CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS, AND THE MEDIA

OBSERVATION AND THOUGHT JOURNAL

Chapter 1
1. What was your favorite TV show as a child?
One of my favorite TV shows as a kid was Punky Brewster. It ran from
1984-1988.
How old were you?
I was 7 years old when the show began and 10 years old when it
ended.
What type of content was involved?
The show was about a little girl who gets abandoned by her mother.
She is left in a supermarket with her dog, Brandon. She does not want
to go to an orphanage so she meets an older man named, Henry
Warnimont. He ends up adopting her. Punky goes through all kinds of
life learning lessons in the different episodes. Other characters are
involved such as Cherie, Punkys best friend. They often get in trouble
together.
Why did you like it?
I believe I liked it because I could relate to Punkys character in that
her mother left her. I was either the same age or close to her age and
I loved her spunky personality and creativity. Her dress style was
unique and she didnt seem afraid to be herself, even though she
often got in trouble. The fact that her dog was always with her was a
draw also. She was never alone because of Brandon, her dog.
What lessons do you think you learned from it?
I learned that it was possible to be loved for who you are, even if your
mother did leave. I learned that being adventurous and being creative
could be a good outlet for someone my age. I also learned that I had
to be responsible about the way I did things so that I wouldnt get in
trouble.
Was it appropriate for your age?

Yes it was definitely age appropriate as I was either the same age as
the character or close to it. The content kept my attention.
Would that TV show be popular with children today?
I would say yes and no as to whether this show would be popular
today. The abandonment issue would definitely be relatable to many
children today, however the show would need to be upgraded to the
technological way children deal with learning in this day and age. It
would also need to be advanced in regard to the age maturity of 7
year olds today. Because of the way the media targets this age group,
I do think the content would need to be a little more relevant to issues
that 7 year olds face today. Overall, I think it could definitely be
popular with children today.
2. For one day, chart the time you spend with the media (TV,
radio,
books, Internet, etc.). Note which media you are
using and what type
of content you are experiencing. Also
note when you are media
multi-tasking. Put chart in the
journal:

One Day Of Media

11-10-11
Radio
Books

Time

TV

12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
Work . . .
8:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m.
Sleep . . .

Maury
Povich
Jerry
Springer
Steve Wilkos

CDs

Internet

MultiTasked

Facebook

Email

While
Driving
Vampire
Diaries
The Secret
Circle

Facebook

How much of your day did you spend with the media?
I spent 5 hours of my day with the media.

Is your media use similar to that of the typical American child (see
Roberts et al study in Chapter 1)?
My use was not exactly the same as the Roberts study, but it was
close. The study showed that the average U.S. child between the
ages of 8-18 spends anywhere from 3 to 6.5 hours a day using media.
How is it similar and how is it different?
My use was similar in that most of time was spent watching TV as my
primary source of media. It was different in that I multi-tasked
viewing the TV along with checking things on the Internet such as my
Facebook and Email accounts.
3. Watch an episode of a TV sitcom that is popular with
children
(Hannah Montana). What is the main theme of the program, the
sequence of events in the storyline, and the
nature of the characters?
Hannah Montanas best friend Lily does not who she is. She knows
her as Miley. Lily gets two tickets to the Hannah MT concert and
invites Miley to go. Miley doesnt want Lily to know that she is Hannah
Montana because she thinks Lily will treat her differently. Initially Lily
does treat her different because there are two popular girls at school
who treat them badtouch fingers, disc them and say tissss.
Based on development differences in cognitive processing, describe
three ways in which a 4-year-olds interpretation of the episode would
be different than that of a 10-year-old.
Three ways a 4-year-olds interpretation would be different from a 10year-old via cognitive processing would be: From Perceptual to
Conceptual, From Perceived Appearance to Reality, and From
Concrete to Inferential Thinking.
With Perceptual to Conceptual processing, a younger child would pay
more attention to the salient features in Hannah Montana. For
example, they would be more apt to pay attention to the music
occurring or silly sound affects that could occur during the episode.
They also would pay attention to color and shapes more than the plot
of the show.
With Perceived Appearance to Reality processing, a younger child
would not be able to differentiate fantasy from reality as well as a 10year-old. They might consider Hannah Montana to be a real life
character instead of a childs fantasy idol. They wouldnt recognize
her as an actress, but would possibly believe she is only Hannah
Montana and actually lives that characters lifestyle.
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With Concrete to Inferential processing, a younger child will focus

