THANKSSS

I just wanted to say thank you to Nick Jen Loretta and Colleen I love my mix tape and its a great way to remember our class and everything this semester. Thanks so much you guys 

Choice Assignment #3 Disney's got my eye

After searching for an analysis of the “Jungle Book” I realized that Walt Disney created some great classics with a very interesting lining to the message in the film. I decided to take a close look at some movies such as “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Pocahontas”, and “Aladdin”. After going through these classics I decided to take a closer look at the women in these films. Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas, and Jasmine are a group of woman who seem to be searching for something more than what their family’s desire for them. Also the fact that each of these characters are searching for love outside of their families comfort zone shows that maybe Disney had a problem with mixing races.

One of the first references I make to these characters and how they feel in life is from Thomas Hine’s, “The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager”. Hine states, “Despite the mythology of youth as a revolutionary and utopian time, study suggests that teenagers’ principal preoccupation is to adapt, to find a place in life.” (Hine 2) When reading this statement it becomes clear that each of these female characters want to find something new than what they have been brought up in life. Ariel wishes to walk on land, Belle wishes to get out of her “provincial life”, Pocahontas is seeking to find something “just around the river bend”, and Jasmine wishes to find a “whole new world”. These female characters are looking for adventures beyond what their family values.

Not only are these female characters looking for adventure, but they are also finding out they are in love with men out of their reach. Hine states, “Teenagers occupy a special place in the society. They are envied and sold to, studied and deplored. They are expected to break some rules, but there are other restrictions that apply only to them. They are at a golden moment in life – and not to be trusted.” (Hine 10) Hine suggests that teenagers are confused and of course making mistakes is something they are going to do, however, they are not to be trusted with big decisions. Each of the families of these female characters seem to hold high expectations on marriage and find they are making mistakes with the men they are wanting to chose.

Ariel wishes to marry a man of the land. Prince Eric is the man Ariel longs to be with. Her father the King of the mer people finds this to be simply impossible and also find humans to be barbaric. Belle’s father wishes her to marry Gaston, a witty and horrible man with an egotistical character. Belle however, finds an interest in the Beast of her town. She sees a light in the beast and falls for him over time. Pocahontas is destined to marry to Kocoum. He is a man form her tribe that is able to build her a strong home and also able t take great care of her. Of course this is not settling to the young female who wants to see, just around the river bend. She falls for a lovely sailor John Smith that it from the American culture with his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Last but not least Jasmine is searching for a whole new world other than the castle where she lives. She finds herself invested in love with a “street rat”, Aladdin. This is made clear throughout the film that Aladdin is not of the right match for Jasmine.

Not only does all of this suggest that their families have certain values and issues with their daughters making decisions but it also suggests that with Disney there is an issue with mixing races. Ariel the mermaid in love with a human? Belle the young beauty in love with a beast? Pocahontas the Native American in love with a true American man? Jasmine the Middle Eastern princess in love with a street rat? None of these seem to add up to the true essence of love that we see in “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty” where both female characters find a love of similar race.

After reviewing these films many questions are being raised as to family values and marriage. Each of these female characters are seen as teenage characters. Each faced with many different obstacles and yet each still finds a happy ending to their story. Disney must always create that happy ending due to its audience. However, what happens when obstacles like these are being raised in real life. When the mixing of races come into play with love, or when teenagers want to find more than what their family has to offer. Many ideas and views collide causing such a shamble of losing one’s family support and more. I wonder if Disney knew what he was creating when putting for these great classics.

What do you lose after having sex?

It is unclear what teenagers lose after having sex. For some it is that sense of innocence. For others it is the loss of the title VIRGIN. After viewing "What You Lose", I find myself asking the same questions as Patricia. What do people feel they lose after sex? What do teens feel is the right time to lose their virginity?

Many of the people she interviewed had some interesting comments about sex. “Sex is like Pokémon cards back in the day, you gotta have it” and also “I’ve tasted the honey and want the hive now”. Certain comments like these make me wonder if people really do appreciate how they are giving part of themselves away to another person in life. It always makes me wonder if something so sacred as the innocence of ones childhood (virginity) is at all a big part of their life.

