Jonathan Zaun In two perceptive and provocative essays, authors Ann duCille and Henry Giroux examine toys, movies and media and examine ways in which the modern commercial culture directs the development of a child's psychology. Ann duCille's thoughtful essay, Dyes and Dolls: Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Difference, provides an insightful analysis of the ubiquitous Barbie doll and the role this icon of Americana plays in molding the maturation of entire generations of young girls. With his expansive and detailed Children's Culture and Disney's Animated Films, essayist Henry A. Giroux investigates the Disney empire and its vast influence on today's youth, exercised through their domination of the children's media market. Both of these works provide readers with empirical evidence supporting their separate, yet inherently intertwined, suppositions that media manipulation targeting children for the pursuit of capitalistic gains invariably causes lasting unintended consequences. Whether through the rebranding of a centuries old plaything, the girl's doll, into the corporate creation Barbie, or through the perception altering fantasy worlds created by Disney films, commercial interests have clearly hijacked the shaping of our children's psyches in the name of pursuing profits. One of the most damaging effects of this corporatization of adolescence is the undeniable affect that toys and movies have on a child's delicately evolving conception of racial identity and cultural . The subtle messages imbued by Barbie dolls and Disney films, both practically standard tools in modern American childrearing, clearly exhibit a direct impact...
The contention that Barbie dolls instruct a young girl's vision of her own her culture in comparison to others is confirmed throughout the essay through the sheer weight of statistical evidence presented. When duCille observes that "Barbie enjoys 100% brand name recognition among girls age three to ten" while "ninety-six percent & #8230; own at least one doll" (462), she is identifying the omnipresence of Barbie dolls throughout the span of a girl's adolescence. This startling revelation supports claims that the innumerable, unavoidable quality of the Barbie brand has transformed a simple doll into an instrument of social adaptation. The utter variety of modern Barbie dolls, which today comprise "a virtual rainbow coalition of colors, races, ethnicities and nationalities" (duCille 465), can be viewed as both a product of the world's increasingly globalized nature and as a precursor to the accelerated globalization of an entire generation of young girls.
Conflict Themes in "Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton This paper looks at the Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and discuses certain aspects within the novel, such as the central conflict themes, and the development of certain characters, this paper also looks at in brief the irony and symbolic nature of the time. Bibliography cites one reference. The Age of Innocence: The Conflict The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton was written
Edith Wharton's 'The Age of Innocence' The Age of Innocence is an enchanting Victorian era novel that eloquently illustrates the price of being among New York's high society the late nineteenth century. The novel's main characters are Newland Archer, a high society attorney, his fiance May Welland, and her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Archer is captivated by May's girl-like innocence and her firm grasp on their society's traditions. Their families are among
When that rocket took flight, in that moment I knew that learning was something that would never end for me. I knew that learning would be a life long process that would take me through highs and lows. However, in this instance the lows would never be seen in a negative light, not by me anyway. These moments would be more opportunities to grow from mistakes and perfect my
DNA Exonerations: John Kogut The Path To Exoneration: John Kogut The Path to Conviction When 16-year-old Teresa Fusco left work at 9:45 PM on November 10, 1984 she became one among several young girls reported missing over the past several years [Centurion Ministries, 2013; Innocence Project, n.d.(a)]. In contrast to her predecessors, however, her body was discovered a month later in a wooded area several blocks from the roller rink where she worked.
By taking part in his destiny, she somewhat disproves Zeus' claim that humans are wrong to suggest that the gods are to blame -- for without her interference, the many suitors would not have been slaughtered by Odysseus. Athena's speech here, which will fuel the eventual release of Odysseus and his long ride home, continues at this point to describe the situation in which (at the story's beginning) he is
Coming of Age Stories: Explorations of Components of the Narrative In literature, one of the most frequently dealt with theme is the story of one character's developing over time and reacting to the various experiences that he or she faces through the course of the narrative. This type of tale, called a coming of age story, follows the characters from the point at the beginning of the story all the way
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