Unlearning Myths that Bind Us: Connections

Summary: Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

The article Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us, by Linda Christensen, discusses how she tries to teach their students how to analyze the world around them by using media to have them analyze. The teacher uses

"children's cartoons, movies, and literature", because they "are perhaps the most influential genre to read" (Christensen 127). She has her students look at how media and entertaining directed to children shape their ideas of society and the world around them. In this exercise her students will watch a cartoon or movie and analyze the stereotypes or racism they see portrayed in it. The students write their thoughts in a journal, where they can work through their feelings, emotions and ideas about the show or movie they watched. The author says the goal of this course and exercise is to have the students "develop their critical consciousness, but also move them to action" (Christensen 134). By the end of the course, Christensen realizes she needs to create an opportunity for her students to take action and go outside of the classroom to present their ideas. She states, "Instead of leaving students full of bile...shaking their heads about how bad the world is, I provided them the opportunity to make a difference" (Christensen 137). 

Connection 1: Power and Privilege

As I was reading the article by Christensen, I could not help but think of how her ideas and teaching methods overlapped those ideas of Alan Johnson the author of, Power and Privilege. I reexamined the article by Johnson and found many similarities and evidence to support the relation between the two works. In Johnson's article he writes, a "great deal of trouble surrounds issues of difference in this society, trouble relating to gender and sexual orientation, ethnicity and social class" (Johnson vii). I found this quote to highlight the issues Christensen is trying to imply in her article, when she includes a statement from author Beverly Tatum. The statement by Tatum explains, "The secondhand information we receive has often been distorted, shaped by cultural stereotypes, and left incomplete" (Christensen 127). The two quotes by Johnson along with Christensen, showcase that the stereotypes in society are creating problems and people are not experiencing these stigmas firsthand but are believing in what is being told to them. Both of the authors are implying that no one is questioning or challenging the stereotypes being portrayed and expressed to them.

Another connection I found between Johnson and Christensen, is between their beliefs that people need to change the way in which they think about the world. In his article Johnson states, the "goal is to change how people think about issues of difference" (Johnson viii), and further explains, "you can't deal with a problem if you don't name it; once you name it, you can think, talk and write about it" (Johnson 11). These statements proclaimed by Johnson pertain to the work of Christensen's teaching. Christensen has her students write in journals reflecting on the stereotypes that are portrayed in various forms of media and entertainment. Christensen says, "The dialogue journal spurs them to argue, talk back, and create a conversation" (Christensen 128). Christensen also states, that her goal is to have her students not only be able to critique their surroundings but also put their thoughts into actions (Christensen 134). The two authors both have a goal to have people change how they see the world and question the issues at hand. Johnson says that in order to deal with a problem you must discuss it and that is what Christensen has her students do, by writing in their journals.

The third connection I found between the two articles was from one of Christensen's students named, Kenya. Kenya wrote a piece titled "A Black Cinderella? Give Me a Break", in which she stated "Women who aren't white begin to feel left out and ugly because they never get to play the princess" (Christensen 131). This statement written by Kenya made me think of the list of privileges Johnson includes in his article, one of the privileges stated proclaims, "Whites can usually assume that national heroes, success models and other figures held up for general admiration will be of their race" (Johnson 28). The two statements relate and connect to one another, because they both show that minority races are not portrayed in the media often, or if they are they are never the main character. 

I find it interesting that even though the two articles were different in some of the arguments and had a different focal point of discussion they still highlighted similar ideas. Johnson argues about power and privilege that majority groups have over minorities and how to combat this and Christensen discusses how she tries to get her students to think differently about the world. Although different in their main points of view, the two authors share similar ideas of how to handle and challenge stereotypes in society. 

