Tonight, when I logged onto AOL, the first two articles that popped up were about Miley Cyrus's new video and Spongebob Squarepants. Ordinarily, these wouldn't seem like things that would make you think of American Studies, but that's what I did immediately. For the past couple weeks, a researcher from Northwestern University has been observing our class. She is conducting a study on how media effects today's youth. Both these articles are about how kids are effected by what they watch and who they look up to. Though it's sad that young girls are watching Miley while she sets a very bad example for them, I think it's awesome that Spongebob has added some important lessons to their seamingly pointless show. Do you remember any lessons or messages you got from media when you were younger?Monday, October 11, 2010
Subliminal Spongebob & Messages from Miley
Tonight, when I logged onto AOL, the first two articles that popped up were about Miley Cyrus's new video and Spongebob Squarepants. Ordinarily, these wouldn't seem like things that would make you think of American Studies, but that's what I did immediately. For the past couple weeks, a researcher from Northwestern University has been observing our class. She is conducting a study on how media effects today's youth. Both these articles are about how kids are effected by what they watch and who they look up to. Though it's sad that young girls are watching Miley while she sets a very bad example for them, I think it's awesome that Spongebob has added some important lessons to their seamingly pointless show. Do you remember any lessons or messages you got from media when you were younger?
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When I think about the television shows I watched when I was younger, such as Barney and Arthur, they actually did teach me some valuable lessons. Of course they were reinforced, and probably intiated, by my parents, but simple things. Such as "Look both ways before crossing the street" and "Stranger danger!". The clever ways television shows find to incorporate messages is very interesting, since they usually do it through a catchy song or by repetitive sayings. Thinking about the messages I recieved from Barney when I was younger brings me to the idea of the shows I watch now. Do The Jersey Shore and Glee have some sort of impact on how teenagers today behave or act, like Barney and Arthur did when I was younger?
ReplyDeleteI find it also interesting how some people believe that television shows such as, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Teen Mom, are supporting teen pregnancy. They are a part of the media that is affecting today's youth. Just like Miley Cyrus, parents believe that these are a bad example for their children. I mean what parent doesn't want their teenager getting pregnant? Although many of these programs at the end have a message on receiving help in those situations not many viewers actually read them. Parents do not always monitor what their children watch, so should all shows be required to have an episode with a "positive message"?
ReplyDeleteI also learned important lessons from TV when I was little. Like Lauren said, my parents reinforced them. However, I have never forgotten that "Big Bird makes mistakes" or the "clean up" song. I do not think that every show needs to have educational value, but those are most popular. Teenagers make their own choices, but little kids don't really have the power to chose what they watch until they're 4 or 5. Parents will show more wholesome television to their little ones, and those will be the ones that succeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Glenna! I agree with you on pretty much everything except that "Teenagers make their own choices". Even though it seems that teenagers think a lot more independently than little kids, I think they are probably influenced even more by the media than young children are. Since teenagers are more aware of everything around them, they make everything they see mean more than a little kid just blindly watching a cartoon.
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