for a good grade, or work hard at all. Another aspect that the movie throws in is ditziness. It is showing that the dominant discourse of girls being blonde and pretty, are ditzy. In the end Cher realizes that clothes and money aren't what is really important, squishing the dominant discourse.

A line that is classic is, "sometimes you have to show a little skin. This reminds boys of being naked, and then they think of sex." Cher says this, and it is ultimately saying that sex is all that is on boys minds (true statement), but if you want them to want you, you have to show skin to get them. You don't have to be smart or funny or have a good personality, all that really matters is your body. This definitely can put a girls self-esteem on the front burner and make them worry too much about their body and in turn lead to eating disorders.

One text that this movie is definitely related to is Greenfield's Fast Forward. You can almost instantly relate the two. Greenfield says,

"Los Angeles is a unique city to grow up in: as the center of the entertainment industry, it generates much of the popular culture so integral to teenage life around the world. Like young people everywhere, L.A.'s teens are greatly influenced by the television and films they watch, the magazines they read, and the music they listen to. If anything, Hollywood's proximity amplifies its import and influence. At the same time, the experience of L.A. teens has inspired many popular media products, such as the television series Beverly Hílls 90210, the movies Clueless and South Central and countless music videos. Through their influence on mainstream media, L.A. teens help create the trends and attitudes that reverberate among international youth. The relationship between Hollywood and the teens growing up in its shadow epitomizes the modern dialectic between kids and media, reality and fantasy."

In that one paragraph from the preface to her book, she sums up the point that LA's teens are the center of their own separate dominant discourse.

Hine says that, "recent studies show that young people who view themselves as more physically developed than their peers are more likely than others to be sexually active, to drink, and to engage in risky behavior." In clueless the teens wanted to grow up so fast. They were like miniature adults. Mini forms of their parents, because that is what they grew up around, that is what they saw. A lot of the drama that went on in the movie had to do with sex, and who was more developed than who. Who had a nose job recently.

The movie clueless is not the only media source showing teens wanting to be older than they are. In most shows today, you see teenagers wanting to grow up fast, and that is true in everyday life as well.

Choice #2: The Power of one Voice

Youth, Media and Pop Culture event with guest speaker, Jeff Johnson

March 6, 2008

Student Union Ballroom

Waiting for Jeff Johnson to emerge from hiding in the student union ballroom, the tension in the room was thick. Students were so excited for him to come out and speak, and I felt perplexed. I had never heard of Jeff Johnson, nor watched BET before, but the people around me were smitten with the idea that they were going to lay eyes on a celebrity whom they regarded in the highest. Maybe it was the fact that he was twenty minutes or so late coming out onto the stage, but when he emerged I felt anxious. Here he was, this tall, handsome, African American and I do have to say that I was smitten as well. It wasn't the fact that he was good-looking-thats besides the point-but his voice carried with it emotion that I hadn't heard before. He is passionate. The power that his voice has is overwhelming and will stop anyone in their tracks and make them listen. He had come to talk about the struggle the black community has with being active. With any community really, but specifically how people will say they are active for this cause, but won't really do anything.

It was a vital time for Johnson to come speak to the RIC community because it was pertaining to black history month. He seemed hurt that the issues surrounding African American's are only talked about during this one month. Why can't the issues be talked about always? He thinks that other cultures take on this month, and celebrate it throughout the nation because they have to. Because thats what Martin Luther King Jr. would want. But thats not true, the issues should be dealt with and fixed always. Not just surfaced during one month of the year. Johnson points out that King's speech, "I have a dream," is played all over the country during black history month and that this speech resonates in everyone today. But how can a speech given during the 1960's relate to issues that are going on in 2008? He wants people to find their own voice. He wants people to understand that King was not popular during his time, but presently is the most used African American household name.

Johnson spoke a lot about the African American community and how he wants youth to have a voice. He is active in trying to get youth to vote, and he travels the country giving speeches on the importance of this. I feel as though listening to him talk, I wanted him to come to our class to speak. A lot of the issues he was talking about had to do with teenagers and youth. Finding your voice. Not being influenced by phony media types. He spoke a lot about hip hop (because he had a show on BET pertaining to this), and you can relate that to Tricia Rose. She says that, "the dynamic and often contentious relationship between the two-larger social and political forces and black cultural priorities-that centraly shape and define hip hop." I believe that Johnson would agree with this statement and say that in hip hop, it lends a hand for people to speak out in a way that they can be heard. It is a way for them to get their message across.

