The Princess and the Frog

I brought my nephews and neice to see the Princess and the Frog yesterday. I couldn't help but notice what a change was made in Disney animation. For my research project I have been looking at how Disney films have changed there representations of minorities since they first started appearing. I have to say that The Princess and the Frog probably knocks all of there other animated films out of the water. The film does a good job at presenting diverse characters in all different roles, regardless of what race they are. I don't want to say to much because some of you may be considering going, but it was a great film.

Changes

So as I was sitting here trying to figure out what to write about I remembered a strory from my hometown. In my town of Falmouth, there is a really historical mansion and theatre (that used to be a stable). Some of you may have heard of it, it is called Highfield Hall. The original owners owned the buildings as well as numerous acres of land back in the early 1900's. They were a very wealthy family who summered down on the Cape from Boston. One day there daughter fell in love with the stable boy. When her father found out he killed her boyfriend, all because he was from a different economic class. When the daughter caught wind of this she took her own life. Today it is said that she still haunts the property, wandering around screaming her lovers name.

Some of you may be wondering what this has to do with class, but I thought it would be interesting to note how economics and relationships have changed. Less than a hundred years ago it was frowned upon to date outside of your class. Today that usually isn't a main thought of people when they look at a couple.

The picture you see posted is an image that they caught of the Ghost inside the hall.

Underserved Minorities in Schools

So the other day I went to a meeting for future teachers and we had a guest speaker. The speaker was discussing how one of the ways America has failed its students is through inclusion. All grades from early childhood through college are struggling to create an environment that is optimal for the learning of all students. We constantly gear education towards a certain group and fail to accomadate those who may come from a different background or home than most of the class. Anyways it was an interesting speech and I learned a lot for my future classroom. But I wanted to know what you all thought about this? Do you feel that schools and teachers do a good job to accomadate the various needs in there classroom such as various minorities or students that do not come from teh status quo? What do you think should be done?

Shooting in Texas

It is terrible to think about what happened in Texas. I am still wondering what could drive a man to shoot his comrads. But some of you may be wondering how does this tradedy fit into our class. Im not really sure it does, but a comment I heard on the news made me think about it in the context of our class. The reporter said "if only his last name had been smith". The shooters last name tied him to the Middle East, a group that has become commonly discriminated against in our culture since September 11. While I can not truly understand what the reporter meant by this, or the circumstances surrounding the tragedy it still made me think. Maybe the reporter has a point, what if his last name had been Smith?

House of Pain

So I am probably one of the last people on Earth who just started watching Tyler Perry's House of Pain. But has I was watching the show my boyfriend told me something intersting about Perry. He went from being homeless to living in a $5 million dollar mansion since the creation of his show. However, I found the messages his show portrayed to be a bit controversial. While I personally enjoy his work, it is full of black stereotypes. It is also interesting that there are no prominent figures in the show as far as I can tell. Considering his background one would think that he would want to go against the stereotypes and in someway portray something positive in the show. But then again it could just be me, because like I said I just started watching it.

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Now Im sure by now most of you have heard about Obama's latest acheivement, The Nobel Peace Prize. But I think it is still worthwhile talking about because it is pertinent to the issues of the class. When I heard the news it made me curious about who else has one the prize. It was interesting to find out that only 3 United States Presidents other than Obama have won the Peace Prize and two of the were in the early 1900's. I think it says a lot about our country. Obama is carrying out his promise of changing foreigeners perceptions on America.
Has I looked up the previous winners I found it interesting the variety of people who have received the world. It has always appeared that white men get more attention that other races. But when it comes to the Nobel Peace Prize, they truly have awarded it to a variety of races and ethnicities. However, there was one group that seemed to be vastly underepresented in the awardings.. Women. While many women have received the prize, there are still about 5 or 6 men for every female. Just thought I would point that out.

Michelle Obama's Family History

Wow. Did anyone catch the New York Times this moring or the news? Apparently they have traced back Michelle Obama's history to slavery. Both her mother and father's side of the family had previously been slaves. A researcher discovered Michelle Obama's ancestors on a property list, they even discovered will wich left one of her (grandmothers?) to another owner. The women was forced to up and leave where she was previously living to go with her new owner.
Hearing about Michelle's history really makes you think about how far our world has come, even though there is still much progress to be made. To think if thinks have not changed she would have never been a first lady, nor would she have accomplished all she has in her personal life. If we had not seeked change she could have still been in slavery. The progress she has personally made serves as a reminder and pusher for change.

The New Face of Homelessness

So today I thought I would talk about a different group that is contantly discriminated against in society... the homeless. When thinking of homeless people many stereotypical thoughts come to mind. A man holding a sign on the corner, dirty clothes, drug addict, lazy, boxes, cars, prosititution,etc. Im sure many of you can add on to the list with ease, a list that television has helped to create. But many of you may be surprised to find out, that this stereotype of a homeless person doesn't even represent the majority of the population who is homeless.

