October Blog Post

I found our discussion about mediated culture and the effects that media has on people’s views, beliefs, and attitudes extremely interesting.  Media surrounds us, and it is difficult to say that we are not affected by it when in fact, media often controls so many aspects of our lives. 

When we watched Mickey Mouse Monopoly, I found it really fascinating how Disney has a completely different side that many do not realize unless they look a little deeper.  Everyone knows Disney as being associated with their childhood, innocence, magic, and how wholesome all of their movies are.  However, some of the older Disney movies—as well as some of the more recent ones—are not as innocent as most realize.  For example, the bad guys in the movies are always people of color with heavy accents and obnoxious behaviors; something that I would have never actually realized was an issue until this documentary discussed it.  Similarly, the way that men and women’s bodies are portrayed in the animated movies can definitely have an impact on the way children grow up to view their bodies.  The female characters bodies are always very slender, with a small waist, large chest, and big eyes, and the male characters bodies are tall, very muscular, and they have a very defined jawline.  As a young child, I never noticed these things but there are kids that are much more aware and do notice these negative aspects.  Children often learn a lot from what it is that they are watching, and it is important to realize that even in an animated film, kids can learn things regarding race and even body image.  This is why it is so incredibly important to have representations of all sorts of groups in movies and television, so kids can realize and understand that there isn’t a certain race, gender, or body type that is better than another.