Another text that can relate to Johnson is Fergusons, Bad Boys. Ferguson says, "school labeling practices and the exercise of rules operated as part of a hidden curriculum to marginalize and isolate black male youth in disciplinary spaces and brand them as criminally inclined." Johnson would relate this to the Jena 6. He spoke about how he went to a rally in Lousiana to free the Jena 6 and he didn't get into detail about what the boys had done, or if they were guilty of it. But he did say that they were unjustly dealt with because they were African American. He also put a spin on it and said that these boys liked their celebrity status because of the rallies that were going on. The movement for the Jena 6 lost its real cause because of the hype and attention.

Johnson was an incredible speaker, and insanely motivating. His voice is amazing and the power behind it fuels his energy. Check out this youtube clip of him speaking, and catch a glimpse of the power one voice has:

Hip hop and Christianity

Bloggin on Listenup! from class today 4/28

Earlier today, before class, I was viewing the website for class today and felt soooo lost. I had no idea what we were supposed to look for, how to find the videos made by youth, and so on. I feel really thankful that in class today we had the opportunity to view the website again and have some time to play around with it. I have to say that I do understand it 100% better than I did before. This site is a place for youth to come and put videos up pertaining to whatever is important to us. It can be funny, it can be serious, it can be both. The website gives youth a voice on the issues that they want heard, that they have opinions on. A lot of the videos that I found have a lot to do with ethnicity and race. Slip of tounge is an amazing video that TJ was actually talking about, and I think that everyone should watch it. (Im trying to find it again to post a link but i cant). I have to say that I was really interested when I saw one pop up about the military. This video, titled, All that I can be, follows William as he is about to embark on the military and why he has chosen this path in life at 23 years old. Definitely check it out.

The website's look and the aesthetics (sp?) of it is very professional. The site was made and founded by adults who wanted to give youth a place of their own to talk about issues without feeling embarrassed. The site is sponsored by five different places, including: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Metlife, The Annenberg Foundation, Open Society Foundation and the SURDNA foundation.

I was fooling around trying to find other sites that give youth a place of their own to talk freely, and I did come across the Media Youth Television on Youtube. I found this video, Dress Codes that is amazing. It explores and asks questions about why kids dress the way that they do. It also goes into the stereotypes that go along with how a person dresses. For example, if some kid is wearing a g-unit sweatshirt 10 times too big and jeans hanging down is butt, is he a thug? Does he hold the values that makes someone a thug?? Or is he a straight A student who just likes to dress in what is comfortable to him? A lot of stereotyping and negative stigma goes along with how a person dresses and I like how youth attacked that issue in this video.

Another site that I found while searching the web is called the Young Peoples Media Network (YPMN). The "blog is for the YPMN and features news and views concerning youth media in Europe and Central Asia and elsewhere." The specific one that I came across is about how people are being educated about HIV and AIDS in poor areas.

I actually had a good time looking at this website in class today and am glad we had the opportunity to, I feel like I understand the purpose of the site a lot better than I did this morning. I have never heard of it before, but it looks like a lot of youth have and definitely take advantage of the space which is a very good thing. I wonder how it is promoted and if many more youth know about it.

Final Project Ideas

Im having trouble coming up with ideas for the final project...If anyone has ideas already could you let me know...I liked the idea about the mixed tapes...I left my list of ideas in class last week. Help!

thoughts on my child psych class the other day

The other day in my child psych class we were talking about gender stereotypes and how preschoolers percieve and see different things. I was really excited about this topic because of the women studies classes I have taken, and was really looking forward to how preschoolers percieve things. My teacher read off a few common words used to describe people and my classmates and I were to yell out whether we thought that word went with masculine or feminine. We then had to say whether that word came with negative or positive connotations. This is what we came up with:

Masculine Feminine
Ambitious (+) Considerate (+)
Doesn't give up easily (+) Tactful (+)
Aggressive (+) Kind (+)
Independent (+) Emotional (-)
Feels superior (-) Warm in relations with others (+)
Competitive (+) Passive (-)

This is the list that my class came up with. I was sitting there thinking that tactful is not a positive quality. And also that the masculine qualities all are things that are praised, and the feminine qualities are ones that are always looked down upon and seen as weak. I just wanted to share my class with you guys cause its funny how different topics relate to each other in different classes. Let me know what you think.

Kid Nation-talking points for 4/7

Before reading for this weeks class on Kid Nation, I had only heard of it once, but couldn't remember what it was about. I had never seen any episodes on TV, but after reading the articles posted on Dr. Bogads blog, I am intrigued to watch this show. The articles posted all had different voices to them I feel. Some were negative, and some were positive. I dont really know how to form an opinion based off of these articles and can't wait for class tomorrow to watch an episode.

