Brown v. Board of Education and Wise

While the website on Brown v. Board of Education said that the case was a landmark one in overturning segregation in America, I have to agree with Wise when he says that Americans today still remain oblivious. Wise basically says that Americans only pretend that racial inequality does not exist anymore, when in fact it does.

I think that the problem with racial inequality in America, which may only get worse, is the fact that so many people ignore the subject, or are at least not knowledgeable about it. The fact the nobody ever talks about racial inequality is one of the biggest reasons why it still exists.

Brown v. Board of Education may not be as liberating as some people may think. The decision of the case only declared de jure segregation unconstitutional, that is, only segregation that was enforced by law became illegal. The decision did not, however, make de facto or "by custom", segregation illegal. So even thoguh segregation wasn't happening by law anymore, that didn't mean, and still does not mean, that segregation does not happen by "tradition" or "custom", for a lack of better words. Moreoever,the decision of the case said that the new decision was to be enforced "with all deliberate speed". This is a very vague time span. The court, by saying this, basically was saying to predominately white lawmakers: "it's okay, you can get around to de-segregating whenever you feel like it". The question that's raised by this is: have lawmakers even today reached "all deliberate speed"?

Tim Wise made a good point in his interview. The majority of Americans still remain oblivious to racial inequality, and that is the biggest cause of the problem.

A reflection on Cinderella Ate My Daughter

At one point or another in their life, every little girl has seen a Disney princess. Like the picture above, the little girls get false images of what life is really like. Not every woman will be as skinny has Cinderella is in the picture, or will have blond hair and blue eyes as the stereotypical and superficial mark of "beauty".  Not every girl will or should find a boy, a "Prince Charming", that will sweep them off their feet solely for looks.

When it comes to this, I think that it is the parents' job to make sure their little girl does what is good for her. The parents much teach their daughters to become self- sufficient and independent, and not to rely on any man for their financial well- being. I know personally that my father has taught me this for the longest time. He always says "One of the most important things you can do is get financially stable as soon as you can, because you shouldn't have to rely on anyone else when it comes to finances."

That is ultimately what the "princess culture" does NOT teach young girls. Rather, the princess culture seems to teach that evrey girl will find a rich man who will sweep them off their feet, and they will be all set for the rest of the lives; a sort of "happily ever after". But that is the furthest thing from the truth. The truth is, not many girls will find a "Prince Charming", and they will have to know how to be able to provide for themselves and how to so "no" to things that could be potentially harmful to their well- being. In conclusion, here is a video I found, which was created by a college class, that examines the sexist messages in Disney movies:

Unlearning the myths that bind us- a reflection

So, after reading Christensen's article, every notion that I had a Disney as well as other cartoons have been pretty much shattered. I never realized how biased seemingly innocent cartoons could be. Christensen argues in her article that these cartoons are bad influences on children, and I cannot help but agree with her. Children, especially, are very impressionable and the exposure to the kind of racism and bias expressed in cartoons causes children to grow up believing things about others that are wrong.

For example, if you take a look at all the Disney princesses pictured above, all of them are depicted as white, beautiful, and extremely skinny women. Not all women look like this in real life. If young girls grow up thinking that this is what their bodies are supposed to look like, then they will never learn to be happy with who they truly are.

On the boys' side of things, think about male characters portrayed in cartoons: Popeye, Buzz Lightyear, and Captain Hook, just to name a few off the top of my head. All of these male characters are portrayed as hyper- masculine, and resorting to violence and anger in some form or another to get what they want. Young boys growing up watching these cartoons will eventually begin to think that violence and anger is the way to get what they want, too.

Aside from the stereotypical gender roles being present in cartoons, there is also the problem of racism being present as well. The black crow feautured in the Disney movie Dumbo is named "Jim Crow", which obviously refers to the infamous Jim Crow laws of the American south which were enacted from the late 1800s until the mid 1960s. These laws made into law segregation rules, which were to be enforced in all public facilities. But, one also has to keep in mind that Dumbo was a Disney movie which was released in 1941, so it's a "sign of the times", I guess.

In conclusion, I'll leave you with this article, which contains a short video looking at the elements of mostly racism in Disney cartoons.