Book Review The Achilles Effect: What Pop Culture is Teaching Young Boys about MasculinityMy son picked up my copy of The Achilles Effect, by Crystal Smith, and started reading aloud about toy action figures that have bulked up to superhuman … [Read more...]
BOOK – Gender stereotypes: How boys are harmed by the media’s twisted portrayal of how to be a man
March 16, 2011 by
See your name in lights. Or in the credits at least.
February 24, 2011 by
For just $35, you can help get this documentary completed, and they will put your name in the credits. How cool is that? THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE AS TOLD BY WONDER WOMAN is a feature film about female superheroes, warrior princesses and the … [Read more...]
Thinking about ratings creep: Lost in America to Red
February 16, 2011 by
The film Consuming Kids talks about ratings creep—that is, the tendency of the film rating board to allow more and more images and situations to appear in more stringently rated movies, mainly because we just get used to them. So sexual situations, … [Read more...]
Sexist eye on the news: Egypt
February 11, 2011 by
The Opinioness of the World asks, "... if 20-50% of women are protesting, why aren’t we seeing that reflected in the images shown on the news websites and networks?"People often overlook women in protests or wars, as if they are absent or … [Read more...]
Power of media for good, not evil
January 3, 2011 by
Here's a New Year's gift for you and your kids or students. History lessons set to pop music. Two history teachers in Hawaii write the lyrics and sing them. Watch and learn about Elizabeth I: Try a few more. Try to stop. It's addictive. Read … [Read more...]
Media literacy success at school
November 29, 2010 by
My son, R, was so eager to tell me that his Freshman Advisory teacher was going to do a unit about media literacy, and was using the documentary film “Consuming Kids,” that he couldn’t wait, and sent a text message from school. So we’ll leave the … [Read more...]
Good TV? Yes!
October 7, 2010 by
Complain about harmful messages in children’s television shows, and be prepared for the attack: How dare you use television as a babysitter? How dare you consider taking a quick break from the perpetual work of parenting a small child, and pop in a … [Read more...]
Interview: Alex Bogusky and Susan Linn on Mad Men and our Children
October 1, 2010 by
This video is an hour long, but once you hit play, you'll be hooked.Alex Bogusky, the interviewer, is a former top gun advertiser who recently decided that advertising to children is wrong. In an essay on his blog, he called on all advertisers … [Read more...]
Teen pregnancy and a lesson in media literacy
September 22, 2010 by
The Gloucester 18, The Realities of Teen PregnancyMedia Education Foundation has just released on DVD this film examining a spike in pregnancies in 2008 at the Gloucester High School in Massachusetts, and the accompanying media hype. The filmmaker's … [Read more...]
Friday reading list
September 17, 2010 by
I came across a few good reads this week that I wanted to share: Your Tango: Is TV biased against female sexuality? The message in the ad discussed here is that “women deserve sexual satisfaction.” Now that’s a much different message than the … [Read more...]
Marketing, Media and Childhood 