There was one specific quote in Megan Daum's article that I loved. It was in reference to the parents of the children who went on the show.

"A few decades ago, these same folks might have been pushing their kids to win a science fair. But now that the culture of celebrity worship spans several generations, and because it's a biological imperative for parents to want for their children what they couldn't attain themselves, it makes perfect sense that some may want to see their kids on reality shows more than want them becoming doctors."

Holy, talk about a burn. I loved the realness of this quote. It was just like, wow, take a frying pan and smack these parents/this culture in the face. I loved it. I can't even describe to you how much this quote made me laugh. Its so true. Maybe not for us, but I definitely see it in younger kids and their parents. I know that my parents are not like this at all, and yours probably are not either, but parents of young children that I have come across are like this. At least the ones on TV.

Theres a new show on VH1, im not sure what it is called. But Danny whateverhislastname from the Patridge Family is on it and children and their mothers (specifically) go on this show and all live together in a house, and the children compete to see who is the best child actor/actress. It is absurd, and the quote mentioned above just reminds me of it. I'm going to find a link for it right now. Ah! It's called, I Know My Kids a Star, and its on vh1. Everyone has to watch it, it is absurd. There is not another word for it.

Anyway, back to Kid Nation. I like the whole concept of the children starting their own town; I think that children have a lot to offer, but it goes unnoticed because of cultural and societal stigmas. Children sit inside, eating twinkies and watching mtv. That is a huge stereotype as well, but with articles and everything that comes out about children these days, it is hard to say their brains are being exercised and developed the way they should. Kid Nation sounds like an interesting show, but also comes with a lot of negativity, as does a lot of everything.

Teenagers in the News for 3/31

"The Unexplained bullying of Billy Wolfe never seems to End"
By Dan Barry
Providence Journal, Monday, March 24, 2008

Reading this article was ridiculous. I dont think there is any other word to describe it. This poor boy, a sophomore in high school, is ridiculed and beat up almost everyday of his life, and the school system does nothing to stop it. His parents have recently pressed charges against some boys who have beat him up constantly, not for money, but to make a stand against bullying. To me, this article opened my eyes. I mean, you hear of bullying here and there, people calling each other names and what not, but I have never witnessed or heard of anyone getting so viciously ostracized. Obviously this article raises the question of bullying and what to do when it hits close to home, but to be honest, the bullying and torment that Billy faces everyday should still not be happening. It breaks my heart and im sure a lot of other hearts that this teen is the target of anothers insecuritys when he has done nothing wrong. I cant wait to talk more about this in class.

"Nantucket struggles to help students after 3 suicides"
By Benedict Carey
The New York Times, Sunday, March 23, 2008

This article is devasting. The small island of Nantucket, off of the coast of Mass, where Im sure a lot of people have been to vacation, is experiencing great loss. Three teenagers that live year round on the island have recently committed suicide, leaving the community devasted. The first occurred in Feb. of 07, and the teen was 15; the second occurred in October of 07, and the teen was 17 and an A student, and an athlete; and the third occurred in January of 08, and the teen was 16. These three deaths are not linked to each other, the three teens were not friends. The island is going through some devatsing times, and the school has shipped in counslers from the mainland of Massachusetts to come to the school to talk to the students. Most of them are inconsolable, and a loss of this magnitude is something that they dont understand. Reading this article hit me hard because dealing with losing someone from a suicide is one of the hardest things anyone has to go through.

"A curb on Street Violence"
By W. Zachary Malinowski
The Providence Journal, Tuesday, March 25, 2008

This article is about the Institude for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, which is based out of Providence, but has impacted communitys as far as California. Sal Monteiro Jr. is a mediator at the institute that walks around the streets trying to persuade teens not to enter the life of gangs and violence. He was recently at Mount Pleasant High School talking to teenagers about the negative affects it has on a persons life. The institute has grown in numbers since it first opened, and it also has the support from Representatives Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin. I do not know a lot about gangs in Providence, or really anywhere, and hope to talk more about this in class today.

