tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799673044306831570.post5562477312209826109..comments2024-02-26T02:13:04.055-08:00Comments on Changing Nature of the American Family: How The Media Affects Child Rearing in International FamiliesSocfamilylesleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14634924626669544534noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799673044306831570.post-2375868844741861452010-03-20T20:01:56.668-07:002010-03-20T20:01:56.668-07:00The role of the media in people's views of rea...The role of the media in people's views of reality really interests me. The media plays a huge part in how people view people of other races, especially when they do not interact with people of races different than their own. "We hear about many more African American or Latino crimes committed than of other nationalities." This is true and it causes people to believe that more crime is committed by those racial groups. George Gerbner coined the term "Mean World Syndrome" for a theory that watching violence/crime related TV convinces people that they are in more danger of being victim to a crime than they are. I believe reporters only mentioning the race of the criminal when they are not white adds a racial element to Mean World Syndrome.<br /><br />The media also plays a huge part in people's view of beauty and this can have an impact on people of different races. The Boston Globe published an article called "The line the new black Barbies won’t cross" by Francie Latour on October 25, 2009. The first sentnce of the article is, "In every black family, there are two kinds of daughters: daughters who have good hair and daughters who don’t." She goes on to say: "It’s the unspoken, elephant-in-the-room euphemism that remains as true today as it was during slavery: Straight hair is “good hair” because straight hair is white hair." The article talks about the horrors of the chemical straightening process and the how the media portrays only straight hair as being beautiful and what that means for people who do not have straight hair.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799673044306831570.post-13561949176142604352010-03-20T10:49:38.138-07:002010-03-20T10:49:38.138-07:00I agree that the media plays a huge role in how pe...I agree that the media plays a huge role in how people view themselves and their roles in society. The messages on TV are presented like facts, and therefore treated as facts by those who receive them. I think that it may especially be hard for a family adopting a child from a country and culture that they aren't familiar with. The parents might look to the media to try to understand the culture. For example, if they adopted a child from China or Japan, they may assume that the child will have an exceptional aptitude for academics because of the stereotypes portrayed in the media. This may put unrealistic pressure on the child they adopt. <br />I also think that there are huge issues with identity and self acceptance in relation to the media. When certain nationalities are barely represented or negatively represented, the members of that nationality will have a harder time accepting themselves as a member of the dominant culture.Rachael Cinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05888557579208089986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3799673044306831570.post-87466024062886808692010-03-20T10:47:23.367-07:002010-03-20T10:47:23.367-07:00I do think that the media plays a role in internat...I do think that the media plays a role in international families and how they rear children. I think that the media tells families how their family life and parenting will play out before they even have children. Parents hear all these ideas about how to raise a child so they feel that that is what they must do in order to be a normal parent. I think that the media makes it hard to do what you personally feel is the right way to raise your children.Casandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08619202014818405811noreply@blogger.com