When one thinks about sex you are most likely questioning the reason for sex. For teenagers in today’s society it is not often clear as to why certain teens get involved physically with another person. Whether is it heterosexual or homosexual relations it is unclear that if many find it is for love?

Many of the “virgins” had a great deal to say about sex and love in the video that Patricia put together. Many students felt that if you love someone then that’s when you should be able to know if sex is necessary. As for other teenagers they feel it is apart of the timing in their life. One boy had said he felt that 16 was the right age to lose his virginity. He felt that it was the age he wanted to tell people when they asked him about losing his virginity. As for others they felt maybe they should have waited. Patricia proves that even though she was in love with a man in her long term relationship she was still not willing to give a sacred part of herself away.

Not only is it the peer pressure of other students of giving part of one's self away but it is also the factor from the media and movies. A clip shown on this video was of Dawson’s Creek. This show plays a big role in sex and relationships due to the topsy-turvy relationships the characters have in the show. If this is what our society is watching you can’t help but wonder the anxious activities teenagers are going to be doing in their lives while they are about 15, 16, 17 years old.

The topic of sex and virginity has not been taken lightly since the beginning of time. In literature back when Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", the Wife of Bath (fictional character) was looked at as a promiscuous women and until this day there are still women like her that have that title. Now with teenagers losing their virginity at such a young age it is under great questioning as to the reasoning. For love, pleasure, coming of age?

As Patricia's video tries to find the underlying reasoning for losing virginity and what it is one person does lose after sex I find myself now asking some of the same questions?

my dearest fear

The video I chose to discuss was the dearest fear video. after viewing this video it makes me realize that not only is it a fear to the after results of being tested and whether a person is positive or negative. It is also the after result of what people think of you. To hear young people say they would be cautious of others who have aids makes me wonder if they think they can get it by just talking to the person, or if they really know it has to be through sex, blood, and needles. 

Certain things in this video such as facing fear while talking to fear as the narrator says seems significant. He was facing his fear of being tested and having to deal with needles but as by talking to the camera about his fear. many teenagers today feel that if they don't get tested they won't have to worry about the after result of HIV and AIDS. However, it is only the beginning of a long and bumpy road if you do not get tested.

This movie really hit home for me due to the fact that I have friends scared to get tested for STD'S AIDS and HIV. I worry die to the fact that I know people don't always use protection and are not careful. I find myself always saying be careful, get tested, etc. I guess I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to things like this. 

This movie not only hits home with fears such as AIDS and HIV it hits home to every fear in the world that people face. Just as one boy said, "Fear is a shadow, it follows you everywhere."

choice assignment # 2 "I wanna be like you!"

As young children have seen all over the world, the “Jungle Book” is one of many Disney classics at hand. Disney as a whole has a great way of portraying teenagers. However, the “Jungle Book” is top notch. 

Searching throughout the jungle Mowgli is a young adult trying to find acceptance. Left in the jungle as a baby Mowgli has to adapt to the wild habitat that surrounds him. Brought up by a pack of wolves Mowgli demonstrates the wild, carefree attitude of being a teenager. As the tables turn and time moves on the wolves must let the man cub go for the fierce tiger of the jungle, Sheer Con is returning. This means the young adult must find a village of people like himself. 

For viewers seeing the movie for the first time there are songs and laughter throughout the entire movie. However, to someone like Linda Christensen we see factors of race, ethnicity, and coming of age in a teenagers’ life. Author to “Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us,” Christensen demonstrates different activities with students about movies such as the “Jungle Book” and more. Christensen states: “Many students don’t want to believe that they have been manipulated by children’s media or advertising. No one wants to admit they have been “handled” by the media. (Christensen 128).”

The “Jungle Book” is a prime example of being handled. Many audiences do not realize the message that is being portrayed in the film. A young boy travels throughout the jungle searching for acceptance. Wolves, monkeys, and even buzzards find it hard to accept this young boy. The only time Mowgli finds his acceptance is when he sets his eyes on a young girl from the man village. 