most on actions that occur with a show rather than inferred
information that relates to the plot or storyline. So, a 4-year-old would
focus on Hannah Montanas movements and singing and what she is
literally doing rather than the plot/storyline of what happened in the
show. A 10-year-old would more likely understand that her best friend
didnt know her true identity and they would recognize that
informative part of the storyline.
How would a 10-year-olds interpretation differ from a teenager?
For a 10-year-old, the level of cognitive processing would increase a
bit, but would still differ from a teenagers understanding of
information.
With Real to Plausible processing, a 10-year-old would be able to tell
some of the difference between fantasy and reality, yet theyd
possibly still have confusion as to what is actually probable or
plausible. In Hannah Montana, the younger child would believe that
she could actually be living a double life and hiding her identity from a
friend. A teenager would know that most likely, its just a story for the
character and not probable that Hannah Montana could really keep
that type of lifestyle going.
With Empirical to Hypothetical reasoning, a 10-year-old would need to
follow the actual concrete storyline of Hannah Montana to interpret
the plot as it went along. A teenager however, would be able to
hypothetically figure out what the outcome of the storyline would be.
The have a greater capacity to think abstractly, whereas a younger
child has to see specifics in order to know what is happening. A teen
would probably hypothetically predict what was to happen with
Hannah/Mileys friend in regard to the secret identity issue. A younger
child would not predict, but theyd understand what actually
happened at the end of the program.
What type of viewer do you think the program is targeted toward?
Ages 8 through 12.
4. When you were a child, did your parents have rules about
you could do with mass media?

what

When I was a child, we didnt have as many avenues of media to deal

with. I dont remember having a lot of rules about it. I had to be in
bed by 9:00 p.m. and was not allowed to watch adult shows or
movies. Other than that, I dont remember. My grandmother used to
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watch soap operas and I watched those, which I think could have been
considered adult viewing in certain scenes.
Did they have rules when you were a teenager?
As a teenager, the rules were pretty much the same. I got to go to
bed a little later and did watch some scary movies.
Did you have a TV set in your bedroom?
No, I did not. My grandmother was pretty frugal in regard to things
like that. We had a huge console TV in the living room and she had a
13 black and white TV in her bedroom. Sometimes she would let me
watch kid shows in there. Most of the time we watched TV together in
the living room.
At what age should parents let up on control over their
childrens/teens media experiences?
I believe I would be strict in regard to parental control over children.
Especially today with all the new technology we have. I think parents
need to give children a certain level of responsibility and teach them
to become trustworthy; however, I would definitely monitor them and
their media activity with restrictions until age 16.
5. Watch a program targeted to children that airs on PBS.
I watched Curious George on PBS
Plot: A girl named Betsy is taking 4 pictures of 4 shapes for a photo
contest. George and Betsys brother are playing with a ball and it
bounces on the keyboard & accidentally deletes Betsys pictures from
the computer and the hard copy prints of the photos fly out the
window! Betsy has a deadline of submitting the photos by a certain
time evening so George decides to go do retakes to replace the loss of
her prints. In the end, Betsy is able to recover her original photos
from the computer because she backed up her data.
Characters: Betsy, George, Betsys brother.
Formal Features: The show teaches how to use technology to upload
pictures, save them, print them, and then erase them from a digital
camera. The pictures taken are of specific shapes like squares, circles,
triangles, and rectangles.
Degree of Realism: The degree of realism is unrealistic and targeted
toward younger children probably ages 3-6 maybe. The plot is not too
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complex so they can follow the shapes and basic ideas with their level
of cognition. I would say it is unrealistic because George is a
communicating monkey that is taking pictures and having cognitive
knowledge to do so, but he is an attention getter and cute for younger
children.
Now compare it to a cartoon that airs on the Cartoon Network.
I watched MAD TV for kids on the Cartoon Network: A spoof on the
Twilight movies mixed with characters from the High School Musical
movies
Plot: High School musical characters mix with Twilight characters
saying they have been asked to attend the same high school because
of some sort of disruption. The Twilight characters dislike the people
from HS Musical because their personalities are too cheery and
theatrical and they are completely opposite to the atmosphere of the
characters in Twilight. Troy bites Bella and turns her into a drama
song person similar to himself. This angers Edward and Jacob so they
attack Troy and his friends and try to scare them so Bella can get back
to normal. This includes random activity such as Edward biting off the
head of a rat!! The cartoon actually shows blood squirting out and
Edwards head spins around! In the end the characters figure out
there was a mix up as to which high school Troy and his friends were
supposed to go to.
High School Musical kids were actually supposed to go the Glee show
high school and the Newborn Vampires characters were supposed to
go to Twilights high school. In the end the mix up is tragic and
violent. Since the Newborn Vampires go to the Glee high school, they
end up attacking the cheerleaders and there is chaos, etc. The spoof
made sense to me as an adult in regard to making fun of the shows
and because I know about those particular shows, but it was
completely inappropriate for children!
Characters: Edward, Bella, Alice, and Jacob from the Twilight movie.
Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, and Ryan from the High School Musical
movie.
Formal Features: The cartoon doesnt really teach anything. It shows
inappropriate violence such as Edward biting off a rats head with
blood squirting. It also shows a Newborn Vampires character biting
the neck of a cheerleader and blood squirting! I was really surprised
that the network showed MAD TV in a supposed childrens version.
Even the adult version can be sometimes offensive.
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Degree of Realism: The degree of realism is skewed in the cartoon.

