Listen Up! Youth Media Network

As I searched through the site I came across a video that I was particulary interested in. The video was People or puppets http://www.listenup.org/screeningroom/view.php?media=6c23b40df36787c54d80a3f3e5fb6cec. In this video they spoke with teens and asked them what some of their favorite shows and websites were. Many of the teens talked about shows like My Super Sweet Sixteen and MySpace. One of the teens talked about how on My Super Sweet Sixteen, one kid on the show was given an expensive car for his birthday and how his dad has been working his whole life and is driving around in an old car. He says how they way that they are portraying those teens is setting an unrealistic example to viewers. Also the viedo discussed body image and how the ideal body image for women has gone down in size, but for men, it has gone up as men are expected to be muscular. I liked how in the video it showed clips from movies in the 50's when Marilyn Monroe's body image was ideal. This was an image of a healthy, "normal" sized woman. In this video I feel that teens are trying to say that the images that the media directs toward teens, are unrealistic to what teens look and act like. The teens that created this viedo are trying to show the history of teens and television and how the media affects them. Shows like My Super Sweet Sixteen set an unrealistic example of the lifestyle of a teenager. The video is trying to prove that media has a strong hold on youth culture.

The Truth About Teenagers and Body Image

I chose to do an interview with a teenager about her views on body image and how the media influences her ideas. I interviewed a co-worker of mine, who is nineteen years old. She is in her second year of college and had some interesting thoughts to say to during the interview. I was surprised at some of her responses as they were not typical to the type of responses I would expect a teenager to give. The interview went as follows:
Me: Which celebrity do you idolize?
Teenager: I would have to say that Mariska Hargitay,( Olivia on the TV show Law and Order) is someone that I idolize. She is a strong, resilient, beautiful women both on her show and in real life. I also look up to Christina Aguilera because I love how her songs are inspiring for women. If I had to look like anyone in Hollywood, I would want to look like the actress Megan Fox. I just think that she is gorgeous.
Me: Where do you typically shop for clothes?
Teenager: I shop at the "typical teenage stores" like Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Old Navy.
Me: Is there something in particular that attracts you to those stores?
Teenager: Honestly, I like to shop at these stores because they always have eye-catching displays in the window. When I walk by I look in the windows and always see something I like and have to go in.
Me: OK, How would you compare yourself to images in the media?
Teenager: I don't really particularly try to look any of the images I see in the media or any celebrities. I feel that a lot of the trends and stuff I see are a little too fashion forward for me and I mostly like to have my own style. I really don't aspire to look like anyone, I'm pretty happy with the way I look. I like my body and would not want to change anything about myself, except for being a little bit taller. I know a lot of girls say,"Oh I wish I could like a certain person", but I don't let what I see in the media affect how I view myself.
Me: So you kind of touched on my next question about how you feel about your own image.
Teenager: Yea, I mean I have a lot of self-esteem, not in a bragging way or anything. I am happy with the person I see in the mirror.
Me: That's great. How do you feel about advertisements geared towards girls that you see or reality shows, if you watch any?
Teenager: I think that commercials for hair products like shampoo, are completely fake. They make these girls look like their hair is so perfect and that their skin is flawless. I know that no one looks like that in real life so I do not let it bother me. As far as reality shows, I watch America's Next Top Model, The Hills, Project Runway. I just watch them for fun and do not take the images that I see of the females on the show so seriously.
From conducting this interview with a teenager, I feel that it has taught me that there are teenagers out there that do not try to look like a surreal image that they see on TV. The teenager I interviewed was completely happy with her body, which is a rarity for someone her age. It was refreshing to talk to a teenager that did not aspire to look like someone like Lindsay Lohan or any other young female celebrity. This interview proved that teenagers can be happy with their body image and that not all of what they see on television or advertisements affects their thinking. Teenage girls can be strong and confident in being themselves and not want to change who they are. Advertisements for beauty products and shows, like Top Model, seem to be geared toward young female viewers. The bodies of the women on Top Model, are the body type of models. Models are not everyday women, which a teenager watching the show will not realize. They will see the image of a girl that is 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 110 pounds and think that is what they are suppose to look like. Therefore doing drastic things such as extreme dieting or starving themselves.
A course theme that I feel is challenged by this interview that was done with a teenager is from Lauren Greenfield's " Fast Forward". In her piece she says that, " Like young people everywhere, L.A.'s teens are greatly influenced by the television and films they watch, the magazines they read, and the music they listen to." Although the teenager I interviewed watched television shows that teens watch and listened to music that teen listen to, she did not let the images she saw, have an affect on her own self image. She kept herself separated from these images, which is something that most teens do not do. Like Greenfield said, most teens are greatly influenced by what they see and hear. Greenfield also says, "Whether it is the desire to be an adult when one is a child, to be a gangster when one is privileged, to be famous when one is unknown, or to look like a model, when one does not, young people are preoccupied with becoming other than they are." The teenager I interviewed proves that she is not preoccupied with becoming other than who she is. She is accepting of who she is and demonstrates that by having high self-esteem.
From the Linda Christensen's piece "Underlying the Myths That Bind Us", it says that,"It can be overwhelming and discouraging to find out my whole self image has been formed mostly by others or underneath my worries about what I look like are years of being exposed to TV images of girls and their set roles given to them by TV and the media....The idea of not being completely responsible for how I feel about things today is scary." The teenage girl from my interview does not have to go through what the girl from the reading has gone through, because she does not let her self image, be formed from TV images. Being happy with yourself is what is important for teenage girls. Another quote from the reading says, " Because we can never look like Cinderella, we begin to hate ourselves. The Barbie syndrome starts as we begin a lifelong search for the perfect body." Although not everyone has the perfect image, being accepting of what you look like is the first step in leading a happy, healthy life. For many teens this is not clear to them and they become caught up in trying to be something that they are not, therefore losing their identity altogether.