This message does not only suggest that the boy is an outcast, much like students in high schools that fit certain stereotypes (Gothic, skaters, nerds), but its also suggests that the young boy cannot be happy without finding a woman or vise verse. Christensen touches base upon this also in her article: “Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption (Christensen 133).” Now along the lines of this gender and relationship status the young girl we find is singing a song of finding a husband and creating a baby. This song is being played just as the young girl sets eyes on Mowgli. 

Now unless Disney is trying to tell teenagers they are not accepted anywhere then this proves that audiences have been handled. They believe they are in for a fun song filled adventure and yet they are shown that acceptance is hard to come by and heterosexual love is the only way you can be accepted. 

Now as if it were not going to get any better looking at this fun filled Disney movie, why don’t we take a look at race. It is curious that during the scene when Mowgli is taken by monkeys to see King Louie, we find that all the voices of these monkeys are of African American men. Not to mention the fact that the king of the monkeys is named Louie. When I first heard this all I could think of was Louie Armstrong, a famous jazz/blues musician. This typically made me wonder why a Disney classic would have African American voices put to a monkey’s character. 

Another racial question I ask myself is about the song that King Louie sings to Mowgli. “I wanna be like you, I wanna walk like you, talk like you…” This particular song brought attention to me because I feel like King Louie is saying he would like to be human, but could it mean an African American man wants to be like a white man?

After viewing this movie inside and out I can definitely agree with Christensen’s statement about being handled by the media because I never would have thought of these different symbolizes as a child. 

The most interesting thing about this is while babysitting the Friday after my watching the movie, I asked the mother of the children I watch and she was absolutely blind sighted by these comments I had come up with. She is currently refusing to show her children Disney movies. 

“If you’re not on MySpace, you don’t exist.”

So I decided after reading on you tube and myspace that I would blog on, of course, my space. I have mixed emotions on how I feel about the website and each reading brings up very good points. Much of the first article I find a description of what myspace is. I must say it is a great way for teens and even adults to stay in contact with one another. It does create a great socialization skill throughout the world. However, It does create an issue when you notice that people are unable to carry on a typical conversation without mentioning someones comment about this person, or someone looked terrible in this picture, etc. It also creates an issue among students in schools that cannot necessarily look their teachers in the eye, or even another person for that matter. Many people are fixed on typing into a computer that eye contact doesn't really matter.
Now granted the second article did a question and answer and gave pros and con's to the website, I feel that many of the pros are things teenagers wouldn't even think about. Myspace is a great way to get students to test the waters on creating a website and understanding different codes and more. Just last semester I was enrolled in a class that required programming. Now had it not been for recently having a Myspace I think I would have been a chicken running around with my head cut off. I must say yes, myspace does have a positive aspect. However, I don't think those aspects are what teens are interested in. I feel that myspace for teens is a way to keep up on the latest gossip, turn their sexuality up a few notches, even for people to find a possible way of dating.
Much of what the second article does is look at myspace in a positive way (like a teen would) and a negative way (like a parent would). This type of thinking is to be seen through any aspect that reveals lives on the Internet and such an open field.
One of the things that I must agree with is the statement, “If you’re not on MySpace, you don’t exist.” This statement is beyond true to all myspace users. Every person that I have talked to about this website and knows I do not have a myspace I get the response, "What's Wrong With You!!!!"
I could honestly go on for days on how I feel about this website. I just want to admit that their are many positives and negatives to this site. A positive is the computer aspect of it. A negative is what happened last week to a young girl who was brutally beat up because of myspace comments. I'm sure we've all heard the story and I'm honestly disgusted with this story.

Final Project

So I'm really interested on taking on something about teenage girls and the fabulous myspace. Personally I wish myspace never existed although I did have one at one point in time. Then I began to see a change in girls and their personalities behind the camera and in person. I really would like to look deeper into the myspace picture zone versus the girls in person. MUCH of the time i find that these "sexy girls" are really the most insecure people who would never want their bodys seen but becasue of myspace and photo shop etc. it's okay for them to to post them all over the net.