The cartoon characters have some realistic type features but are still
in cartoon form. The blood that squirts is also cartoon form, but still
violent. As far as character personalities, they were pretty similar to
how the real life characters might behave. For example, the High
School Musical kids are singing and dancing all the time, while the
Twilight kids are serious and a lot more low key.
Compare and contrast the two programs in terms of plot, characters,
formal features, and degree of realism.
In comparison, the two programs are in cartoon form and targeted
toward children. The plots are both unrealistic as to real life situations
that actually happen. A monkey does not really take pictures and
vampires are not real. The characters are fantasy characters in the
same way. The formal features are only similar in that children might
copy cat the different behaviors dependent on their age. For example,
they may look for shapes to take pictures of, or they might bite.
Neither show had a really deep degree of realism.
In contrast, the two programs, though in cartoon form were different.
Curious George (CG) characters appeared to be softer and kinder even
in the way they were drawn such as round faces. MAD TV (MT)
characters had more sharp features and appeared more scary. The
plots differed completely even though both are targeted toward
children. CG had an actual lesson in the story and taught
technical/academic type information. Children learned to take/save
pictures and look for specific shapes. There was a purpose to the plot.
MT on the other hand, had no purpose at all. It was just making fun of
certain popular TV shows and using violence and sarcasm to do so. It
seemed geared toward older children, but even so, I viewed it as
inappropriate and pointless. Formal features were different in both
appearance and possible lessons that children would derive from
viewing the shows. The degree of realism between both was not very
deep, but Id say that CG was more sensible with its plot and finding
shapes than that of MT showing bloody rats and necks of
cheerleaders!
How would a 4 or 5-year-old take in each program?
Children of these ages dont have a deep cognitive level to pick up on
cues regarding a plot. Thus CG probably implemented the monkey for
a cuteness effect to gain their attention and then threw in a search for
shapes for visual retention and learning.

MAD TV would be either scary or disinteresting to this age group

depending on the childs personality. I say that because some
children would just view it literally as a cartoon and not understand
the action involved with the plot. Other children this age may see the
blood squirting and get scared even though they dont necessarily
know what its about. It would depend on their schemas and how
much knowledge base they had at such a young age.
In your opinion, how old should the child be to watch and understand
the Cartoon Network program?
In my opinion, the child should be 13-years-old at least. Even then I
would not want a child of mine to watch a show like that. If they are
any younger their cognitive level of understanding could be a little
skewed.
Chapter 2
1. Find a magazine advertisement targeted to children. What
product is being advertised?