Talking Points on Teens Talk Back

Some things I Understand- After reading all of the articles I believe that an underlying theme I see in all of them is that youth are using the media as a place to socialize with others of the same age group and to express themselves and their identity. In the article by Danah Boyd it says," Youth use it (MySpace) for identity production and socialization in contemporary American society." MySpace is used as a social network in which teens can make their own profile pages, add pictures of themselves and friends, send comments to others and look to see who left them comments. Boyd says, " Checking messages and getting comments is what brings people back to MySpace everyday." Teens are using MySpace almost more than once a day and even have the page open when they are doing homework. Some even access MySpace while they are in school. I think that the adults ideas about MySpace are drastically different from teens. Boyd says, " Moral panics are a common reaction to teenagers when they engage in practices not understood by adult culture." Many parents are worried at the fact that their children are on the site. However, in the article "Family, Community and Youtube", the author tells how he went to a meet-up to meet other Youtube members and that some young people that have videos on the site were brought by their parents who encouraged them to go to the meet. Perhaps parents should not be so constricting to what their children do as Boyd says, " Restricting youth to controlled spaces typically results in rebellion and the destruction of trust. Of course, for a parent letting go and showing youth to navigate risks is terrifying. Unfortunately, i's necessary ffor youth to mature."
Some things I don't understand- There was a quote in the Boyd article about teens sending messages that I did not understand. It says, " MySpace's messaging is better suited for youths' asynchronous messaging needs."
Connections to other texts or course themes- In the Youtube article when it discussed the parents bringing their children to the Youtube meet up and encouraging their children to be seen by others, it reminded me of one of the articles about Kid Nation. The article pulled a quote from Meghan Daums' piece in Los Angeles Times which said, " Now that the culture of celebrity worship spans several generations, and because it's a biological imperative for parents to want for their children what they couldn't attain for themselves, it makes perfect sense for that some may want to see their kids on reality shows more than they want them becoming doctors."
Questions/ Comments/ Points to Share in Class-I feel that MySpace is a site that teens should not be using as much as they do. Many problems are arising from teens using the site and many children of young ages are portraying themselves through their pictures as much older, therefore attracting older males. I think that parents should realize more of what MySpace is all about and what exactly their children are doing on the site.

Project Ideas

An idea I have for my project is maybe doing an interview with a teenager and focusing the interview on issues of body image and how the media affects their ideas about body image. Also how the media influences the way they act, dress, and communicate with others.

Talking Points on Kid Nation links

Some thing I understand: After reading these articles about the show Kid Nation, I feel that the underlying theme in all of them is that the show is nothing more than entertainment that is being hyped up, more than it needs to be, by the media. In the article by Nancy McDermott she says, "Kid Nation is entertainment, pure and simple. It is an illusion staged and stage-managed to be dramatic, moving and frustrating, all the things that once made reality TV engaging but which now make it feel a bit stale." Kid Nation is no different from any other reality show that is on television. She also says that, "No matter how successful or entertaining the series turns out to be, one thing is clear: the panic about Kid Nation has been overblown. By all accounts, the kids had a great time and the ‘dangers’ involved were no more than what they might encounter in a sleep-away summer camp." In the article titled "Should Kids Be Seen", the author tells of the contracts the kids parents had to sign saying, "In recent weeks, news has surfaced that a few of the children sustained minor injuries during filming and that the producers may have violated New Mexico child labor laws (they claim these weren't applicable because the kids were "participants," not "employees"). It's been reported that the kids' parents signed contracts not only promising confidentiality (a violation of which carries a $5-million penalty) but also waiving their rights to sue in the case of "serious bodily injury, illness or death." The parents of the children are made out to be careless savages who only care about their children getting money from the show. Also the author discusses how times have changed for what parents want for their children saying, "But now that the culture of celebrity worship spans several generations, and because it's a biological imperative for parents to want for their children what they couldn't attain themselves, it makes perfect sense that some may want to see their kids on reality shows more than they want them becoming doctors." Reality tv captivates us all and all though we may be relucatant to watch reality shows, we eventually give in to the temptation and our eyes are glued to the television.
Some things I don't understand: Some things I do not understand from the readings are from the article by Ellen Goodman in which she says, "There is nothing particularly new about the conflicting images of children as innocents and children as beasts." I am not sure as to what she means by this quote.
Questions/ Comments/Points to Share in Class: " The show is intended to play on the tantalising notion that children are a purer, unspoiled version of us while at the same time exploiting our dread that it could all go horribly wrong and end in some Goldingesque fiasco." This quote I feel says what the intention on the show Kid Nation, is all about.