Overview of the Smurfette Principle
analytical Essay
1706 words
In their pieces on the Smurfette principle, Pollitt and Ellis both discuss the idea that gender representations have intense effects on the children who absorb certain types of popular entertainment. Although we are hesitant to accept it, we are all influenced by the media in a very powerful way. Whether it be through TV shows, billboards, movies or the news. One thing that we commonly wonder about is if the adult female population is as influenced by the stereotyped gender roles present on TV or are we shaped at a young age and carry that perspective with us throughout our lives. This Smurfette principle has been around for almost two decades. It was introduced by Katha Pollitt and is unfortunately still present in our current 21st century.
In the society we live in, we are all looking for acceptance, whether we like to admit it or not. We turn to the media to see what other people are doing. The media plays a large role on the way we, a society as a whole, are influenced and think about responsibilities and roles of genders. As young children, we are still not sure of who we are and how we should act about certain topics. In order to ‘find ourselves,’ as young children, we look at things that are available to us. The television is found in every home and thus makes it one of the easiest ways for children to be influenced. This is not to say that the adult female population is not influenced as well. Adult females are seeking more information on how they should be as a person in order to be accepted in society as an acceptable woman.
Children in their adolescents years watch a great amount of TV each week and it is almost inevitable that they will start to be influenced by what they see on their television. They will see diffe...
... middle of paper ...
...ing our views, but as for children, TV is one of the key things that shape their minds.
Works Cited
Chandler, Daniel. “Television and Gender Roles.” Aberystwyth. University of Wales. Nov. 25 2006.
Hubka, David, Wendy Hovdestad, and Lil Tonmyr. "Child Maltreatment In Disney Animated Feature Films: 1937-2006." The Social Science Journal 46.3 (2009): 427-441. Print.
Lester, Paul Martin. Images that Injure. Westport: Prauger Publishers, 1996.
Pollit, Katha “The Smurfette Principle.” Great Writing: A reader for Writers. Weiner, Harvey and Nora S. Eisenberg. River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Pollitt, Katha. "Hers; The Smurfette Principle." The New York Times. The New York Times, 7 Apr. 1991. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. .
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how pollitt and ellis discuss the smurfette principle in their pieces on the idea that gender representations have intense effects on children who absorb popular entertainment.
- Explains that the media plays a large role on the way we, as young children, are influenced and think about responsibilities and roles of genders. the television is found in every home and thus makes it one of the easiest ways for children.
- Explains that children in their adolescents years watch a great amount of tv each week and it is almost inevitable that they will start to be influenced by what they see on their television.
- Analyzes how a tv show like barbie can influence how young females think about gender roles. little girls watched barbie's soap operas and wanted to be like her.
- Explains that ken had an important job. he was a doctor, rockstar, and professional tennis player. pollitt had said that boys define the group, its story and its code of values.
- Explains that adults' minds are shaped by the media as they grow older. they continue to be influenced by tv shows just in different aspects. the media also makes the decision of what a bad and good woman should be like.
- Analyzes how marie barone, the mother and wife in everybody loved raymond, is portrayed as a typical housewife who cares for her son and husband.
- Analyzes how the clumsiness of a woman is depicted in the tv show i love lucy.
- Opines that women believe that they must cater to their husbands and be the perfect wife and mother and if they fail to do so, they will be labeled as unfit and not appreciated.
- Analyzes how the comparison of a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ woman was in the classic children’s’ movie snow white, which is viewed by young children and adults.
- Concludes that adolescents and women are influenced by television's ideas on how they should behave, present themselves, and treat others.
- Cites hubka, david, wendy hovdestad, and lil tonmyr. "child maltreatment in disney animated feature films: 1937-2006."
- Explains pollit's "the smurfette principle." great writing: a reader for writers. weiner, harvey and nora eisenberg.
- Explains pollitt, katha, "hers; the smurfette principle." the new york times, 7 apr. 1991.