type of

I found a childrens ad in National Geographic magazine that showed

an activity to find the brand name cereal pieces that did not match
the generic cereal pieces. It was an ad disguised as an activity.
Does it fit into one of the top 4 categories of childrens ads found on
television (see the Kunkel and Gantz 1992 study)?
Yes, this ad fits in the food category that constituted 13% of the ads
when the study was done. Half of the ads in general during childrens
shows were devoted to food commercials and most of the ads were for
cereal. The text said 31%.
What is the main appeal used in this ad to persuade children?
The activity leads children to believe that the brand name cereal is
better than others. It lures them in by the activity factor.
Is there a disclaimer offered in the ad?
No, I did not see a disclaimer.
Is there anything in the ad that might be misleading or confusing for a
5-year-old?
Yes, because the fact that the activity seems like a game and leads
the child to believe the brand name cereal is the best, its actually
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probably not that healthy and more sugar packed. Because of the ad,
the child will think its the best cereal even though it doesnt
necessarily have a great nutritional value.
For a 10-year-old?
Yes, a 10-year-old would also be fooled into wanting the brand name
just because of the way they advertise it.
2. Go to the Childrens Advertising Review Unit (CARU) web
site. Examine the guidelines for advertising to children.
Find two
guidelines that are clearly worded and easy for an
advertisement to
follow.

Advertising should not be presented in a manner that blurs the

distinction between advertising and program/editorial content in
ways that would be misleading to children.

Advertisers who sell products and services to children online

should clearly indicate to the children when they are being
targeted for a sale.

Of the ones listed, which guideline do you think is violated most often
in childrens advertising?
Advertising should not urge children to ask parents or others to buy
products. It should not suggest that a parent or adult who purchases a
product or service for a child is better, more intelligent or more
generous than one who does not.
Chapter 3
1. Sesame Street is the most researched show on televisionand
the most enduring. If you havent watched it for a while,
tune in
and see if you can figure out any ways that it has
changed since when
you were a child.
I havent watched Sesame Street in years! I was surprised that it
actually seemed pretty similar to when I was a kid. The major
differences I saw were the fact that they use more technology. For
example they showed a TV screen and were clicking through different
scenes of information on it.
The other difference is the content that was introduced in the
particular segment I viewed. One of the Muppets, Bear (a male) was
playing with a doll baby. The other Muppet, his friend wants to play
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with a male figure toy and pretends to fight with the baby. Bear gets
upset because he wants to nurture the baby.
He goes and talks to a man on the street dressed in a pink shirt. That
man tells him not to worry that hes a boy playing with dolls and that
even though some people think pink is a feminine color, its okay to
wear it as long as you are being yourself. He says that Bears
behavior with the doll baby is okay because maybe someday he will
be a father, so its showing him how to nurture. He says its okay that
Bear is different from the rough, more masculine way that his friend
plays.
I was a little surprised at that content matter. I dont think its a topic
that would have been publicly addressed as much when I was a kid.
Chapter 4
1. As regular viewers of The Simpsons know, The Itchy and Scratchy Show
is a parody of violent childrens cartoons.
Like Wile E. Coyote and
the Roadrunner, Itchy and Scratchy
do little more than pummel each
other constantly. After Marge writes a letter to the producer of the show,
however, the tone becomes much more prosocialand dull. Kids begin
turning off their TV sets and heading outdoors. Can
prosocial
programming be entertaining as well as educational?
Yes I believe so. Sesame Street is prime example of that. It is
entertaining and involves learning content either to help children learn
academically or even to help them cope with things emotionally.
Shows like this help to create scripts/knowledge for them to deal with
life as they mature and grow.
Or do most prosocial shows come off sounding too preachy?
No, I dont believe most of the prosocial shows sound to preachy.
They teach children to develop in healthy ways. Like the American
Idol Idol Gives Back segment. They show poor kids who need
financial help and children learn to be giving to others less fortunate
than themselves.
Chapter 5
1. Think back to your childhood. Can you remember a TV
movie that really frightened you?

program or

I can remember being massively scared from viewing the movie,

Nightmare on Elm Street. It came out in 1984.
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How old were you?