Kid Nation

So let me just start by saying kid nation seems to be an underage Survivor. I find putting people into a deserted area and having them fend for themselves is quite comical. After reading the articles it makes me sad i never watched the show. For having seen Survivor numerous amounts of times I can only imagine the chaos that went on in New Mexico.
When it comes to adults and their problems in Survivor, The Real World, Big Brother, & more give reality television and good and bad name. Taking children between the ages of 8 and 15 buts and even bigger burden on reality television.
Many of the stories I've read about Kid Nation seem to prove that children have no sense in managing their lives. Apparently the society we live in was also not very fond of the show because news on a second season has not yet been brought to my attention. Many of the articles seem to speak of the children from a dominant perspective of not being able to handle themselves or the pressures of living on their own. I also saw in some articles a somewhat attack on the parents an grown-ups on involved with the airing of the show. When children where breaking down no one was their for the comfort that one might need at that age.
I find that with this show it can be very effective but I also see how society can be quite against having kids on their on in a ghost town trying to make it on their own. I feel with somewhat more supervision their could have been more learning for the kids going on. But then again the concept to me from what I understand is very interesting and could be beneficial.

3 teen articles

So when I first thought about my articles I figured I'd just pick three random articles. After finding my first article I decided to go with a theme. The theme for my articles is gay teens and educational flaws.
From the three articles I chose they dealt with schools not necessarily explaining sex education nor giving any information on homosexual relationship. Many of the districts have a huge problem with teaching students about sex. They feel that abstinence and sex after marriage is the only way to live life. The one thing that was said by an executive director of programs for the gay rights group in an article was, "The only plan gay youth are being given by the school system to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is something that is not really available to them: marriage". This seems to be a great approach for some teachers in schools but the youth needs to know how to handle the changes they are going through being homosexual and they aren't learning this.
This would have to be the WHAT in my articles. Teens being ignored by high school sex education classes. In fact, an article I found had this title. An Elina Kuusisto knew at age 11 she had no interest in boys. She couldn't cope with the fact that during her sex ed classes in high school she found only information for her boy crazy friends. She was given no information on how she should feel or deal with being gay in high school.
The SO WHAT of these articles would have to be the non acceptance of gay teens in high school because the lack of education being given. It is hard enough for one to come out to ones family about being gay, let alone having strangers know something is different about you.
The NOW WHAT would have to be getting the education out as much as possible. This is a possible problem because of the topic being discussed. Religion and morals are a big thing that may cause problems with this. Many parents and school systems refuse this topic which isn't fair to the people who are okay with homosexuality and who have questions. Besides, sex education has no hetero prefix nor a homo, it is just SEX EDUCATION!

Lauren Greenfield

So my understanding of this preface is that Greenfield was looking to find out about Los Angeles and was also looking to tell a story. Just as we are in class with our photography project, Greenfield took what she knew in order to find out about her hometown of Los Angeles.

Greenfield went from high school to high school starting with her own in hopes to finding out about L.A. youth. That's basically the what of our article. Greenfield is trying to understand youth as it is aging form generation to generation.

The so what of this article is because of the youth in different parts of the country different things are happening in their growing up. Like Greenfield says in the third paragraph, As one teenager said, "You grow up really fast when you grow up in L.A. It seems like everyone is in a rush to be an adult. It's not cool to be a kid." Not every kid is like this. From where I grew up it was always a must to stay a kid and have fun. Many different cities in different areas cause children to grow up faster. As Greenfield also stated that this article was dedicated to a boy whom she learned so much from and about who was killed in a gang murder, maybe because of this city (Los Angeles) he was forced to grow up and was in some ways destined to be in a gang murder. There are no real answers for this but, with Greenfield's work she is trying to hone in on this question. The photographs and interviews she had done helped to understand her hometown.

Now what? We can't really go around taking pictures of every teenager in America and interviewing them left and right but we can be a little more aware of our surroundings. Much of where I come from is about food, the beach, and I-95. Rhode Island is not necessarily known for fame, or the entertainment industry like Los Angeles. I can still try to be aware of what goes on in my city and understand the changes that it is going through.