Related
- analytical
- comparative
- opinion
- Through repetition, certain elements of television programming constitute an informal curriculum taught at home to all children, beginning at an early age, with the following themes: Consumption, sex, violence and anti-intellectualism. Children only spend five or six hours a day, five days a week, maybe 30 weeks a year in school. In the average home, however, TV is on six or seven hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. As the first arm of organized society that children meet, it has the effect of "sanctioning" or socially certifying whatever and whoever appears on the screen. Its compelling complex of sound, pictures and text largely determines which issues, people and actions, we regard as "real" or important.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that television is a primary source of education in today's society, according to ernest boyer of the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching.
- Explains television programming is an informal curriculum taught at home to all children, beginning at an early age, with the following themes: consumption, sex, violence and anti-intellectualism.
- Opines that we must keep this space sacred for the education of young minds. the problem of television violence and its possible affect on our youth has creative solutions if we as a community can come together.
- Opines that we must take control of the television before we are the ones being shaped by our most manipulative creation.
- Opines that there are many reasons for feeling that violence needs to end among children. the dramatic expression of concern disturbs us due to the school shooting sprees throughout the us over the past few years.
- Explains that urban kids and minority children are most significantly impacted by television. they spend more time in front of the set due to the lack of other entertainment.
- Argues that the "v-chip" is a "band-aid" to hide the violence that exists on the tube and around us.
- Argues that the solution of the childhood violence crisis internalized through the television must be looked at through different perspectives in order to be solved.
- Opines that we must accept technology as a development in today's world that can be embraced or criticized. media literacy is the approach that many educators are trying to implement with their students.
- Explains that kids can step into the shoes of each discipline involved in the creation of the industry and determine what their position is.
- Argues that acquiring media skills is imperative in the second millennium. the "communication age" is in progress. children who demonstrate critical thinking skills are those who will become educated and survive.
- Analyzes how george gerbner, from the annenberg school of communication in pennsylvania, concluded that adults develop a distorted image of reality, which leads to adults with health problems that could have been avoided.
- Opines that pediatricians who want to protect their young patients from negative effects of television must communicate to children about the positive purpose of this media source. sege believes that this observation can break the notion of kids' belief that behavior on television mimics reality.
- Opines that the american academy of pediatrics believes the protection of television violence is in their hands to educate the parents.
- Explains that it is important for both parents and pediatricians to engage in what victor strasberger at the university of mexico school of medicine calls media advocacy.
- Argues that television influences infiltrate into the classroom inevitably. cartoons like the teenage mutant ninja turtles have been studied in detail because of their influence on aggressiveness.
- Analyzes how carla kalin experienced the violence in oakland's inner-city schools, where children brought knives into school and punched their siblings. in her synthesis paper for her master of science, she determines that students could recognize the "language of violence".
- Explains kalin's work with children in media literacy led her to construct ways of teaching these critical thinking methods to students.
- Explains the goals of media literacy, including understanding the technical aspects of the medium and understanding literacy devices, and examines how the audience creates meaning as they view television.
- Analyzes how blaming children for their violent behavior decreases our responsibility for adults. this basic truth has all but disappeared as the public increasingly treats teenagers as a robot-like population under exploitative media.
- Describes the works of charren, peggy, gelber, and kalin, carla.
2110 wordsRead More - Children are spending an ever increasing amount of time in front of the television each day. The image it is presenting to its impressionable audience provides the foundation for what is and is not acceptable in today’s society. It also provides them a disto...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that school is a safe and scary place where children learn, develop, mold, and grow into who they will become later on in life.
- Argues that the media has pushed this concept of what real men and women are, how each one should properly act order to represent their gender, and that one needs the other to be complete.
- Cites the associated press' article on american schools dealing with gender identity.
- Argues that the media is playing an important role in a child's perception of the outside world.
- Explains that children develop gender identities before they reach middle school. they develop a strong concept of who they are by their third year and are locked into which gender role they will forever identify themselves as.
- Explains that a child with gid cannot accept who they are on the outside; they may feel that their outward appearance contradicts their inner feelings.
- Explains that there is no national standard for acceptable treatment of transgender students in the public school system.
