Very interesting site. The MEF site provides videos, handouts and articles on a wide array of subject matter from consummerism, to sexism, to stereotypes in the media. What I really like about the site are the supplemental pieces of material that go along with the video. A teacher can present a topic and provide the students with a visual and then give them an article to read along with a set of reflective questions to answer that coordinate with the topic. The sample videos and film clips provided give great insite to the problems facing our kids and society today. This site and its materials would provide a great visual lessons on tolerance with the film Reel Bad Arabs, since I teach the Middle East and try and teach my students to questions based on being manipulated by the media in consumer kids. It would provide a great lesson for students to actually see how the pros work them and make decisions for them. It would provide the students with insight and an eye on what to watch for, so they are not sucked into an advertising trap of believing they are something they're not or want something they don't need.
Issues with the site, film with its supplemental materials are very expensive. Films average, at a discount of 125.00 a piece. And they don't provide a rating or age group that the film is marketed towards. I'm sure some films like the Hip Hop films which talk about sterotyping women and sexifying them may not be 7th grade appropriate.
I feel that my students would be fascinated by some of the videos and shocked at how they have been manipuated since they believe themselves to be incredible savy. My female students would be embarrassed and angered at the way girls are viewed and used in society, media and advertising. At the delicate age of 12 and 13, girls are just trying to figure themselves out and looking for that comfort level; to actually see ads and videos depicting women as objects and victims of violence, assault and ridicule may be harmful or enrage them enough to make a stand. I feel the students would be fascinated by how much sex and body image and sterotyping is involved in everything they watch and read in this culture. They are either too naive or too desensitized to the images at this stage in their life, but making them aware would be a big first step.
You said it "may be harmful or enrage them." Sometimes I wonder if what I showed to the students really has effected them the way I wanted it to or if I just introduced an innocent girl or boy to the idea s/he is not good enough.
ReplyDeleteI agree that to purchase the products can be expensive. Is it possible that the "previews" could help to open up discussions in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteThere was one preview that showed a series of female "role models" and they were not only scantily clad but they were also splayed and draped in sexually suggestive poses. What do young girls think when they see that? I imagine they don't see it in the sexualized way that we do, because they don't have any sexual experiences (I hope, of course -- I know some girls are the victims of sexual assault and some girls become sexually active at quite a young age.) So do those sexualized poses and outfits become "what women wear" to them?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great point. Without the experience and "intellectual armor" to help them contextualize these images, young girls are left to believe that this the norm.
DeleteI thought the same thing about the prices, but I loved the 3-5 minute mini-videos. And, yes Megan, showing something short would definitely open up discussions. The only problem is that some of these videos were to mature in nature for them. One thing I really need to do is find a way to get my laptop onto an LCD or something, because I am a huge believer in visuals to teach. I have just shown dvds so far as a teacher, and the kids really do learn alot.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about what would be considered appropriate and what isn't... it seems to me that many of these would be useful "for educational purposes," no??
ReplyDeleteI too was a little taken aback at the cost of the materials. I was glad, however, to see that Media Ed. offers streaming video and file transfer as opposed to just shipping DVDs. I would have thought that their prices would reflect a more subversive and "education for all" ethos.
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