Talking Points #4

Quotes

"Young people, unprotected by any intellectual armor, hear or watch these stories again and again, often from the warmth of their mother's or father's lap". (Christensen 127)

           This quote alludes to the main point that the text is arguing that all of the stories and cartoons that enforce bad stereotypes have become such a part of society that they are often viewed from the comfort of their own parents, who if they knew what was being subliminally taught, would probably not let their children partake in the viewing of it. This is showing how these images have invaded even the safest of environments.

"During a class discussion Sabrina said: "I realized  these problems weren't just in cartoons. They were in  everything - every  magazine I picked  up, every television show I watched, every billboard I passed by on the street." My goal of honing their ability to read literature and the world through the lens or justice had been accomplished at least in  part". (Christensen 134)

         In this quote, Christensen uses a quote from one of her own students that speaks of how learning how to read the messages in cartoons has lead her to read the messages that exist in every day life. Christensen mentions that this was her goal, to get her students to question everything of this type. That was the main goal of her educating and showing how it worked was the purpose of this article.

"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". (Christensen 137)

       This quote expresses the effects that giving students power might effect their approach on things. She states that since the things the students were writing to publications was about a serious issue and something they can help change made the students put their best foot forward. This supports one of the main points of her article, that if you show someone that they can help to make a difference, they will most likely try to help ignite the fire of change.



This article was very interesting and a very short read. I wish however that there was more analysis in it and less inclusion of the quotes of the kids. I'd rather read the words of a scholar instead of just being shown certain examples of enlightenment. Reading this stuff makes me think about a poet from Rhode Island named Denise Duhamel, and her poetry collection called KINKY in which all her poems are about some type of stereotypical Barbie. It is very interesting and comical. Here is a LINK to its google books page where you can look at a few of the poems in the collection.