The past few months I have been taking this class have been interesting. With all the points that have been presented, not all which I agree with, some are nonetheless legitimate. Jour 4250 has encouraged me not to accept these ideas but to research and strengthen my ideas, which run along as conservative. Now I want to revisit some of the more interesting points of the class.
I first would like to point out the need to critically analyze the teacher. In a class where media is the target of debate, the teacher of a college class needs to be analyzed exactly like one would a news show, magazine or newspaper. Teacher, like all of us, have a collections of experiences from which they have formed their opinions. No person can completely remove themselves from their experiences and those experiences' impact.
Second, while this class presented many points to think about the media, it boils down to personal responsibility. If you want you daughter to think of herself as more than just an object of beauty, them turn of the TV and take some time to relate to your child those values. No media can force its way into your life. You have to option to choose which media one consume's.
One of the topics I will revisit again was the debate over the Native American mascot. Let it be known that I am for the use of indian mascots because the way they are using the mascot is in a past, historical context. Yes, Native Americans are still around but not in the historical context as we commonly think of.
As someone who has personally visited a Native American reservation in North Dakota, I can say that it is not filled with tepees and huts. It has many houses and businesses which are exactly the same as cities off the reservation. The Native Americans that lived on the plains like the Comanche, Apache, or Cheyenne do not go about life like the used. Just like people from Scandinavia do not act like Vikings. You might say well that's not fair because they were suppressed. The Spartans were eventually suppressed by the Romans. Does that make the Spartans an insensitive mascot? No. If we decided that every historical mascot was insensitive, then all we would have is animal mascots.
Overall, the class was very controversial. One positive aspect is that if you happen to be in the minority that doesn't agree, you are taught to do your research and know your facts. This is a valuable life lesson for everyone and it's the biggest lesson I've taken away from this class.
Thank you for taking this class and for being so open-minded and thoughtful. Of course we all need to think critically about everything, but some people do not have the tools nor the confidence to do this (like you do) so classes like this serve to help them. I agree with you about the point you made about women taking responsibility for themselves. But do keep in mind that when you get beaten down over and over again it takes a lot of will and strength to keep fighting. I think that is how a lot of racial minorities feel and how a lot of women feel in our society. No matter how hard they work or how hard they try, they still face the same roadblocks and the same discrimination. Just keep that in mind. As Ann Richards once said, "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backward and in high heels." Thanks for your work. GRADE: 98
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