There are more children in the United States that are homeless than any other single population. Thats right, over 50% of the homeless population is children. These children have no say in there situation and couldn't be farther from how society stereotypes homeless people. Just think about the word homeless. That alone puts individuals in a league separate from the rest of society and yet people through the word around without thought.

Up until yesterday, I too was surprised to learn this about children. I recently joined an organization called Horizons for the Homeless. This organization dedicates itself towards the children who are homeless. They are the only group in Massachussetts who is dedicated towards helping just children. Now lets think about that for a second, children are the largest homeless population and yet there is only one organization dedicated to meeting there social/ and emotional needs. My particular role is a PAL. I go in once a week for two hours and lead play activties for the kids. While this sounds like a little bit of time to one of us, this time means the world to them, because it is a few hours where everything is about them.

Next time your about to say something about the homeless population, think about just who your saying it too. Its not that 40 year old person living on the stree with a sign. More often your insulting someone who looks like and acts just like your 7 year old cousin, your 2 year old neice, or your 15 year old brother. Homelessness isn't what we all like to cover it up as.

The New Black Barbie

I was recently reading an article online about the new black Barbie. The new Barbie, has a slight twist on previous ones. This Barbie is part of a line called "So in Style". The line features Barbie wearing alot of bling, fancy sneakers, and common urban wear. While mtel (the company that creates Barbie) may have been trying to reach out to a new audience, girls are having mized feelings. In Manhattan this Barbie didn't become has popular as one may expect because the company made an assumption that girls from the city in this race are all into hip hop or the rap scene. Some critics of the Barbie are saying it is sort of racist. As for me im not too sure what I think about this Barbie, I just think that the company went with a stereotype and went with it without considering the reprocautions or the fuss it may have caused.

Lincoln Heights Part 2

I know I have already discussed this show for the various viepoints it presents and its presenation of a black family living in a typical neighborhood that television likes to place them in. However, while watching the show the other day I specifically thought of this class after a rude comment was made.

During the show Charles and Cassie were involved in a minor accident. When Charles got out of the car to ask for information from the person who crashed into them, a verbal confronatation arose. The confronatation soon escalated and moved from being about the car accident to Charles' girlfriend being black. It was evident that the person who hit them was races after he made a remark about how the hit didn't get the black off of Cassie.

This episode deeply disturbed me because I am not used to seeing people be so publicly open about there disslike for interacial relationships. It was interesting to see it portrayed on television in such a verbal way. Often they seem to send these messages through nonverbal language such as dirty looks. Like many other problems in society this one attacked it from a viepoint that is not always so blunty shown.

Obama's Speech at the United Nations

Did anyone catch Obama's address to the UN. The speech was focused around the problems with nuclear weapons, and passing policies pertaining to such. I thought he made some really interesting points. One point that Obama made was how for years countries have scrutinized the United States for the power they hold and there self dominance over other countries. Obama challenged them by pointing out how they wanted the power and now they have it. He said it is going to take all of the countries coming together to address this problem, so they need to step up. It was interesting to me that Obama came out and point blankly made that point. Many other presidents have avoided discussing this type of matter and I applaud Obama for his honesty. What kind of thought do you have if you saw the debate?

Does a helping hand ever come free of scrutiny?

Recently as I opened my web browser I began to read some of the headlines for the news. One headline that popped up was about a college senior who almost couldn't finish his senior year due to problems with financial aid (sadly a common problem). Fortunalty he was able to return for senior year due to his ministers fundraising on facebook. In only three days they raised over 5,000 dollars. To be honest I wasn't quite sure why this story made a headline on a major website but what really appauled me were the statements that followed in discussion to the article. The student who received the award was of African descent although the article never touched on this issue. It was just shown by his photo. For some reason many people left derogotory and racial comments about the students award. There ended up being a debate in the discussion boards amongst people who came across as racist and those defending the student. I just can't beleive that people would turn such a positive story of stepping up and helping someone in need as an issue of race. There have been a lot of comments frequently added in just a few hours but if you read into some of the statements are horrible. While some people did still have great things to say. Anyways if your interested in reading som of the comments here is the link. http://news.aol.com/philanthropy/article/facebook-fundraiser-saves-college/675645

Kanye West

Can anyone beleive what happened at the VMA's. I feel so bad for Taylor Swift. She is truly talented and it is horrible what Kanye did to her. But what intrigues me is what exactly motivated him to get up and say something about Taylor's win over Beyonce. I don't really follow celebrities that much, but is there some kind of connection between the two of them. Theres always someone who thinks someone else should win but there is a certain way to voice that opinion. I can't help but wonder if it was another artist who beat Beyonce if Kanye still would have said something. I mean Taylor is so sweet that Kanye probably looks at her and sees someone he can walk all over, without retaliation. Of course hes learning his lesson the hard way with all of the bad publicity he is getting.