- Opines that education is mostly catered to mental health professionals rather than the lay person. the national education association has put together tips for teachers to utilize while dealing with students with gender issues.
2365 wordsRead More - Katha Pollitt's Impacts Of Female Role Models In The Mediaanalytical essayDecades ago Katha Pollitt realized there were not enough women is the television industry and preschool aged children were the ones being effected the most. From Pollitt’s article the Smurfette principle was developed and spread worldwide. This principle has helped lead the way for women in the media, but has it been enough? In her dissertation about how female characters are represented in Hollywood, Reema Dutt (2013) points out that “Animated children’s films tend to focus on male characters, with females as ancillary accessories...” Young girls are the most impressionable at the preschool age, yet Hollywood allowed men to dominate the big screen for so many years. Dutt (2013) goes on to explain “This is particularly disappointing given the fact that these films target impressionable children, who are being fed normative and antiquated portrayals of women at a young age.” Pollitt’s outlook was not erroneous, however the differences in television between 1991 and 2016 are astounding. There are twenty three years between Pollitt’s article and Dutt’s dissertation and many aspects still hold true. Over those years there has been much headway made for women in television. According to a study in HuffPost Women Nina Bahadur (2012) reported that “…44.3 percent of females were gainfully employed — compared with 54.5 percent of
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes katha pollitt's concerns regarding female role models in the media for the younger generation.
- Analyzes how katha pollitt realized there were not enough women in the television industry and the smurfette principle was developed and spread worldwide.
- Analyzes how the united states leads the world in women's rights and gender equality, yet television shows have not caught up in allotting women the same opportunities.
- Analyzes how women's roles in television have mirrored the roles women played in society, yet they are still portrayed as the housewife. parents think that children do not have suitable role models because of what they see on television.
- Analyzes how pollitt's article explains the unequal treatment of women, and the effect this has on preschool girls. the smurfette principle has been taught and discussed around the world for years.
1293 wordsRead More - Media Affected Gender Rolesanalytical essayErick Erikson asserts that teenagers are faced with figuring out their identities in their adolescence period (306). Therefore, most teenagers may find their role models through media because they spend a lot of time to watch media, and identify themselves like the role models. The common degraded women’s portrayals in the media, sexual objectification, influence negatively and strongly on teenagers’ cognition and behaviors. Piaget argues individuals can assimilate new information and accommodate the information to what they already know by their cognitive abilities (294). Therefore, teenagers incorporate the distorted gender roles into their cognition about gender roles, and they deem that the portrayals of gender roles in the media are appropriate and required by society, as a result, they want to be like the portrayals. Indeed, the representation of gender roles in mass media sends powerful psychological impacts to teenagers. Even though they can’t notice it, while female teenagers are consuming the media constantly, their unconsciousness is influenced by the degraded female’s images and
In this essay, the author
- Explains that media have constructed distorted sociocultural standards of gender roles and most people have been affected by its misrepresentation for long.
- Analyzes how the representation of gender roles in the media negatively affects teenage girls' identities. erikson asserts that teenagers are faced with figuring out their identities in their adolescence.
- Explains that teen girls have low self-esteem due to the prominent gender stereotypes portrayed by media.
- Explains that distorted portrayals of gender roles in the media lead to eating disorders of the girl teenagers.
- Analyzes how the media portrays women as realities of women's roles in our society, and the psychological weakness of the young generation can threaten the well-being of society.
1017 wordsRead More - It has been suggested in psychological studies that people innately observe, starting at as early as two years old and especially during adolescence, people’s behavior in order to determine a norm for genders. Therefore the development of a gender or cultural identity isn’t exclusively based on what one views in the media but it does composite a great influence on one’s outlook. Gender is viewed culturally as a multidimensional system including gender specific personality/interests, globally approved sex role behaviors, as well as masculinity and femininity ideology (Levant et al, 2007). These systems are supported through different medial outputs such as music videos, dramas, comedies, reality television and especially advertisements. These scenarios create a system of visual and globally influential representations of reality; thus implementing power through the ability to determine the representation of normativity within the consumer spectacle. At the cost for entertainment, the increasing exploitation of gender in the media is causing a limitation of the conducts that can be considered culturally acceptable for masculinity and femininity. Consequently making it all the more important for viewers to critically analyze these narrowing conditions by isolating the building blocks of gender identities and the power the media holds on the consumer body.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the development of a gender or cultural identity isn't exclusively based on what one views in the media, but it does composite an influence on one's outlook.
