Linda Christensen - "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us"

1.      1.  “The ‘secret education,’ as Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman dubs it, delivered by children’s books and movies, instructs young people to accept the world as it is portrayed in these social blueprints. And often that world depicts the domination of one sex, one race, one class, or one country over a weaker counterpart.”

This idea of a “secret education” is the central theme of Christensen’s argument about media designed for children. The social stereotypes that many people in society work to change, such as the idea of men being superior to women and whites being superior to blacks, are portrayed multiple times as the norm in such media. Christensen is saying that the foundation for social change is not being planted into the minds of children because the values presented by “Disney-like” storylines.

2.     2.   “Children’s cartoons, movies, and literature are perhaps the most influential genre ‘read.’ 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. The messages, or ‘secret education,’ linked with the security of their homes, underscore the power these texts deliver.”

How can we do what Alan Johnson wants us to, that is “Be the change,” if children’s movies don’t advocate change? What Christensen is saying here is that children watch movies and read books differently than older people. When a young child is exposed to media, he is constantly forming new opinions based on what he is reading or watching, perhaps even subconsciously. If he constantly watches movies with his parents that contain white people playing lead roles, and his parents are not defending people of color, he is going to assume that white people have some sort of superiority.

3.       3. ”Instead of assigning the same classroom essays students had written in years before, I asked students to create projects that would move beyond the classroom walls.”

This short quote may not be saying much, but I think it creates an important path to the end of the article, where Christen talks about what her students did to help spread the knowledge of their cartoon and literature analyses. The students here are Johnsoning, they are identifying the problem and trying to change it. We don’t often Johnsonize in our classrooms; we write, reflect, and start the next project. Christensen is showing her students how their writing can spark change, which is beneficial because it DOES spark change, and because it reminds students that what they are learning is useful.

This article was straightforward, easy to read, and relatable. There are magazines, TV shows, and movies dedicated to portraying messages that Christensen finds “uncomfortable.” It’s hard to find a place to start this summary of her article because everything is so true. A movie in which a person of color plays a servant will be viewed by children and adults with remarkably different end results. The impressionability of children while lead them to believe that this servitude is normal for people of color, while an adult [should, at least] realize that the movie is portraying a stereotype, not a “correct” message. Another example of corruption is that if a female child sees a magazine filled with pictures of women with near-perfect physical fitness, she will start to assume that this body type is the only successful body type by which one may attract a partner. In today’s world, we cannot rid society of all forms sexism, racism, and other ideals we do not want our children to believe; however, a crucial step would be to alter children’s media to not portray these stereotypes. If every Disney princess cannot be a woman of color, we would be shifting to another extreme. However, consistently white Disney princesses plant the racist seed in the minds of children.