Bad Boys or Misunderstood Boys?

I have to admit when I first began reading this the first quote I saw had me thinking I would hate this article. " That one has a jail cell with his name on it". After reading that first quote I thought wow we still have really ignorant teachers in our school systems today.

Okay so back on the topic of the what for this article. I understand that there are many males, of African decent that are known as "trouble makers" etc. but schools systems need to search a little deeper than that. This article surprised me so much with Ann Ferguson was able to open these young boys up and dig deep.

The so what with this article is the underlying meaning as to why males of different races, such as African American act the way they do in school. My own personally opinion is because of the responsibilities outside of school. Many of the lower income boys live with certain family member they might have to take care of and have to look after and this is stated on page 15 with Horace. He is known as a troublemaker and yet everyone he knows outside of school finds him to be respectful and diligent. Could this be because maybe in school he just wants to be an average kid and have some fun because at home he is unable to? In my honest opinion this seems to me like one of the better answers and I believe Ferguson states that on page 15 as well.

The now what, would be getting teachers to try and know their students on a different individual level. Sure some may be unwilling to open themselves up but it is worth a try. Ferguson was able to reach these boys because she put herself out there for them and they saw that as wow she really wants to understand me.

Choice #1 assignment; It all started with a chair.

It is no surprise that Juno is one of the best comedies across the country for the year 2008. It’s up for best movies of the year and audiences are raving about it. However, for some audiences, Juno touches upon a very important topic that mothers and their teenagers are facing today. Teenage pregnancy is a taboo topic to bring up when creating a film. Some audiences felt shocked, offended, and disappointed with the unrealistic belief of the film.
One of the first instances that may shock audiences is the abortion clinic scene. In most states there are abortion clinics with protesters outside screaming for the birth of babies. For Juno, there was but one young, innocent girl screaming, “All babies want to get borned”. This may seem unrealistic to the public and abortion clinics may come off as easy-going facilities.
Another shocking incident in the film is when Juno tells her father and step-mother about the pregnancy. Before they take her seriously they seem to joke about drugs and expulsion from school. It is unlikely for a parent to joke about certain accusations such as the ones Juno’s family had made. Once her family found out the truth there was a sense of understanding from them. In some instances this seems very unrealistic because not many parents are in an understanding mood to finding out that their teenage daughter is pregnant. After seeing other films or witnessing them on documentaries, there are sometimes many tears and questioning. In this film it was portrayed that parents think lightly of teen pregnancy which can cause and uproar around the country with parents raising teenagers.
Now when audiences first may have felt offended by Juno may be when it is stated that Paulie Bleeker has no worries about the child. Not only does he have no worries but also his parents were never notified. For some this may seem like the typical guy getting off the hook of a pregnancy. Many teenage girls see it everyday, they fall in love, the deed is done, and the love of their life seems to leave because it’s too much for them to handle. Now granted Bleeker never left Juno it was portrayed that he had no responsibility in the pregnancy. Bleeker was very much in love with Juno and wanted to be apart of her life but, she just seemed to push him away. Bleeker allowed this to happen and it came across as offending to some audiences because he was apart of the act.
Finally, one of the most disappointing moments in the film happens to be after the birth. Juno states that she did not want to see the baby, nor did Bleeker want to see the baby. She had stated it would be too hard for them. The scene changes from winter to spring and we find Juno Riding her bike as if nothing had happened. This is very disappointing to audiences because it shows no emotional affect that happened to Juno after she had the paper. Nine months of holding something with you as precious as a baby and she seemed to be riding her bike as if nothing had happened to her. This could possibly show teenagers that pregnancy is not as hard as many mothers make it out to be. It also shows that pregnancy with an adoption is one of the easiest things a teenager can go through.
After seeing Juno numerous amounts of times there is an unrealistic feel to the movie. For me, this was very tough to admit because I enjoyed Juno so much as a film. It is safe to say that there many controversial instances in the film on such an important topic like teenage pregnancy. I also believe it is safe to say that the writers of this film were just looking for a good comedy but after the film was in motion many of the controversial instances came into play a little more than expected.

