Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Cinderella, Peter Pan, Popeye,  and Jessica Rabbit, were only some of the characters that Christensen spoke about. These are also the characters that were part of my childhood. In Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us, Christensen explains that many of the cartoons children watch have an effect on the children. Whether it is waiting for their Prince Charming, creating expectations that will "guarantee" success, or creating false portrayals of a race, sex, or class.  One of the examples Christensen gave was the comparison between Cinderella and the Black Cinderella. Although there was a change in the character's race, she says,

"Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption-in their case, through new clothes and hairstyles." (Christensen, 133)

When consumption of these products happens these companies also gains a lot more money . For example the Disney store has hundreds of things like dresses, shoes, and tiaras, which will make a child look like a princess. But as we get older the expectations to look like these princesses increases. To have the long hair, porcelain skin, and a certain body type. This only leads to our consumption of these products that say they'll make us have the smooth skin, the hourglass figure, and the long shiny hair. All of these expectations exist plus the expectation for natural beauty. 

 

This is a video I found that kind of links both in a Parody.

                            Where expectations for natural beauty differ.

I was actually very interested in what Christensen had to say.  Because I was part of the group of children who she spoke about.  Those children who watch(ed) cartoons and as they grew up they saw themselves in some of these characters . When I read that Mulan was in this list I was shocked. Because Mulan has been one of my favorite characters and to think that this movie has those underlying messages, left be in awe. when I read about Popeye being in the list I thought that Popeye definitely had these message. Another show that I thought about when Christensen spoke about the women being portrayed in these shows as "sexy", was Ms. Bellum.  In most of the shows we would see her character from the head down, rarely did we see her face. And now that I am older I feel like they were sexualizing her. Also when they spoke about Ursula, I thought about the fact that she wasn't only being portrayed as ugly and smart. But beyond that, were her physical characteristics, she was portrayed as overweight and with short hair. Not luscious long hair like the little mermaid (beautiful character).  

While Christensen mainly spoke about cartoons she also touched upon other medias affecting the way children build their identities. I have a 10 year old cousin who I have begun to see effected by these. She watches a lot of YouTube and looks at many of the girls and what they're doing. I have noticed her doing some of the same things they do in many of their videos, such as gestures and language. Which really shows the effect that media has on children.

This article relates to Delpit because many of the people that watch cartoons, TV,  read magazines, and look at advertisements are learning about what will make them fit into the culture of power. In some cases these rules for attaining power will be told directly to you. Such as the case of Richard Rodriguez in Aria or these may be said with underlying messages such as Cinderella.  According to Christensen it is up to us to take action and make these changes.