"Unlearning the Myths that Blind Us"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LibK0SCpIkk

                This is a great link that shows how disney movies and shows from when I was a little kid, were huge influences in teaching kids negatively about racism and gender roles. I still sing the song "we are siamese if you please" but have no idea how it popped into my head or what it even means. Media is one of the main sources which children learn what is good and bad to say and wrong and right to do and a lot of Disney movies portrayed all of the negative things. Media gives us role models to look up to who are not worth role models. Media teaches children that if you are one race, everyone acts the same way, i.e Jersey Shore. This show represents what it means to be Italian; gym, tanning, laundry. This is not how all Italians are, but it is the way media portrays them to be. This then creates a feeling that everyone who is different should aspire to be like a white person so they won't be labeled as dumb, ignorant, etc. This then feeds into why Barbies and American girl dolls are so popular, not to mention expensive, despite the available races, and the nationalities of those children buying them. It seems as though media and toy companies work together to benefit each other. If media says  blonde hair and blue eye girls are the prettiest, toy companies will only make those blonde hair and blue eyed dolls and will make a high profit as well. Media also shows how boys and girls should act, that there is not grey area. Girls should be fragile, dainty, sensitive, emotional, wear dresses, have nice long hair, etc. boys should be strong, brave, emotionless, fearless, etc. If a boy or girl shows the slightest bit of the other sex, they are automatically labeled a homosexual. For example, when I was younger I used to wear my puffy, curly hair slicked back in a low pony tail with a big sweatshirt and jeans. I was very into sports and not so much into looking pretty and boys. However, this does not automatically qualify me to be so. Media sets up these fake expectations for us starting at extremely young ages, fake expectations that every race acts the same and that every gender role acts the same and this can make reality a little shocking to us as we grow up.

Hunger of Memory

While reading this article, I really found myself connecting the main idea with that of An Indian Father's Plea. Both stories really highlight the difficulties of coming from a diverse background and being so culturally different. In the Hunger of Memory article, the author describes his everyday life, which to me seems to be an extremely powerful way to get a point across. He discusses the things he had to endure due to his culture. the boy was two completely different people in and out of school and not because he was a trouble maker, but because he was not as comfortable speaking English as his second language. The boy would rather have been at home, where his culture was accepted and embraced instead of hid and kept quiet. Eventually due to outside forces, the boy's home was forced to become Americanized and rid themselves of their foreign culture. This fits in with An Indian Father's Plea because in this senario the boy comes from a diverse culture which he grew up comfortably in and was suddenly forced to become Americanized due to outside forces at school. These changes in the boy eventually effected his family because they were forced to help him grow in his new culture, having to put aside their own. It is amazing how many opinions an outside influence can have on ones life. In both articles, the boys should have accepted themselves for who they were and where they came from, but when higher authorities are not on your side, I see where it can be difficult to complete this. Unfortunately this happens to kids everyday. From the color to their skin, to their accents, to what they like to eat is all based on their culture and where they are from and is either accepted by fellow peers, or rejected.