Annotated Bibliography

Chandra, Anita. "Does Watching Sex on Television Predict Teen Pregnancy?" PEDIATRICS 122. (2008): 1047-1054. Web. 30 Nov 2010.

            This piece is a scholarly article from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The article focuses on the evident increase in children’s exposure to sex through television and the effects it has on the life choices and sexual attitudes of teens. The section most useful to me will be the discussion and conclusion section because it discusses the consequences of sex that are portrayed on television. This can serve as one of my three scholarly articles that are necessary. The article will help me support my argument, that television does not always encourage sexual activity, with credible evidence.

Garber-Paul, Elisabeth. "MTV: Teen Pregnancy Meets Reality Television." RH Reality Check. Information and Analysis for Reproductive Health, 20 May 2009. Web. 30 Nov 2010.

            This article is a post to a health blog discussing the show 16 and Pregnant, which is now a hit MTV series. This is a less informative text but there are still parts of it that can be used towards my response essay. I intend to use the quote “The stories in '16 & Pregnant' are full of hope, heartbreak,

and real-life consequences and should be a must viewing for teens

nationwide.” The author discusses the honesty and reality of the series and how it can actually be a good influence on teens and their sexual health. This will add evidential support to my paper of the idea that reality TV series encourage kids to wait to involve themselves in sexual activity by showing the consequences.

           

West, Kelly. "The Secret Life of the American Teenager-Season One." Cinema Blend. 2009. Web. 30 Nov 2010.

            This article is mainly a review of the television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. It consists of summaries of all the characters and the plot of the story. What is important for my research in this article is the section where the author talks about how becoming pregnant affected Amy Jergens’s life and the people around her. She also comments that the show doesn’t portray a fantasy world that is unrealistic but instead shows the real consequences and problems Amy is faced with because of her decision. She also mentions the aspect of the show that Amy was the person least expected for this to happen to, therefore it could happen to anyone. This article will help me to incorporate shows in an effort to argue Natalie’s original claim. 

Response Essay

The essay I plan to respond to is Natalie’s essay on “Losing Virginity to the Big Screen’s Lies.” This essay caught my attention because there is a very evident increase in the number of pre-marital pregnancies and related issues across the country, and the world. I plan to counter Natalie’s argument that the media always portrays/encourages early sexual activity. Her argument was that big screen movies and other media promote pre-marital sex and the start of an early sex life. In my essay I will bring light to the way the media encourages waiting by showing the consequences of partaking in these activities too early. I will include examples of media including television series and movies and explain how each discourages early sexual activity. I will relate my argument back to Natalie’s original essay as well. Some shows I will focus on are the Secret Life of the American Teenager, Teen Mom, and 16 and Pregnant. When discussing these shows, I will illuminate the struggles the teens are faced with due to their poor decisions.

            One of the main points I will include is the amount of sacrifices pregnant teens have to make and how it changes their life. In the Secret Life of the American Teenager, Amy, the main character, constantly complains about all of the things she can’t do because she now has a baby. In 16 and Pregnant, many of the young pregnant women also realize that they now cannot do their daily routines and must change their actions to pay for what they did. Another point I will make is the way these decisions ruin relationships, with the girls’ mothers, and partners. I will show how the media portrays this and why it discourages sexual activity too early. I have yet to figure out the last main point I will present but there are many options. I will have to do some research and read others’ opinions about the way the media portrays sexual activity.

Challenging Media

While its hard to hear the end statement of the video, Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood & Corporate Power, we can’t help to ponder on it after viewing the video. Not many companies have the broad media coverage and ubiquitous conglomerate that Disney possesses. One of the speakers in the video says that Disney is often viewed as a fantasy that need not be questioned. This detail is scary alone; that one company has enough power that anything it portrays is assumed to be innocent and acceptable. Because of the reputation Disney has accumulated over the years, it is understandable that people assume that everything the company produces is good-natured.

            Disney and its products are advocated and endorsed by people around the world. The role they’ve played in children’s lives over the past few generations has made them respectable in a majority of populations. Dr. Henry Giroux, a speaker in the video, was taken aback by the reaction people had when he revealed to them that he was challenging Disney and it’s morality. It seemed as if the idea was unprecedented and confusing to many.