FastForward for 3/17

Preface for Fast Forward
By Lauren Greenfield


In Greenfields preface, she talks about how her project of taking pictures in LA came about. She had grown up in LA and as a photographer taken pictures of many other cultures, and wanted to return home to explore the culture she once lived in. She focused on the youth of LA and how they are strongly influenced by the media. The teenagers that she photographed often helped her; telling her what the photograph and offering insight on why things were the way they were. Her four year journey through the youth of LA taught her a lot about the subculture of teenage-hood, and the loss of innocence.
I can only imagine what it would be like to grow up in Los Angeles. As a teenager you want to grow up fast, but in LA you are immersed in the center of the entertainment industry, and "it generates much of the popular culture so integral to teenage life around the world." Children in LA are at the nucleus of the media that so influences teenagers lifes. Growing up in LA only speeds up the process that children want to go through. Life. I enjoyed reading this piece a lot because I understand what she is saying. Children do want to grow up so fast and the media plays a huge role in this. I like how she could go to a place where she had grown up and document the generation going through it now. Im sure she saw so many different things because as the years go on, children want to grow up even faster than before.
I could relate a lot of what she was saying to the Hine article. Just the fact that the media plays a huge role in children growing up. Although she didnt say anything about being digital natives or immigrants, the underlying thought about how the media influences children and society was present. Children want to grow up at a seemingly alarming rate, and Greenfield said that they are not connected to their parents at all. This is so true, because our generation has grown up so different from our parents generation. We have grown up on internet and instant gratification. Our parents, grandparents, etc, didnt have that. I could relate that fact to the Hine article.
Before I read this article I too wanted to take pictures of my high school presently. Although I moved out of state for 2 years and am back, it has changed so much. My town has basically done a 180, and living there now is incredibly different.

Bad Boys-Public Schools in the making of Black Masculinity for 3/3

Article by Ann Arnett Ferguson

Ann Arnett Ferguson makes you want to go into schools and help children out. Reading her piece about bad boys at Rosa Parks Elementary school, I saw a piece of the passion that she has for her work. The boys at this school virtually dont have a chance. They are born not even being given a chance; because of their race and where they were born. The school that these young boys go to shapes the opinion that people percieve about them. I thought that this statement was extremely powerful, and goes along with themes about institutions we learn about in class; "...by school, through punishment...the power of institutions to create, shape, and regulate social identities." The school that these boys went to punished them without teaching them why the things they were doing were wrong. And the majority of these boys were African American. This fact alone taught those boys that based on the color of their skin, they would be discriminated against. Of course this is going to instill hatred in their hearts and make them want to rebel.
The area that these boys grew up was not very safe. It was sort of the foundation of a troubled life. It showed them that this is what is out there, and this is where you are, so this is what is right. The school was in the heart of a major drug-trafficking area in the city. "The area accounted for ten of the city's fourteen murders; one-half of the reported rapes; about a third of the robberies, and almost half of the aggravated assaults in the city." These facts were from 1991. Ferguson went to the school trying to help these boys out and show them that they could be alright, and their lives could be put on the right track. She also had meetings with the people that worked at the school and tried to help them.

thoughts on the "hip hop" class today

Hey guys...I left class today after seeing that movie like really angry inside for some reason. I think its just taking this class and the lower level women's studies class that has opened my eyes so much. I hated how the men were treating the woman in that movie. Honestly, I dont know how it was possible, how they were raised thinking thats okay to do. I just felt a lot of anger towards the hip hop nation; what it has instilled in mainstream america. I feel like my respect for it went down just because of the issues that were spoken about in the film. I also feel sort of angry towards my friends, specifically my female friends for some reason, that listen to it. Its so degrading, especially the music videos. I feel like when I hear it on the radio Im going to switch the station right away now.

