I'm just a GIRL!
Week 4 & 5
When I looked at the schedule for these two weeks, I immediately became excited. Anything related to the media, pop culture, or music tends to instantaneously grasp my attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the type of person who becomes completely enthralled in the latest issue of People or wants to know every intimate detail of Brad Pitt’s daily life. No, that’s not me. I love analyzing the effects of the media, pop culture and music on our society; specifically, when it pertains to young girls. That’s why I was excited. And now, on to the readings. :)
I found the Red stories to be pure, honest, and real. It always amazes me how eloquent these young girls are. Their stories and accounts are so expressive and they frequently share powerful messages. The first story was about 14 year old Sarah’s love for Stephen Colbert and his philosophy of truthiness, or “the state of something being true because you find it to be so” (Red, 211). I am not a part of the faithful “Colbert Nation” but I do agree with this philosophy. In middle school, I was the girl who changed her likes and dislikes to fit in with the “cool” kids. It took a year for me to grow out of that and find what truly defined me. It was then that I realized the importance of staying true to myself and what I believe in, and not caring about what everyone else thought. That is the real essence of truthiness. It is great to see that at such a young age, Sarah is going against the norm of what is “cool” and is not afraid of voicing those quirks and habits that make her unique. I hope that more teenage girls are doing the same thing.
One of the main reasons I changed my likes and dislikes to fit in with the “cool” crowd was because of how harsh, unkind and pretty much cruel middle school students can be. Kali sums it up flawlessly in the second reading when she states, “the high school social hierarchy is the perfect evil recipe, preparing kids for lifetimes of intolerance and fearing anyone who’s not like them” (Red, 214). I am most certain that we all have faced some kind of prejudice and narrow-mindedness during our middle school and high school years. I think it is second nature for kids to pick on each other; they learn it from television, movies, and other social interactions. It is very disheartening that Kali’s main concern was the fact that her school administration took no disciplinary action when it came to punishing those who were promoting discrimination through bullying.
The next story kind of caught me by surprise. I am totally aware that teenage girls go through phases where they are completely obsessed with and devoted to certain actors, musicians, etc. However, Grace’s story about Johnny Depp was more than an obsession – it kind of creeped me out. On one hand, it is admirable that she views him as an inspiration to her acting career; after all he is a very talented performer. On the other hand, the fact that she knew so many details about his life and his views on life and family values simply worried me. Like many other bloggers have posted, I guess we have to determine if her obsession is healthy or not.
I absolutely LOVED Olive’s article on music. I can relate to her on so many different levels because my life was also centered around music for as long as I can remember. She says that the reason she loves music is because “it doesn’t matter how old you are, or where you’re from […] every single person has a piece of music that they enjoy” (Red, 221). I have always said the same thing. One thing that fascinates me and will continue to do so is the interesting reality that one person may love a song and then another person may think that it was the worst song they have ever heard. That’s the beauty of music.
I really enjoy Saskia’s story about her problem with television. She put things into a new perspective for me with this article. I never thought of television as force that distances our families and society. She says that “TV is family time, the way we connect.” With television programming become increasingly popular and our society’s need for reality TV shows, we tend to forget about the importance of actually sitting down and having family time. What frustrated Saskia most is that she doesn’t have the courage to say anything to her family about her attitude toward this situation.
Growing up I used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Willow and Tara's relationship never seemed stranged to me. I have a lesbian cousin, so I was always exposed to this type of interaction. I can't say the same thing for my friends though; but, this show helped them become more open-minded and accepting to same-sex relationships.
When I looked at the schedule for these two weeks, I immediately became excited. Anything related to the media, pop culture, or music tends to instantaneously grasp my attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the type of person who becomes completely enthralled in the latest issue of People or wants to know every intimate detail of Brad Pitt’s daily life. No, that’s not me. I love analyzing the effects of the media, pop culture and music on our society; specifically, when it pertains to young girls. That’s why I was excited. And now, on to the readings. :)
I found the Red stories to be pure, honest, and real. It always amazes me how eloquent these young girls are. Their stories and accounts are so expressive and they frequently share powerful messages. The first story was about 14 year old Sarah’s love for Stephen Colbert and his philosophy of truthiness, or “the state of something being true because you find it to be so” (Red, 211). I am not a part of the faithful “Colbert Nation” but I do agree with this philosophy. In middle school, I was the girl who changed her likes and dislikes to fit in with the “cool” kids. It took a year for me to grow out of that and find what truly defined me. It was then that I realized the importance of staying true to myself and what I believe in, and not caring about what everyone else thought. That is the real essence of truthiness. It is great to see that at such a young age, Sarah is going against the norm of what is “cool” and is not afraid of voicing those quirks and habits that make her unique. I hope that more teenage girls are doing the same thing.
One of the main reasons I changed my likes and dislikes to fit in with the “cool” crowd was because of how harsh, unkind and pretty much cruel middle school students can be. Kali sums it up flawlessly in the second reading when she states, “the high school social hierarchy is the perfect evil recipe, preparing kids for lifetimes of intolerance and fearing anyone who’s not like them” (Red, 214). I am most certain that we all have faced some kind of prejudice and narrow-mindedness during our middle school and high school years. I think it is second nature for kids to pick on each other; they learn it from television, movies, and other social interactions. It is very disheartening that Kali’s main concern was the fact that her school administration took no disciplinary action when it came to punishing those who were promoting discrimination through bullying.
The next story kind of caught me by surprise. I am totally aware that teenage girls go through phases where they are completely obsessed with and devoted to certain actors, musicians, etc. However, Grace’s story about Johnny Depp was more than an obsession – it kind of creeped me out. On one hand, it is admirable that she views him as an inspiration to her acting career; after all he is a very talented performer. On the other hand, the fact that she knew so many details about his life and his views on life and family values simply worried me. Like many other bloggers have posted, I guess we have to determine if her obsession is healthy or not.
I absolutely LOVED Olive’s article on music. I can relate to her on so many different levels because my life was also centered around music for as long as I can remember. She says that the reason she loves music is because “it doesn’t matter how old you are, or where you’re from […] every single person has a piece of music that they enjoy” (Red, 221). I have always said the same thing. One thing that fascinates me and will continue to do so is the interesting reality that one person may love a song and then another person may think that it was the worst song they have ever heard. That’s the beauty of music.
I really enjoy Saskia’s story about her problem with television. She put things into a new perspective for me with this article. I never thought of television as force that distances our families and society. She says that “TV is family time, the way we connect.” With television programming become increasingly popular and our society’s need for reality TV shows, we tend to forget about the importance of actually sitting down and having family time. What frustrated Saskia most is that she doesn’t have the courage to say anything to her family about her attitude toward this situation.
Growing up I used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Willow and Tara's relationship never seemed stranged to me. I have a lesbian cousin, so I was always exposed to this type of interaction. I can't say the same thing for my friends though; but, this show helped them become more open-minded and accepting to same-sex relationships.
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