Learning the Myths That Bind Us Reflection

Recently, I have been taken the time to analyze many different forms of media within my Gender and Society class and it has really taught me a lot about the lack of diversity or positivity found in the day-to-day. But, this learning didn't just start at the college level, I had the amazing experience of having teachers in high school that tried their best to get me to start analyzing the media. This article reminded me all about those days in high school and the beginning of college. Christensen discusses her student, Justine, that journals about ignorance being bliss. And, I have to say, when I first started looking into these analysis, I was Justine. Looking into ads and different forms of media upset me and made me feel like I was looking way too into everything. It felt like I was looking for excuses to be angry or over analyzing. But, I realized that I'm not looking to be angry or anything like that, it's that it's time for society to start taking responsibility for the media they portray to young children. Cartoons, especially older ones, are filled with violence, sexism, and racism. And I also believe that understanding that these problems exist and to put them out in the open is important for so many people. Finding out the world is not perfect is hard and very difficult to understand. But, I think that through Christensen's methods of charting out the "-ism's" within cartoons helps students understand the problems within the cartoons. It creates the chart system that the American school system is used to and turns a lesson into not only critical thinking but also social justice themes. Unfortunately, even new cartoons are subject to racism and sexism. This article from the Huffington Post shows just a few of the examples of the "-ism's" within the old and new cartoons. I also found this video on YouTube with many different examples of the blatant racism, sexism, and aggression portrayed in cartoons. 

These cartoons are shows that I grew up loving and remained ignorant to for so many years. But, again, it's important to learn from what society has shown you. Without learning, there's no chance for change outside of the classroom. Learning about these kinds of things does not stop at the classroom door. It goes so much farther, just like every other lesson we learn in the classroom. And without learning these ideas, we can't grow as a society and work towards changing the future.