I was 7 years old when I saw it.
How long did your fear last?
My fear lasted a few years. The images get engrained in your mind
once you have seen them.
What aspect of the show frightened you?
The blood and gore and reality versus fantasy skew to the movie
made me fearful.
Did you change your behavior in any way as a result of seeing this
show?
I was more afraid of the dark, didnt want to fall asleep alone and was
afraid to fall asleep in general for a little while after viewing it.
Analyze your reaction in light of what we know about cognitive
development and childrens fear reactions to the media as discussed
in this chapter.
The part of the movie that frightened me most was the fact that when
characters fell asleep, they ended up having nightmares and getting
murdered. There was a lot of blood and gore as well. As a 7-year-old
with a limited cognitive level of understanding, I would say I struggled
with processing what was probable as opposed to what was actually
real. I had a sense that the movie was not real, but technically I could
fall asleep and have a horrific nightmare! I was freaked out for quite a
while after viewing it!
2. Watch a popular cartoon and an evening crime drama on
television.
I watched the Kung Fu Panda cartoon and Law and Order for the
evening crime show.
Compare the two in terms of how violence is portrayed.
Both shows showed violent content but in different ways at different
levels. Kung Fu Panda shows the perpetuators as crocodiles who are
trying to steal from Po the Panda and his friend, Tigress the Tiger. The
11

crocs steal a statue and ruby that Po and Tigress are transporting and
protecting. The crocodiles are punished in the end for their violent
attack on the panda and tiger. The stolen items are recovered, Po and
Tigress learn to work together and defeat the crocodile bandits by
beating them up and retrieving the stolen objects.
Law and order also showed violence, but in an adult level form of
cognitive processing. A younger audience would not be as interested
in the adult crime show because it could become easily boring to
them as they would not be hypothesizing about what was going to
happen in the show. Kung Fu Panda would be more enticing because
of the cartoon form and literal view of the show with sounds, color,
and shapes.
Think about contextual features such as the nature of the
perpetuators, whether the violence is rewarded or punished, and the
consequences of violence. According to the research cited in this
chapter, which program poses more risk to a young child viewer?
Why?
Because children are more drawn to action rather than information, I
think Kung Fu Panda would pose the most risk to a young child viewer.
I say this because young children are more prone to imitate the action
that they see. So when children see the crocodiles hitting and then
the panda and tiger fighting back, they will most likely imitate the
behavior. They could end up hitting each other because they are
acting out what they have just seen. The Law and Order show would
probably not draw their attention as much because of the cognitive
level understanding that little kids have. They might see the action of
guns being used in the adult show, but it wouldnt be as appealing as
bright colored animals/reptiles fighting each other.
3. In the debates about media violence, much less attention
has
been paid to desensitization as a harmful outcome than
to aggression.
Can you think of an occasion during which
you felt desensitized to
media violence?
Yes, Id say that violence in cartoon movies could make a person
desensitized to the action of the violence. I was somewhat
desensitized watching the Kung Fu Panda violence because it was a
cartoon. It teaches children how to fight for things that are taken
away, but I never would have though of it like that, had I not taken
this class.
If our society gradually becomes desensitized to media violence, what
are some of the possible outgrowths of this?
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I believe that people will be more prone to be violent and the actions
of violence would be more accepted in society. People would accept it
as normal behavior for defense or protection of themselves, etc.
Will it affect parenting?
Yes because as generations pass down, parents who are desensitized
to violence will teach their children that violence is normal way to
deal with things. That line of thought will pass down.
Will it affect the legal system?
It could affect the legal system if the desensitization became so bad
that people found it more lawful to carry weapons, etc. without having
to have licenses like they do now. Society would probably push for
laws that made it okay to carry weapons for protection even if
certain people disagreed.
Explore some of the ways desensitization could affect individuals as
well as our culture.
Depending on personal values and different levels of desensitization,
individuals would have to decide the best way of teaching their
children how to deal with violence. Some people would advocate for
weapons being used and some people would still feel like weapons
might be too much and advocate for physical fighting rather than the
use of weapons. Either way, depending on how individuals chose to
cope with violence, it would affect our general culture as a whole.
Chapter 6
1. What do you think about offensive or indecent language on
television and radio?
Sometimes I am astounded at how much the restrictions on offensive
and indecent language have been lifted! I still remember stories and
reading articles about how the movie Gone with the Wind, caused
such an uproar with Cary Grant using the curse word, damn. It was a
major issue when that curse word was introduced publicly via a movie.
Now you can turn on the TV in general and hear curse words on
almost any show or movie! Its amazing how much the public has
accepted this change in our culture over the years.
Consider the following quote from a newspaper columnist: A few
months back, the solons of the Federal Communications Commission
13