- Explains that limits enclose the identity of the individual by instating binaries that distinguish self from others such as the oppositions of masculinity and femininity or cultured and primitive actions.
- Analyzes how the media has been scrutinizing masculinity and femininity, and narrowed the acceptable normalities as a visually appealing ideal man and woman dominates the societal norm.
- Analyzes how advertising representations of the male body responded to this new form of feminism by redefining a more intense masculine identity resulting in an assertively stereotypical male.
- Opines that it is important to know the traditions and conventions of gender roles in visual culture and realize their impact.
- Explains the femininity ideology scale: factor structure reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and social contextual variation.
749 wordsRead More - The Little Mermaid Analysisanalytical essayThrough the duration of our lives we are inadvertently exposed to a plethora of social stereotypes that shape our thoughts and behavior. These stereotypes are instilled through various forms of media such as movies, tv shows, and music. Disney animated movies, specifically, are a popular and parent approved form of entertainment for young children. Yet, many parents are seemingly unaware of the fact that children to be easily susceptible to the subliminal ideas and actions seen in movies. This leads to young children, who minds are still in the developmental stage, to have misconstrued opinions, behaviors, and beliefs. Adolescent girls tend to base their perception of gender roles in society off the unrealistic story lines seen in Disney movies such as The Little
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the little mermaid is a classic disney animated film that hit theaters 1989. the main character, ariel, has an internal conflict between herself and her father, king triton.
- Explains that the main audience of the little mermaid is young children, predominantly young girls, who are exposed to a plethora of social stereotypes.
- Analyzes how ariel's whimsical and adventurous temperament is enchanting to young girls, but her goals and aspirations are detrimental to their self-esteem and role as a woman in society.
- Analyzes how disney princesses like ariel teach children to succumb to traditional gender roles, causing them to lose themselves along the way.
- Analyzes how ariel is curious, which results in her making hasty decisions, such as running away from home at the age of 16. she has the potential to be a positive role model for her impressionable and youthful audience.
- Analyzes how disney reinforces the stereotype that men are predominantly the bread winners and that a woman's role is to stay at home and clean.
- Analyzes how disney portrays the disney princesses as a subpart of their love interests. they support themes that are dangerous to little girls' dreams and aspirations.
- Explains that disney's the little mermaid was derived from the story "the little sea-maid" written by hans christian andersen.
- Advises parents to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction when allowing their kids to watch disney films. disney princesses have a large fan base, giving them potential to be mistaken as strong role models for young women.
1371 wordsRead More - Television's Effect on Families as Expressed in Marie Winn's Article "The Trouble with Television"analytical essayIt may be hard to admit, but television has become an intricate part of our everyday lives. People children often find themselves sitting in front of the television screen for a longer period of time than before and this has evolved immensely over the past few years. In this article, “The Trouble with Television,” by the author Marie Winn, mentions that addiction of television is negative effects on children and families. It keeps the families from doing other things and it’s a hidden competitor for all other activities. Television takes place of play and on top of that kids who watch a lot of television grow uncivilized. Also, the author mentioned that televisions are less resourceful for children and have negative effects on children’s school achievement and on physical fitness. Although there are so many other types of addictions but the author Marie Winn’s points of argument of watching television is a serious addiction that our children and families have negative effects.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes marie winn's article, "the trouble with television," which argues that television addiction has negative effects on children and families.
- Argues that television is not lethal as drugs and alcohol but it can have many effects such as children getting more violent and reality seem second best.
- Analyzes marie winn's argument that television addiction is a condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.