            A big concern with Disney’s message that it sends to younger generations is the portrayal of women. Over the years they have not changed the way the depict women and in today’s age it is an especially predominant issue. Since children look up to the characters in Disney movies, the image they portray about how to act is very important. The speaker’s example of how Belle forgives and justifies the beast’s abusive behavior is one twisted behavior that is portrayed as acceptable through Disney. This issue is present in many forms of media, including the modeling industry, which is discussed in the video, Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women. This video focused on the way media portrays how a woman “should” look, even though the models themselves don’t have that image, and don’t even desire it. Industries like this also contribute to the “very limited world view” idea that we are presented with in the Disney video. It’s an interesting fact to consider that the force of Disney has the power to shape what we thing about the world, people, relationships, and idealism.

            A second concern to Disney critics is the types of ideas Disney is putting into young minds in the interest of racism. The video claims that Disney may be promoting white supremacy, because they don’t have black people in their movies. This is still a big issue and is evident in almost any communities. I think people would have trouble accepting that Disney is a contributor to such hate but it’s an interesting thought to consider. The lack of representation of African and Asian societies is an incorrect portrayal of the world and since Disney has so much power, they plant this idea into kid’s heads early. While I don’t consider Disney a dictator or corrupted company, I believe there are many ideas they should start to evolve when creating new material in order to properly represent what children should be introduced to at a young age.

Dissenting Voices

At the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester, talk about a Florida pastor wanting to burn the Islamic holy book, the Quran, was all the buzz among many news broadcasters. Articles on this topic are abundant and to many, very offensive. While the texts are numerous, one blog post called “Pastor Terry Jones. No Guts. No Glory.,” an article present on Vanity Fair’s website, comes off as ridiculous and unsubstantial. The author, Henry Rollins, starts off with saying “The only thing worse than Pastor Terry Jones scheduled Koran burning is the fact that he canceled the proposed event (Rollins).” Readers would think, after this statement, that the author agreed with Pastor Jones’s preposition to burn the books, yet we soon realize that the author doesn’t really seem to have a solid opinion on the topic. With each paragraph, he flips back and forth, at some points saying that the pastor was a coward for backing out and at other points saying he shouldn’t have gone through with it because “I’m in Islamic countries all the time. It’s not a stretch to say that Jones is endangering my life (Rollins).” He even goes on to say that he hopes that every Christian in America is against the pastor’s proposition. But wait. Didn’t you just say it was a mistake for him to not go through with it? The way Rollins fails to commit to a side of the argument instantly depletes his credibility in my eyes.

            Another aspect of the article that seemed senseless and unprofessional was the language that Rollins used. Rollin’s repeatedly calls Terry Jones an “idiot.” While many will quickly agree with this statement, a more intelligent sounding word choice may have been more appropriate for a post on a popular magazine’s website. When arguing on a touchy subject like this, I always feel that it’s more effective to stay professional and resist sinking down to the level of whom you are accusing. Rollins was more concerned with the fact that Jones was threatening his right to free speech than the content of the act Jones was committing. Rollins said, “this small-time hick has taken my First Amendment and trashed it in this manner is infuriating (Rollins).”           

            Most articles to be found on this subject simply argue against the preposition rather then try to sit the fence on the subject. Why would anyone agree with the pastor anyways? In an interview with CBS, Terry Jones admitted that he knew this act would offend all Muslim people around the world but he wanted it to serve as a warning to the Islamic radicals. Isn’t it very radical of him to burn the Muslim’s holy book? I’m sure he would raise trouble if anyone planned to burn the bible. He also admitted that he didn’t personally know a single Muslim person. I’m not really sure how he considers himself to be a good pastor or good representative of the Christian faith.

Rollins, Henry. "Pastor Terry Jones. No guts. No glory.." Vanity Fair 13 Sep. 2010: Web. 4 Nov 2010. <http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/09/pastor-terry-jones-no-guts-no-glory.html>.