Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us By: Linda Christensen

This article is about:

• Education
• Culture
• Racism
• Sexism
• Media
• Myths
• Stereotypes
• Reality
• Opportunity
• Change
• Perspective

The author’s argument in this piece has to do with the hidden messages that the media sends us at an early age. Within cartoons and movies the culture of power is very apparent. Although this may not be the intention of the creators Christensen says “our society’s culture industry colonizes [children’s] minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream”

Evidence:

• “When women do appear, they look like Jessica Rabbit or playboy centerfolds”
• “People of color and poor people are either absent or servants to the rich, white, pretty people”
• Duck tails “all their adventures revolves around finding money”
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “This cartoon teaches a false sense of violence to kids: fight and you don’t get hurt or solve problems through fists and swords instead of words”

Personally, I was very sad when I read this article. I grew up with Disney movies and absolutely adored the various stories and clever themes. I was even going to be Snow White for Halloween. Apparently I was not the only one that felt like this when reading the information. The students who were in the class analyzing the problems with the cartoons and movies felt the same way. Christensen says “Many students don’t want to believe that they have been manipulated by children’s media or advertising”. Being young women I always wish that my life was just like one of the princesses and that one day I will find my prince charming. It is so corny yet entirely true of just about anyone I know. This makes me even more upset because that means the author is right about the secret education. If there was a class about fairytales I would get an A+. Isn’t their anything in the world that pleases everyone? Obviously not, but sometimes I wish that we could all agree on something.

The thing that I liked best about this article was that the author actually did something about it. She also made students take action which such an important part of this harsh reality. There have been so many times where I feel like there is so much going wrong with the world and there isn’t one thing that I can do about it. Some of the essays and critiques of the problems with this silence education were published. All it takes is one person to read the article, change their perspective, and tell others of their knowledge.

One of the best quotes in the article states that students “…accept the inequalities in power and exploitative economic relationships. Their acceptance teaches me how deep the roots of these myths are planted and how much some students, in the absence of visions for a different and better world, need to believe in the fairy tale magic that will transform their lives” I know that the reason why I like all of these stories so much is because the characters have similarities to myself. If I was of a different status or race I might begin to question things much more as I got older. It would frustrate me because my reality might be very unlike the one in the movie or cartoon. I might always try and achieve what those characters have but reality would make it impossible.

This teacher makes it easy for everyone to tap the glass which can have lasting effects on how they view certain things. If they all bring these discussions home to their families and pass them on to future generations then things will begin to change in their favor. I also like how the author says that she wants the students to use the “lens of justice” meaning that with this knowledge they can look at everything with a new and improved perspective.