found that a term for bovine excrement is so grossly offensive as to

be presumptively profane. OK, except that according to the FCC, a
certain nickname for Richard and its two-syllable version ending in
head, dont violate this standard. These terms are understandably
offensive to some viewers but not sufficiently vulgar, explicit or
graphic descriptions of sexual organs or activities to support a finding
of patent offensiveness. Pretty much any 13-year-old could have told
the FCC, it ordered the wrong expletive deleted.
Do you agree with this columnist?
Yes, I agree with the columnist but I also feel that both expletives are
wrong and unacceptable. The nickname of course, does seem more
vulgar than the bovine excrement term. Neither of the terms seem
appropriate to use in general even though most people accept
them today.
If you were a member of the FCC, how would you go about
establishing rules for appropriate language on TV?
I would present statistics showing how much our culture has changed
since the Gone with the Wind controversy. I would propose that
some sort of regulatory laws be instituted as to when and how much
inappropriate language would be allowed. The regulations would be
dependent on show content and which audience was being targeted
for the form of entertainment.
2. During the February 1, 2004 halftime show, Janet Jackson
revealed
a breast for 2 seconds to 89 million viewers on national TV. CBS was
fined $500,000 for the incident and
FCC chairman Michael Powell
labeled the display classless,
crass (and) deplorable. Spike Lee
said, Whats going to be next? Its getting crazy and its all down to
money.
Money and fame. Somehow the whole value system has been
upended. Did you see the halftime show? What did you
think?
I did not see the halftime show, but remember well the controversy
when it happened. I think it was inappropriate.
Did you agree with Michael Powell or more with Spike Lee?
I agreed more with Michael Powell. Everything has a limit. And
exposing that body part during a time when most of the world could
be viewing it, especially the youth population as well, was pretty
shameless.
Should CBS have been fined half a million dollars?
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Yes, I think the fine was a good way to send the message that that
incident was a bit over the top. Had they not fined CBS, the network
probably would have found that type of exposure as a great way to
gain more viewers and ratings. It would have allowed our society to
be more accepting of what is appropriate to view without any
restriction.
3. Recently the American Psychological Association issued its
report
on the increasing sexualization of young girls. Is
this a relatively new
problem or an ongoing one?
I believe in the last few years it has been an ongoing problem. Ever
since stipulations and regulations were lifted several years ago, the
media has had more freedom to target younger audiences with
sexualization. They have made make up, revealing clothing, and
certain appearances more appealing to children who should not be
maturing to that level of sexuality until they are older.
How easy would it be to change the portrayal of sexuality in American
society and what will it take to do so?
Implement prior regulations from previous years, or even newer more
specific regulations/laws that restrict sexualized exposure to children.
Society has not always been as open to allowing children to be
targeted in the fashion that they are now being targeted.

Chapter 7
1. Imagine you are a young film director. You have been
offered a plum
feature film directing assignment by a major
studio with a big budget
and big stars. But, the film centers on an anti-hero. You, yourself, do
not drink
alcohol or smoke cigarettes. How do you depict an antihero without showing him smoking or drinkingand, without using 10
extra pages or script?
I would focus on the anti-heros attitude and verbiage, but be specific
with his dialogue so as not to add 10 extra pages of script. The
surroundings of the character would also show his/her preference
toward being rebellious or going against the grain, instead of having
the character smoke or drink. Im sure that with brainstorming and
though, a creative way could be found to depict the anti-hero
character.
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Will profanity alone accomplish your task?