CHOICE #1 for 2/25...Hidden Messages inside A Carefree Film

The film Juno is about a sixteen year old junior in high school who gets pregnant from having sex with her best friend once. She is faced with having the choice of abortion or adoption. At first she thinks that she wants to abort the baby, but once she encounters a peer from high school in front of the abortion clinic, "WomenNow," she is unable to go through with it. Su-Chin, her peer, informs her that her baby has fingernails, and this meer fact freaks Juno out. Juno is a free spirit who is an outcast at school. Her best friend, Paulie Bleeker is also an individual who is on the running team. They have a weird friendship because they like each other, but are not in a relationship. Once Juno decides to give the baby up for a closed adoption, Paulie is rarely seen in the movie and has nothing to do with the pregnancy. Her stepmother, Bren, and father, Mac, along with her best friend, Leah, all support Juno through her pregnancy. She finds her adoptive family in the Pennysavers, a young, wealthy couple who look perfect on the outside. Towards the end of the movie she realizes that Paulie is the one for her, that Vanessa (the adoptive mother) is a good person, and that she is stronger than she thought.
If you read my analysis you can pick out many different things in it that are wrong. For one, the abortion clinic is portrayed as a gross, rundown building that gives out flavored condoms. There are usually a ton of protesters standing outside of an abortion clinic yelling words extremely worse than what Su-Chin did. The fact that Paulie Bleeker is let "off the hook" of being involved in the pregnancy, and his parents do not even know that he got her pregnant, shows boys that it is ok for them. That it is all the girls fault and their responsibility. It looked easy for Paulie because Juno told him that he didnt have to be involved (even though he wanted to, and the viewer felt bad for him), but to young boys it looks like it would be this easy. The way the movie was portrayed it was sort of unrealistic, but I understand why it was like this. It is hard to fit in nine months of a situation into two hours.
Juno sort of goes on with her everyday life. She is often looked at and ridiculed at school, but as the viewer you feel as though this is normal for her, whether she is pregnant or not. It is a fairly simple pregnancy, and there was only one instance where she was looked down apon for being a pregnant teenager and that was when she was getting her ultrasound.
The couple that is going to adopt the baby is very wealthy. I think that this distinction between class says a lot as well. Set aside the fact that Juno is only sixteen; giving her baby to a wealthy family is saying that the upper-class is more well equipped to take care of a child. Juno and Mark, the adoptive husband, share a love for the same music and horror films. Towards the end of the movie he becomes "sketchy" and says that he is going to leave Vanessa. Juno realizes that perfect looking families on the outside may not be so perfect on the inside.
I was looking on Imdb.com at the Juno site, and came across the main actress, Ellen Page's information. She, "Considers herself to be a Feminist and tries to steer clear of the 'stereotypical roles for teenage girls' because she finds them to be 'sexist'." I think that her character, Juno, was definitely not a stereotypical role, like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, but the movie carried with it hidden stereotypical messages in it.
To read up more on the movie, click on this link...Juno 2007

"A Style Nobody can Deal with: Politics, Style and the Postindustrial City in Hip Hop" for 2/25

Tricia Rose paints a wonderful picture for us in this excerpt from Black Noise. Although the piece is from 1994 and a little outdated, I think it gives a good background to a topic I don't know anything about. It was interesting to read this, but I have to say that it was wordy. I found myself daydreaming a lot because of the repetiveness of it, and the monstrous sentences. I understand a lot of what she was saying-the strife that a culture had to go through, and the idioms and idealogies that are attached to it. She says that hip hop is "the tension between the cultural fractures produced by postindustrial oppression and the binding ties of Black cultural expressivity that sets the critical frame for the development of hip hop." Hip hop developed more at the time of civil rights. People were striving to be independent and free and found voice and freedom through expression. Rose speaks specifically about New York City, but towards the end of the piece explains how hip hop has been influential and has expanded to other cities in the United States.
Hip hop has three central forms which are graffiti, break dancing and rap music. I knew of these things as separate entities, never considering them to fall under the same category, or be related to each other. The 1970's brought a lot of poverty on the city of New York. Because of the black out, stores were being looted and the people of Harlem and the South Bronx were being blamed. Rose also blames the growing technology on why people are out of work. When I read this part of the article it reminded me of the Prensky piece. Digital technology is growing immensely and people are out of work because computer's can now perform the jobs that hands used to perform.
To be honest I had a hard time reading this piece. I felt lost. I dont understand a lot of what she said. If anyone could help me out, that would be great. I think she was just saying that hip hop has changed and transformed a culture so greatly that it still has strong influences today? The hip hop culture has influences over style as well. I cant wait to talk about it further in class.