Connection 2: Other People's Children

After completing reading Christensen's article I found more connections to another piece of work I have read. As I was browsing through past articles I have read I came across the work of Lisa Delpit, who wrote Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. In her article, Delpit discusses the struggles of teaching minority students and includes strategies of how teachers can better the classroom environment to include all students. In her article Delpit declares, "we must learn to be vulnerable enough to allow our world to turn upside down in order to allow the realities of others to edge themselves into our consciousness" (Delpit 47). As I reread this quote I immediately connected it to the work of Christensen. In the reading Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us, Christensen includes a statement by a student named, Justine. In this statement Justine says that the dissection of dreams causes her depression and overwhelms her knowing that her self-image has been caused by others and underlying thoughts. The dreams she has is what prevents her from dealing with the harsh reality (Christensen 129). Christensen then affirms Justine's statement saying that Justine admits "how necessary this process was if she wanted to move beyond where she was at the time" (Christensen 129). These two ideas from both articles show a connection between the works, because Christensen's example of Justine's statement provides evidence to Delpit's argument. The two examples from both works also present the importance of vulnerability, in order to change our perceptions of the world.

In Delpit's article she includes a quote that states, "To put our beliefs on hold is to cease to exist as ourselves for a moment...it is painful...it means turning yourself inside out, giving up a sense of who you are..." (Delpit 46). When I came across this quote looking back through this article and found this quote, I immediately made the connection again to Justine's statement from Christensen. In Christensen's article, she includes a statement made by her student Justine which states, "It's painful to deal with. The idea of not being completely responsible for how I feel about things today is scary" (Christensen 129). Between these two articles, there is the connection that both of these articles stress that it is painful to face the truth of the world sometimes, but it is important to see other perspectives. The two authors acknowledge that it can be painful to see the truth and give up a sense of who you are.

These two articles are vastly different in the content they state, but both of the authors showcase the main idea of how vulnerability is important in order to be able to see other perspectives and truths of society. Both Delpit and Christensen, suggest that you have to look past your beliefs and ideas, in order to be able to see various views and the truths in society.

Personal Connections

I found this article by Christensen to be insightful and I like how she encourages her students to see the stereotypes that shape society by using something they all have watched and relate to. The article reminded me of my film class that I took a year ago. In my film class, our professor encouraged us to look past the scenery and acting. He taught us how to look at camera angles and the how the culture of the time shaped the dialogue, costumes and acting in the film. Even though in my class we did not just focus on the stereotypes in the film, he still encouraged us like Christensen, to see past the film itself, look at the deeper meanings and question why the film portrayed certain lines and costumes.

Hyperlinks

I wanted to find a source that helped everyone be able to combat stereotypes like Christensen had her students do. As I researched online of ways to battle stereotypes I came across a simple website that provides a list of how people can fight against stereotypes. The website provides a list of how parents of adults can help children understand what stereotypes are and how they can battle these stereotypes. I provided the link for you to be able to read the article and list. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/tips-for-battling-stereotypes

Talking Points

I really appreciated this article and it taught me other ways to have students question their society and to take action against the things they do not like or agree with. I like that Christensen had her students challenge the stereotypes they see in shows or movies that have shaped their lives. The

article made me realize how often we do not question the stereotypes and roles in society. We just accept them for what they are and they never question why they are that way. I wonder why we just accept what people say about society and why we never examine stereotypes. Why is it that we do not often challenge stereotypes or things that we disagree with in society?





Works Cited

Christensen, Linda. Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us. Christensen and Karp, 2003. 

Delpit, Lisa. Other People's Children Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. The New Press, 1995. 

EasyEnglish2014. “Séquence Secondes.” Let's Have Fun with English !, 22 Nov. 2014, http://easyenglish2014.canalblog.com/archives/2014/11/22/31007651.html. 

“Fighting Stereotypes in the Workplace.” Fighting Stereotypes in the Workplace | National Performing Arts Convention, http://www.performingartsconvention.org/diversity/id=621. 

Johnson, Alan G. Privilege, Power and Difference. Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001. 

Knorr, Caroline. “Tips for Battling Stereotypes.” Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media, 21 Feb. 2012, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/tips-for-battling-stereotypes. 

Neel. “30 Best and Beautiful Disney Cartoon Characters for Your Inspiration.” Webneel.com, https://webneel.com/disney-cartoons-characters.