If you had to use profanity I believe it would be enough to show the
character as an anti-hero.
2. If tobacco is a legal product, how can a ban on all tobacco
advertising be justified?
The fact that it causes lung cancer would be a justified reason. They
can still sell the product with a warning on it, but not have to advertise
it on television.
Chapter 8
1. Why should some children and adolescents be more
susceptible to
the influence of rock music lyrics or videos
than others?
I believe that is dependent on the individual child and how they are
raised. Depending on whichever circumstances they are dealing with
would determine the level of influence that these forms of media
would have on them.
What factors might determine vulnerability?
The mental stability of the child and the maturity level of the child
would be some determining factors of vulnerability. Also the level of
self-esteem and family atmosphere would be contributing factors.
2. Consider the lyrics of Lil Kim, Dr. Dre, Eminem or even Katy Perry. (Or
the much older lyrics of 2 Live Crew?) Is there a line that has been
crossed in popular music?
I would say so the same way that the line of use for inappropriate
language on TV and movies has been forced.
Are there some lyrics that shouldfor reasons of public safety, for
examplenever be tolerated?
I believe so. For example, lyrics about gang banging and other
inappropriate behavior should not be sung about. It just encourages
youth to think that those types of behavior are cool to celebrities
and that they should behave the same way.
Racist lyrics? Anti-Semitic lyrics?

16

These should absolutely not be tolerated because they will add to

even more hate crimes and brutality against innocent people because
of the hateful ideas being spread via musical lyrics.
Can objectionable lyrics be made less objectionable by the artist
saying that he or she is merely trying to be ironic?
Well the artists want to have some way to justify what they are singing
about so since we do have songs like this, yes the artist can say that
the lyrics are being sung as irony. Its awful in my opinion, that theses
types of lyrics are allowed because of an irony loophole.
Chapter 9
1. Name your favorite five TV or movie actors and actresses.
Would
you still like and watch them if they weighed 30
pounds more than
they currently weigh?
Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, George Clooney, Hugh
Jackman are some of my favorite actresses and actors. Yes, I would
still watch them if they were heavier.
Does being overweight ever help an actor or actressgaining
weight for a role like Renee Zellweger did for Bridget Joness Diary or
Robert DeNiro did to play Jake LaMotta?
I would say yes, because had they not gained the weight, the
characters might not have made sense in regard to the situations they
were dealing with.
Fat people are often depicted in comical ways on television and
movies. Are there ever any good traits attached to being fat?
Im not sure that people would specifically say there are good traits
attached, but I believe in some ways, overweight people are making
themselves known in more healthy and positive ways. For example,
there are now plus size models who advertise for underwear.
2. In February 2007, 18-year-old Uruguayan model Eliana Ramos was
found dead from heart failure. Her sister, Luisel, had collapsed and died
at a fashion show the previous year. In November 2006, Brazilian model
Ana Caronina Reston died
after eating nothing but apples and
tomatoes for months and
letting her weight slip to just 88 pounds.
Should
unnaturally thin models be banned from fashion runways and
magazines? If so, how would that be accomplished?

17

Yes, I believe they should have regulations as to what the minimum

weight limit should be, instead of constantly being told that they need
to be thinner or more in shape to keep their careers going.
Regulatory laws specifically implementing certain weight limits could
be enforced.
3. Watch a morning of Saturday morning childrens programming on
network TV or watch anytime during the day on Nick or
Disney. Keep
a log of the food commercials shown during
the breaks. What sorts of
foods are being advertised?
I watched Wizards of Waverly Place on the DISNEY channel in the
afternoon and honestly did not see very many commercials. Those
that I did see were not for food. They were for dolls or toys, or
something of that nature.
How are they persuasive?
The doll commercials were persuasive by showing kids having a great
time playing with them and showing all the special and unique things
the particular doll or toy could do. The commercials were done in a
way that would appeal to the children and inspire them to ask their
parents to buy them one.
Chapter 10
1. Just recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the
video game
st
industry to consider video games as protected under the 1 Amendment
when they struck down a California law to restrict the sale or rental of
violent games to children. Read the story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28scotus.html?pagewanted=all

Do you agree with the Courts ruling?