"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" for 2/18

In Marc Prensky's article, "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," he gives new language and meaning to the growing differences between the old country and the new country. Children have changed radically, a growing normality throughout schools and houses. Society has changed so much that our parents did not grow up in the same way that we have. It is hard for them to understand us, and it is hard for us to understand them. The other day my mom wanted me to help her put pictures on the computer so she could send them to her parents. I told her how to do it slowly over the phone because I wanted her to be able to do it herself. Needless to say, she did something wrong and some how the pictures were erased. I was so frustrated with her because she didn't do it right, but my frustration shouldn't be because she didn't grow up with the skills to know how to do something like that. It is a very different world today than it was back then, and both the parents and the children compromise to see that. It is when you get to your grandparents that you have a problem.
Prensky talks about the change that has taken place as being a "singularity," defining this has being "an event which changes things so fundamentally that there is absolutely no going back." He says that the singularity that has taken place in society today is the arrival of digital technology. There is no doubt that the ever changing and advancement of technology has caused generation gaps to become even bigger. I have to admit that I can't even keep up with the new and growing technology. You cannot teach children the same way that you taught children back then. Childrens brains are different because of what they have been exposed to; learning patterns have changed, as did teaching styles and curriculum. Our generation is known as the "Digital Natives." "The 'native speakers' of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet." People who are older and did not grow up being exposed to the growing technologies are known as "Digital Immigrants." When Prensky puts it into meaning like that, you can't help but agree with him. People talk about the gap between technologically advanced children and their parents who don't even know how to turn on their cell phones, but never in such terms. Our generation thrives off of knowing this quickly. We want instant gratification. Cell phones are not used for making calls anymore. Text messages have taken the place of something that gave us information quick, even more quickly.
Obviously the times have changed. Schools have changed dramatically. Computers fill classrooms and learning is accomadating to everyone. Digital Immigrants have to learn how to teach in different styles. Children learn extremely differently, and Digital Immigrants have to accomodate to the changing times. Everything that Prensky was saying makes sense to me. It is cut and dry. You see these things, but Prensky is putting it into terms that you can understand.

When I was 13...

When I was thirteen I was in the eighth grade. I was wearing a full mouth of braces, about to get spectacles and was the class clown. Braces were the fad back then and everyone wanted them. haha. I got along great with my teachers and the kids. I liked being the funny one, and that definitely followed me through high school. I could be shy at the same time. I played sports all the time. Thats basically all I did. I was one of the boys. Growing up the only girl in my neighborhood I knew how to hold my own. I would play street hockey, and was kind of tough. If someone was messing with me, I messed with them right back. That has definitely changed now. I am not a fighter. I had a great group of friends and we formed our own clique called "the tent peeps." We called ourselves this because we slept in a tent one night. haha. I look back at thirteen and wonder how anyone could have dealt with us. I was happy to get out of my first year of teen hood and move onto high school. Middle school wasn't the best time. Me and my best friend were often ridiculed as being lesbians together, which we are not, but when you are that young you don't understand why people would say something like that and you don't know how to diffuse what you feel inside about it. I have definitely learned and grown up a lot since then (you would hope haha), but the person I was back then still resonates inside of me.

"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" for 2/ 11

I enjoyed reading Linda Christensen's piece this week. Her opening paragraph really grabbed my attention and instantly I was entranced. "I was nourished on the milk of American culture." How can you not laugh out loud at that? I agree with what she was saying, and how she conducted her Contemporary Literature class. She brings up the point that society teaches children from an early age "how to be," what is deemed exceptable. Christensen speaks of society as a "secret education," the everyday things that kids see that have an effect on their frame of mind. Children are exposed to movies and books that show the "domination of one sex, one race, one class, or one country over a weaker counterpart." If you think about it, and from her examples this is absolutely true. Children grow up watching movies designed especially for them, but within these videos are hidden messages of sexism, racism, etc. At an early age we see these things from a certain point of view, and certain stereotypes are instilled in us. We are also taught certain things by watching the TV. For example, murder shows, and things of a violent nature show kids that it may be 'cool' or 'okay' to do that. I was watching TV the other day with my grandparents and my grandfather was watching a show on murder, like a CSI or something like that, and my grandmother commented that children will see this and get ideas from it. And it is so true, children who see something like that who's brains aren't developed will build off of that and think its okay because he/she saw it on the TV.
I absolutely hate how women are portrayed in movies, TV, etc. Christensen touches on this in her article and it definitely hits the spot in me that is frustrated with women's portrayal in the media. My women's studies class last semester spoke a lot about this. In every movie, TV show, anything, the main female character is skinny with blonde hair and undoubtably sexy. She's selling sex. Attractiveness sells. And this is true in children's media as well. Christensen says, "When women do appear, they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds-even in many of the new and "improved" children's movies." When children see this they unconsciously think that this is how they are supposed to look. Last semester in my women's studies class I learned that in the 1970's a new "sleepover Barbie" was released. It is appalling what came with this staple of American culture. A scale came that was set to 105 pounds, and a booklet about how to lose weight. It said, "don't eat." Honestly, I have no words because it is ridiculous.
There are a lot of things that could be said in regards to this article. I think that Christensen did a great job of articulating the 'problems' of American society. Her class probably walked away with a greater understanding of issues and ideals that lie within our large culture because of the project they were asked to do. I would love to read more of her pieces.

Sample humilation in class

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