Christensen, "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" Extended Comments-Giana's Blog

    As I was reading Giana's blog, I felt that she brought up many points that I was feeling and thinking while I read the piece by Linda Christensen. I loved how Giana brought up the point that these Disney movie stereotype how a woman should look, what is expected of a woman. It is a truth that can not be denied, that Disney movies, along with all of the media of our society, create a massive problem. As the children watch these films, they see that all the main characters are tall, slim and very beautiful in their appearance. I thought that Gianas title on her blog was an excellent choice, "What is really pretty?". A question that has it's own answer in each person's individual view. If our youth is watching these films, most likely numerous times, the message of what their appearance is 'suppost to be', is subliminally forming in their minds. As Giana discussed, these children may end up with some form of an eating disorder, never feeling that they are the 'perfect looking' individual. As I wandered around the web, I took notice of certain things that I had never really thought about. Most of the main characters, man or woman, had the appearance of what a super model should look like. Giana feels that it is not just the outside of a person, but also the inside that counts. I feel that way in my everyday life. I am not judgmental when I visibly see a person for the first time, I need to get to know them to be able to decide how I feel for myself.

   Giana also brings up a great point when she discussed the portray of overweight people in our society. I love how she gave examples of the movies that do not use skinny flawless people as their main characters. Each person has something unique about them. Something that distinguishes them from the other people of this judgmental world. I think that this talent, this quality is not to be judged by a persons appearance. In the movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, this movie is teaching our children that if you are different, you must hide away, where no person can see you. It teaches that if you are different in physical ways, you are not welcome in our society.

   Giana finalizes her blog entry with the outcome of the study that Linda Christensen did with her students. All of the students that broke down these movies, feel that they will never look at them with the same thought process again. I would love to know what the outcomes where from their studies. I looked up some articles, but they were all very vague when describing what exactly they were. They showed frames of some of the hidden messages, but I still did not feel fulfilled with the research. Most of the pictures that I could find were of a sexual nature.  I included some pictures that had 'hidden messages' in them.

   In class, I would like to discuss the  Disney movies that we all have seen, and different points of view from the students on the content, the subliminal messages.