Save the Last Dance

Although this movie is probably a thought from the past, it is still one of my favorites of all time. There are so many racial concepts in the film from the urban basketball court (that west talks about) to the violence of being in the inner city. One scene that stood out to me a lot was when Sarah was on the bus with Derek and an older white women gave them a look of dissapproval. It was clear that she did not beleive in interracial relationships. Noticing the look Sarah and Derek respond by showing more effection towards one and other. I think it is great that the producers highlighted this problem between how some people perceive interracial relatioships but more importantly they used the two to send a message that it shouldn't be questioned. I guess this scene sticks with me because of my past relationships as well as the one I am now. I just don't understand why it matters to the rest of the world what two colors people in a relatioship are.

Obama is Called a Liar During an Address in Congress

Recently Obama was called a liar by a state represenative while he was addressing Congress about his new healthcare bill. Some of the media outlets have gone crazy about this saying that it is the most dissordly thing to be said to a president during a meeting. But what I can't figure out is why is it such a big deal. Granted it is very rude and not the proper way to carry yourself. But President Obama is not the first person this has happened to. During Bush's presidency a bunch of democrats bood him during a speech and in the earlier days of congress fights used to break out. Some individuals in media are arguing that this is the most outrageos thing to occur in Congress. If you ask me a fight breaking out is way worst than a rude comment.

Licoln Heights

As I was doing my reading for class I began to think about newer shows that represent being "black". Much of the literature we have been reading is about shows in the the 1980's and early nineties. With much excitement Lincoln Heights, one of my favorite shows, is going to be returning for another season this fall. I never thought much about what the show represents until reading the book for class. Lincoln Heights is about a black family living in a crime ridden part of California. While the family members themselves are portrayed as successful individuals, the father is a poilce officer, the mother is a nurse, and the children can be overacheivers there are still many unique elements to the show. For instance I can't help but wonder if the family would still be faced with the same kind of crime and struggles if it was a white family placed in the neighborhood. The son in the family also has multiple run ins with gangs. The daughter is in an interracial relationship. In some ways it definetly portrays things to think about. I haven't really developed an opinion on what the show represents but it is the most recent example I can think of that represents an all black family set in the 2000's. For those of you who have seen the show what do you think about it?

Obama's Education Speech

This morning when I turned on the news I was a little bit appauled to hear what a fuss the media was making over Obama's directly addressing school age children. His planned speech is supposed to talk to student's and urge them to work hard so they can take control over the country in the future. Obama's speech is supposed to be used as a motivational way to get children working hard so they can lead the country down a better path.
On my last post I talked about a quote from West that really stood out to me. Isn't this exactly what Obama is trying to do? He is reaching out to the nation's youth and trying to send the message that they need not be hopeless and hard work will pay off in the future. He is trying to place that little bit of hope in individuals who feel they are stuck in a certain position based on the constraints of society.

A Quote to Think About

While reading the book Race Matters by Cornel West I came across a quote I really liked. The quote is as follows: "Without hope there can be no future, that without meaning there can be no struggle" (p.23). This quote really got me thinking about how many people in our country feel. In the book, West was referring to the struggle African American's undergo when trying to pull themselves up from an oppressed life. He was saying that if the individuals have no hope for a better future than there is no motivation for them to try. But I think this quote can be applied to a lot more than the African American population. This quote can ring true for every individual on the planet who has felt dispeared. It is sad because many people automatically place the blame on the individual for there position in life without taking in the circumstances surrounding it. For me it made me think of jobs and postions that have power. Individuals who have the position to influence others should be using that power to help create hope and show that there is another way. I could go on and on about this and the different ways we can apply it to life, but I am going to wrap it up there. Any thoughts on this quote or the ideas Ive presented?

Eyes on the Prize

For those of you who have not seen this documentary, you should really check it out. It teaches about some of the sadder points in African American history that some textbooks fail to mention. One story that really appauled me in the film was about an African American man in Florida. He was a marine and he was bruttaly murdered by the police at a traffic stop. There are many other heart wrenching stories presented in this film. Films like these are beneficial for presenting information in a way others might not have thought about it. Racism still exists in our country and more educational tools like this should be used.

Hello World of Blogging

Welcome to my new COMM 300 Blog. In this space im not quite sure what I will be talking about, but I know that in someway, shape, or form it will correlate to tv minorities/ and cultural divers. Still working on how this will all tie together as it is only my first day in the class. But we shall see where the journey takes us and what types of messages I will create. Talk to you soon.