October Post

In class we were introduced to the quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, “Putting images inside your head is just like eating”, this quote really struck me. I grew up with conservative grandparents that would often reference that children’s song many may have learned in church, “O Be Careful Little Eyes”. This song was used for so many times as a reason why we should be careful of certain shows that we watched. This song was often used to shame my family for our want to partake in certain pop culture. However, there is something here, I by no means want to suggest someone should be careful of what should be watched just because God is watching and will judge you, but I simply want to talk about the importance of being careful of what we feed our mind.  

We watched Mickey Mouse Monopoly in Class, and although there was much more than I disagreed with, or found too extreme, they did have a point. We are in a society that is shaped heavily by the media we consumed, and if not properly talked about, we can turn a fictional situation into our perceived reality of the world. It’s not as drastic as what the documentary suggests, little girls are not going to grow up feeling ugly just because they do not look like the princesses they have grown up watching, but certain tendencies may begin to show. We talked about it in class, little girls play princess, always waiting for a prince to come to save them, this was an issue that I remember many people trying to change. They wanted to show that little girls can save themselves and be the hero. Luckily there are now more movies with female Heroines that are saving the day, like Merida and Moana. The imagery we are starting to see is changing the way they want to world to view itself. It is our jobs as consumers, however, to ensure that we are keeping media true to what we want to see represented.