- Argues that too much television viewing can have adverse effects, such as more violent and aggressive behavior, poor school performance, obesity, early sexual activity, and drug or alcohol use.
- Concludes that television has changed the way families were and are because when parents use television as a baby sitter they began to lose touch with their children.
887 wordsRead More - Media Has A Positive Effects Of Media And The Mediacomparative essayChildren can be influenced and impacted in many ways whether it is from their parents, peers, and even strangers. One thing many people don’t realize is that many children, nowadays, are actually being influenced by the media, meaning they are being affected by different media sources, such as television and the internet. The question is whether the sources of media, television and the internet has a positive effect or a negative effect on children, and which source of media has a bigger effect.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that children can be influenced and impacted by their parents, peers, and strangers. the question is whether the media, television and the internet has a positive or negative effect on children.
- Explains that television has a big influence on children because many, if not all watch television, especially in the united states.
- Explains that television can teach kids valuable lessons about racial harmony, cooperation, kindness, simple arithmetic, and the alphabet. it also opens their horizons to different things and people.
- Explains the positive and negative effects of the internet on children and adolescents.
- Explains that the internet is a place to learn and discover new things, and it can help children make new friends from other parts of the world.
- Concludes that television and the internet seem to have equal effects on children. both have positive aspects, such as they both benefit in teaching children about the world and learning very important lessons.
1480 wordsRead More - Who Is Raising the Children?opinion essayParents are having to rely on other resources to develop their child's mind. All too often, television has become the new baby-sitter for today's youth. This generation of children is watching more hours per day than any generation before it. In order to achieve higher ratings and a larger audience, television is pushing the limits of behavior and morality. When children are left with television as their main influence, a child does
In this essay, the author
- Explains that most parents don't have enough time to spend with their kids because of economic realities, and educators lack the time and resources to positively influence students in their care.
- Opines that our economy may be the largest factor that separates parents from their kids. single parent homes often have to work two jobs to support their family.
- Explains that television has become the new baby-sitter for today's youth, pushing the limits of behavior and morality.
- Analyzes how television is a convenient way to keep children busy, but without parents around to monitor what is being watched, it can be the most distracting.
- Opines that parents and society are relying on teachers to educate children and replace parents as a major source of influence.
- Opines that parents need to be proactive in seeking productive ways for children to spend their time and create more after-school programs and mentoring programs that will influence children positively.
487 wordsRead More - How TV Can Affect a Childopinion essayChildren watch many different things on TV. Toddlers often get motivated to watch TV by their parents (Boyse). Characters on TV reflect bad choices, and speak of sexist and racist comments (How TV Affects Your Child). 99% of homes have a television (Robinstein). Toddlers often get motivated to watch TV by their parents (Boyse). On average, a child spends 11,000 hours in school, and spends twice as many hours viewing TV programs (Robinstein). On a normal evening, over a third of America’s population is watching TV (Robinstein). Out of all the TV programs, studies show that two-thirds of them contain violent actions (Boyse). C...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that tv can have a big effect on children's lives. some of the effects are negative, such as obesity, bad grades, aggressive behavior, and more.
- Explains that tv can have its good side on a person's life. it can teach preschoolers the alphabet and kids in grade school can learn about nature or wildlife.
- Analyzes how children are motivated to watch tv by their parents. television shows prettify violence and encourage violence as a successful way for children to get what they want.
- Explains that tv violence can cause behavior changes, such as aggression, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed. ads on tv often do not give truth about their unhealthy food products.
- Explains that television affects children in other ways, such as affecting sleeping, weight, grades, behavior, and more. according to hickey, tv is increasingly one of the probable determinants of antisocial behavior.
- Explains that television affects children harshly, and parents need to protect their children from the dangerous effects.
- Opines that tv violence can affect any child in many different ways. it is important to know the changes in a child’s development because of tv, or otherwise an innocent child can be changed into something he or she doesn’t want to be.
- Cites the american academy of child & adolescent psychiatry. "children and tv violence" aacap.
826 wordsRead More