The Media's POTENTIAL for Good
This week was all about media. There were a few things I really enjoyed reading and exploring. Sarah Schelde’s “What Truthiness Taught Me About Being (Un)Cool” was very amusing. Sarah’s obsession over Stephen Colbert is hilarious (in a good way). She says, “I write a forty-three-year-old comedian’s name all over my notebooks and preach the (faux) evils of Nancy Pelosi to kids who don’t even know what the Speaker of the House does” (212).
I, too, adore Stephen Colbert, along with Jon Stewart. My knowledge that the title of Sarah’s essay is a reference to Stephen should be proof enough of that. What is great about Sarah’s essay is that while she clearly does not fit in with her peers, she continues to be herself and profess her love’s (Colbert) greatness. This is “truthiness”. She goes by her gut and follows her own version of the truth. As a matter of fact, Sarah sees her individuality as an advantage. “People who have a drive to do things their own way have a certain advantage” (213). They have the edge that will move them ahead of competition.
Sarah is a smart girl. She was reading “Harry Potter” by third grade (which was her first obsession) and she realizes that Stephen is playing a character in order to poke fun at politics and certain aspects of our government. Sarah’s dream is to be on Stephen’s show as a “Junior Colbert Report-er” and to be his close friend. I want to email her entire essay to the “Colbert Report”, in the hopes that her dream may come to fruition.
My next favorite area I rediscovered this week was the magazine “New Moon”. Every girl on the planet should be given a subscription to this magazine. “New Moon” is about helping girls feel good about themselves. It is not the stereotypical, hypocritical magazine that promotes self-esteem while littering the pages with ads for losing weight and models “gracing” the covers. It is AD-FREE!!! This alone, is a huge step, for girls, parents, and media. I cannot tell you how many times I refused to buy a magazine for my daughter because of the contradictory, harmful information and ads within.
I love that “New Moon” is ad-free. I am going to subscribe this month for my daughter. She needs some positive media images in her face. I will take any help I can get to get her to feel good about herself. The magazine is by girls, for girls. They have a fully moderated online community for girls to chat together safely and without feeling weird. They promote creativity and a positive body image, and it is educational. For example, there is a link on the home page to find out what Yom Kippur is all about. They also teach girls how to have a positive impact on the world. It’s just an awesome publication.
From the “New Moon” site, I was led to daughters.com. This is also a great resource. There are endless articles about how to raise girls, for mothers, fathers, stepfather, educators, etc. The sections they offer advice on are impressive. It seems like they did not miss a thing. From friendship, to eating disorders, to media, puberty and dating- I think virtually any question someone has about girls can be answered here.
Questions: What are your favorite resources for or about girls? Why?
If you have (or might have) daughters, what kind of media will you allow your daughter to view? What will you try to ban & why?
Thinking back to your pre-teen and teen years, are there magazines, shows, movies, etc that you wish you had not been exposed to? Were there parts of media (like certain magazines, channels) that you liked or loved at the time, but you now see as detrimental?
~Amanda W.
I, too, adore Stephen Colbert, along with Jon Stewart. My knowledge that the title of Sarah’s essay is a reference to Stephen should be proof enough of that. What is great about Sarah’s essay is that while she clearly does not fit in with her peers, she continues to be herself and profess her love’s (Colbert) greatness. This is “truthiness”. She goes by her gut and follows her own version of the truth. As a matter of fact, Sarah sees her individuality as an advantage. “People who have a drive to do things their own way have a certain advantage” (213). They have the edge that will move them ahead of competition.
Sarah is a smart girl. She was reading “Harry Potter” by third grade (which was her first obsession) and she realizes that Stephen is playing a character in order to poke fun at politics and certain aspects of our government. Sarah’s dream is to be on Stephen’s show as a “Junior Colbert Report-er” and to be his close friend. I want to email her entire essay to the “Colbert Report”, in the hopes that her dream may come to fruition.
My next favorite area I rediscovered this week was the magazine “New Moon”. Every girl on the planet should be given a subscription to this magazine. “New Moon” is about helping girls feel good about themselves. It is not the stereotypical, hypocritical magazine that promotes self-esteem while littering the pages with ads for losing weight and models “gracing” the covers. It is AD-FREE!!! This alone, is a huge step, for girls, parents, and media. I cannot tell you how many times I refused to buy a magazine for my daughter because of the contradictory, harmful information and ads within.
I love that “New Moon” is ad-free. I am going to subscribe this month for my daughter. She needs some positive media images in her face. I will take any help I can get to get her to feel good about herself. The magazine is by girls, for girls. They have a fully moderated online community for girls to chat together safely and without feeling weird. They promote creativity and a positive body image, and it is educational. For example, there is a link on the home page to find out what Yom Kippur is all about. They also teach girls how to have a positive impact on the world. It’s just an awesome publication.
From the “New Moon” site, I was led to daughters.com. This is also a great resource. There are endless articles about how to raise girls, for mothers, fathers, stepfather, educators, etc. The sections they offer advice on are impressive. It seems like they did not miss a thing. From friendship, to eating disorders, to media, puberty and dating- I think virtually any question someone has about girls can be answered here.
Questions: What are your favorite resources for or about girls? Why?
If you have (or might have) daughters, what kind of media will you allow your daughter to view? What will you try to ban & why?
Thinking back to your pre-teen and teen years, are there magazines, shows, movies, etc that you wish you had not been exposed to? Were there parts of media (like certain magazines, channels) that you liked or loved at the time, but you now see as detrimental?
~Amanda W.
Comments
I remember as a young girl I was fascinated by the mags for "big girls" and couldn't wait til I was old enough to read them.
While the images of thin girls create unreachable expectations for young women and the Cosmo-like attitude is not as empowering as the mag people may want you to believe, magazines for young girls are pretty cool=). Especially the changes many mags have made to counteract that, such as featuring regular sized girls.
They are an important resource for young girls shaping their identities and discovering their bodies.