"For Colored Girls"

                                                                   
                                                                    Great movie guys !

Reflectionn on "A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence"

After reading the article “A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence” written by Rebecca C.  Raby, there were numerous of her statement that she made in her article that I disagree with. For instance, one main thing I do not agree with is they way teenagers are defined in the article. “Yeah, I think that teenagers, they are trouble- maker and they do things” (pg 444) I disagree, with the previous quote all teenagers are not trouble maker and should not be labeled as trouble- maker. I’m currently doing my internship at a program called Youth Build and I deal different kinds of teenagers. For instance, some of teens are dropped out of school for numerous of negative factors such as, getting in trouble with law enforcement, or lost their track using drugs.  Yes, I do understand that the majority of teenagers do cause trouble but us as a community we cannot continue to label these teenagers as trouble maker. After, I read this article the next day I went into my internship site and asked one of the students “how do you feel when you are defined  as a trouble-maker” the student response was”  I don’t like it because it makes me feel  like people to have faith in me” . As, I heard the student respond I was heartbroken because teenagers become who they are because the negative way they are labeled by other individuals. In my internship, we played an activity where the students had to come up with a positive quote.  However, that activity touched my heart in a way I have never been touched by anything. One quote a student came up was with” life is like photography we develop from the negative”. I said to myself these students are brilliant they have potentials   to go forward in life and be successful they just need to be positive and get motivation from other people.

"Unpacking the myths that bind us "

                                                                             What is the hidden message in this photos ?

In the article Christen, “Unpacking the myths that binds Us” the author highlights a lot of strong point on about how innocent cartoons that are showed in the media bring a negative message upon children. However, numerous of parents that are letting their child watch these cartoons don’t notice the negative message that is sending to the children in society.  After reading the article I was amused and started to watch short snap of some of the Disney famous film. For example, I was watching the movie Cinderalla  and I noticed that she needed her prince to be happy. However, I felt that to me it was interpreted as, in order for a women to happy she need to have a man by her side.  "A Black Cinderella! Give Me a Break." She wrote: "Have you ever seen a dumb little cartoon with some ducks running around in clothes." Then black person, an Asian, a Hispanic in a cartoon!” (pg 131) The previous quote caught my attention a lot and it had me thinking about all the cartoons and it is true there no lead actor in cartoons that are Hispanic or black. However, all the cartoons that are showed in the media the ones that are not white are shown as being, servant, and nannies. I strongly believe that is sending a negative message to the children of our generation. I have a little cousin who is dark skin and when we go to the stores she would never look at the dolls that are black or would own a doll that black. One day  out curiosity,  I asked why don’t she  like dolls that are same skin colors as her and her response was” Because that white dolls are prettier  and blacks  dolls are never shown on cartoons”. Her response amused me so much that felt bad because in her mind she looking at people that are white are prettier because they are princesses, models and etc.  However, in the media Black female are shown as servant, angry, ugly, and as they grow they start to think that are like the black individual is shown on TV. “I start by showing students old cartoons because the stereotypes are so blatant. We look at the roles women, men, people of color, and poor 'people play in the cartoons. I ask students to watch for who plays the lead, who plays the buffoon! Who plays the servant?”(129)  The previous quote was something  that I asked myself,  and  I honestly, believe that old Disney portray women in a negative way and represents women as being weak in society and can’t not find good  jobs. “What would young children learn about women's roles in society if they watched these film”(pg 129) If , you ask me the women that we see in all the old Disney movies their role In society are nothing positive because none of the princesses are happy with what they have and depend  o n a man to be happy. I believe that is sending a message to all young females that in order to be happy you need to be with a man.

"Hip Hop Sees No Color"

The article” Hip Hop Sees No Color” was an amazing article to read.  In the article Grinner states that MTV has become the place where people of all races learn what is to be a black person in society. For instance,  how the life of a  Black person  is lived such as, how they speak, walk, dance . People that are from other races  “learn about Black women's sexuality or Black men's materialism through the representations presented to us in music videos” (pg180). I do agree with the previous quote, because when I was younger and I will watch  music videos on MTV that  dealt with African Americans what  was showed in the videos would be Black men driving a nice car, with crazy amount of jewelry and name brand clothes. Therefore, people that are from other race grow to believe that how a black person lives their life because that is what is showed in the media. After reading the article I began to think of the movie “ save the last dance “in a different way. For example, Grinner believes “The film presents stereotypical images of Black men and women and supports the notion that, ultimately, women need men to be successful. It promotes the idea that Black men are predisposed to stupidity, violence, and criminal activity and that Black women are jealous, manipulative, or burdened by teenage pregnancy”(Pg 181)  In the past  I just thought of the movie representing racism and it being wrong.  In reality, I believe that individuals in society should not judge any race by what is showed in the media. For the reason, that are numerous of Black females and males that grow up in the inner city and yet, become very successful in life.

About Annie

Hi, everyone

 I have been looking forward for this class all vacation, but the all the snow was making it impossible to come to class. I’m Annie Puello. It’s my 5^th year at RIC. I’m a Criminal Justice major with a minor in Sociology. After, I graduate from RIC my plans are to use my knowledge on justice studies and sociology to earn a position in a public or private agency and be dedicated to positive social change and community development. I currently work at Dunkin Donuts and I’m  also an intern at Youthbuild program located in Providence. On my spare time I love to cook, clean, dance and have fun with my family and friends.