A Style Nobody can Deal With

This article seemed to be kind of a hard read for me. I'm not exactly sure why but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would have.

I understand that Rose wants the reader to understand what the people have gone through in new york and the division on the working class versus the poor community. It is also very clear that with hip hop their has and always will be a struggle.

The hip hop community is very much interrelated with one another such as the rappers, break dancers, and graffiti artists. While reading on page 408 about half way down the page, Rose explains that these three identities help one another. An example given was rappers displaying graffiti artists work on t-shirts and jackets and also having break dancers perform while rapping. This type of support is not uncommon in life in general but it is hard to find at times.

One of the sections in the article i did have trouble with was probably the urban context because it seemed quite wordy to me and my interest was lost.

Overall i enjoyed the article and understanding that hip hop has changed from a African and Hispanic way of life to a white man's money making life. While reading this article I had many thoughts in the back of my mind of certain things that one culture had established while the white-working man had taken over. Maybe I'm getting the wrong idea of the reading but this is what I had perceived.

transforming teens by hotline?

So last night I was just flipping through the channels on the television and I noticed a commercial on "Transforming Teens". This caught my eye and I wanted to post about it becasue it was a commercial with a 1-800 number on how to change your teens in a minute or less. It was talking about how their attitude and moods would take a turn for the better after calling this number. As I was watching this I was honestly laughing out loud becasue there is no way you could possibly change a teenagers attitude in a minute or less. Not to mention the fact that it was a 1-800 number to call. Just thought it was a funny thing to see on tv. Wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this "great process" as the man on the tv had stated.

talk about a catch 22

So this article is basically stating that the old has to somewhat go but the new isn’t working out so great. Trying to teach new material about computer and machines like that is quite hard for the people of an era who didn’t have this technology. With teachers and company owners today there are many problems being faced because our technology is advancing. Many people who are graduating now a receiving jobs and other from about a decade ago are losing them.
This article proves so much that something needs to be done and a meeting point needs to be put in effect. Yes it is hard to teach new technology but our students need that technology to expand. The one thing I can think of after reading this article is my grandmother saying my generation is so different, etc. etc. etc. It goes right back into teenagers being different because of the advantages they have in technology. And we all know that twenty from now I’ll be saying that the generation is so different and it will still be changing.

MYTHS ARTICLE

Wow, this article was probably one of the things i hate the most. I can't stand how the media plays a huge roll in things like body, money, status, etc. It is so true that cartoons and movies shape our lives today. As a girl I never had the my size barbie becasue she wasn't my size. I was a bigger girl and barbie was never made in my size. How is it fair to little girls who are somewhat bigger to not have a my size barbie, or a barbie their size in general. Because big is bad, or because non blue eyed blonde hair is bad. The generation children are growing up in today is crumbling before us. Teachign children that you need a man to be happy in life is complete garbage. If you can't be happy alone, what makes you think a man is happy. The repsonses that students made to all of these myths were probably the best and most i could agree with. It really gets to me that the media has such and amazingly strong roll in what a person should look like and say yet we never see the people behind the magazine or the writers of the scripts.

HINE ARTICLE

After reading the Hine article I feel like there were a lot of great points in the article such as the story Hine tells us of the senior prom and the young senior killing her baby as if nothing had happened. With this story is was informative to realize that yes senior prom is a geat night to remember and to find a young student killing her child, why would you want that to ruin your night. one of the things that got me a little angry about the article is all the assumptions, and studies that Hine disusses. Sure there are surveys being taken about the teenage population but how are we to know that the population does not see this as a joke and answers with a sarcastic attitude. Researchers aren't exactly sure how serious these teenagers are taking things so it is almost impossible to either generalize or to assume anything.

yay for this class

So i'm pretty excited i finally figured out how to make my blog, def never had one before. i'm really excited for this class too. i took a sociology class last semester called unequal sisters and it really got me to think about women, gender, age, etc. I'm pretty bummed i had to miss class tonight i was pretty sick all weekend and i just couldn't make it through the day so if anyone wants to post anything about how class went that'd be great. see you guys next monday
-ashlee