Only in the sense that they do have a valid argument to say that video
games deserve the same type of freedom to share ideas as do
movies. Personally, I do not like the idea and think the restrictions on
video games should be stronger because it seems as thought the
majority of people who love to play games like this are children. I
know adults get addicted as well, but many children find this as a
main form of entertainment.
Do you think video games are art and should be protected as
freedom of speech?
I think classifying video games as art is just a loophole to implement
more inappropriate exposure to violence. Children have ratings on
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particular scary movies until they are a certain age to watch. The
have to have parental permission of supervision to watch scary
movies. I believe it should be the same with video game graphics.
They have ratings, but they are not specific enough with the content
descriptions.
Do you think retailers have any responsibility in video sales?
They should have more responsibility but no, I dont think the retailers
have to answer for much in regard to who buys which video games.
Do you agree with the California law?
Personally, I do not agree with the law, because it is not okay for
certain games to be viewed as appropriate. For example, a body
getting sawn in half!
Why should violence be protected speech but not sexual content?
I dont think violence should be protected speech. I dont understand
why it is considered the same content as that of a movie, but yet not
rated the same. Obviously sexual content would be very
inappropriate if explicitly shared. It is too much of a personal and
private issue.
2. Can exposure to video game violence be desensitizing? Comment on
this based on reading this chapter and your own
experience?
Yes, I believe so. If certain violent games are repetitively played then
it becomes more normal for the person playing it, and desensitization
could occur.
Do you know anyone who plays violent games like Grand Theft Auto
and Postal 2? What do they have to say about it?
Im not very familiar with many video games, but I have seen my
friends kids play violent video games on occasion. Most of the time it
is involving people being shot at war or something of that nature. I
personally believe that a certain level of desensitization has occurred,
because I dont think I would allow my child to play such games until
they were old enough to make their own decision about it like 18
years old.
Chapter 11

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1. If you have blocking software or a service provider like

AOL that
allows you to restrict particular content, try the
following:
Select a topic that might be controversial like drugs or gambling.
Perform a search on this topic with or
without the blocking
activated. Is there a significant
difference in the quantity and
quality of information that
you find?
I do not have blocking software or know anyone where I could have
tried this activity. However, from reading the chapter, I felt informed
to a degree. The text mentioned blocking software as a slight bit of
help in filtering bad content from the view of children. The software
was limited in its capacity to do so though. Because the Internet is a
global network, a child could unintentionally see inappropriate content
even with protective software.
One suggestion for restricting childrens access to inappropriate
material on the Internet is a rating system similar to that applied to TV
content. Could a system of this type be effective with the Internet?
It would take a lot of regulation and specificity to be effective, but yes
I do believe that rating sort of system could be beneficial.
Given the global nature of the Internet would it be possible to define a
universal rating system for violence or sex?
There might be a few regulations that could be universal, but more
than likely it would probably be up to individual countries or in the
U.S., states, that would need to set up specific regulations. I mean
that like the way certain States are allowing same sex marriages, and
some are not.
What might an appropriate rating system look like?
An appropriate rating system would probably look somewhat similar to
that of the TV rating system as well, but obviously on a much
grander/specific scale.
Chapter 12
1. Think about the home in which you grew up. How many television sets
were there?
There were two TV sets.
Do you think the number and placement of TV sets had anything to do
with your television habits? In what way?
20

No I dont really think the placement had much to do with my TV

habits. As an adult I watch what I want, sometimes more than I
should. I can also discipline myself to turn it off when necessary.
2. Try this experiment over the course of the semester. For
the
control part of the experiment, have pizza with your family or have some
friends over for pizza. Do not have the TV set on. Just eat the pizza and
converse.
I found in the control part of this experiment that it was true that we
did not eat as much as when we were viewing a movie or TV. The
conversation took more focus and we didnt want to speak with our
mouths full. I think that helped us fill up quicker by eating slower and
being more mindful of what was placed in front of us.
Then, sometime later when you next have pizza, serve it in front of
the TV while everyone is watching a TV show. Or have your friend
over for pizza and a movie. Research shows that people eat more
when the TV is on than when it is offfamilies too. Was this true in
your experiment?
Yes, this was true in my experiment. Watching the movie kept us less
mindful of how much we were eating. It was like we wanted to be
doing something while watching, so eating more was easy.

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