1.What do you like about the digital story?
I like that the digital story gave the young African American girls a chance to address the stereotypes that have plagued them for far too long. It was well-made, and supported with facts and real, authentic stories from first-hand experiences with racial barriers and issues.
2.What did you learn from the digital story?
Aside from the many facts that I learned, more importantly I learned that society has a predetermined set of standards already set for African American females. The "natural" look is not acceptable, not even within their race/culture.
3.What surprised you about the digital story?
There is a brief section that shows an re-created experiment in which African American children are asked to choose between a black doll and a white doll. 15 out of the 21 children said that if given the choice, they would prefer to take home the white doll.
When asked which doll was good and which one was considered to be bad, the children said that the black doll was bad. Their reasoning? Because it was black.
4. What social problem was the digital story addressing.?
The digital story addresses the stereotypes that society holds for African American women and the predetermined set of standards that have been imposed upon them. They have been stereotyped as loud, obnoxious, and ghetto. Many of the young females that were interviewed in the digital story spoke about the stereotypes, and how they have had to work twice as hard to prove themselves.
4.How did the digital story provide an example of how digital storytelling can build self esteem, help young people voice an opposition to social problems, or create an alternative to stereotypes of adolescents typically portrayed in mainstream media?
Digital storytelling provides a creative outlet for young people to actually be heard! In order to overcome these social barriers, it is first necessary for society to acknowledge the issue.
As adults, we sometimes make the mistake of stereotyping and generalizing the adolescent age group. Just as certain races/cultures are stereotyped in mainstream media, so are adolescents.
5. Do (or how do) these digital stories provide evidence of that these young people are engaged in analysis of their own culture?
The young girls in "Just Like Me" provide numerous examples (during their interviews) of how engaged they are in the analysis of their own culture by recognizing stereotypes and drawing conclusions as to why these stereotypes exist. One girl says that she doesn't know where she if from. She's indeed from Africa, but which part? There are several different areas of Africa with many different types of culture and customs. Perhaps society just creates these stereotypes because they have no particular heritage or culture?
6. Do (or how do) these digital stories support a healthy respect for multiculturalism and diversity?
Digital stories address a social problem and take it one step further. They investigate what is beneath the surface, and use first-hand accounts and experiences to show reality. By delving deeper into races/cultures, we can examine our cultural differences rather than deficits; thus creating a healthy respect for multiculturalism and diversity.
Thanks for linking your Reel Works video. I think I've seen it before because I recognized parts of it, especially the reenactment of the doll project. What an emotional provoking story. Bleaching your child's skin at 11 and 6 years of age.... Hating the color of your skin… Kinky hair? "Which doll is bad? Which one looks like you?" I think that last comment ripped my heart out.
ReplyDeleteI used to room with 2 young African American women when I attended WVU from 1998-2000. I hated it when they straightened their hair. It set the alarms off in the building and our apartment smelled like burnt hair. Inside I was crushed. I wasn't sure how to handle the situation. I hate my curly Celtic hair but it is nothing compared to the social "norm" they had to deal with.
For young girls to be broaching this topic is amazing. It needs to be addressed. And as you said, creating this digital story takes this issue one step further, diving into the issue for a solution. I'm not sure how many people know that African American women are doing things to themselves to make themselves appear a certain way. As if representing themselves naturally was a bad thing. I didn't know about the self hate until I experienced it first hand, which would have been perpetuated by the media. So sad.
I show this in 3351. :) The doll experiment is a powerful way to show the impact of stereotypes on the individuals they are imposed on.
ReplyDeleteMarlisa, This is a powerful video! I still find it hard to believe even after all these years that the "Clark experiment" still provides basically the same results as it did in the Supreme Court so many years ago. Yet, in some ways look around at some of the irony like... why some white people spend money on going to a tanning booth or spray tan so they can look darker (not to mention hours of "laying" out) and some black people spend money on skin bleachers to look lighter, which causes me to question... is it darker or lighter skin that is more desirable? Just a thought, as you present the issues that some teens are dealing with inside and out side their homes. Note I'm never really sure how to address the color issue many African Americans prefer that (African American) while others prefer "Black," so I mean NO disrespect by the previous statement (black people / white people). I think the reason I have trouble with this is because when I see someone that is different from me all I see is different and NOT different bad or different better JUST different. This points to the experience that many people learn through their social rearing that somehow different means "good / bad" or "right / wrong" instead of just different. Videos like this should help us to teach others to be comfortable in their own skin (pun intended) and different is just that Different! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis video is giving the African American girls the opportunity to tell us all the different stereotypes that the world gives them. This opened my eyes to see what they go through because of how the world see them. This is their chance to speak against it and I think they did very well at addressing this issue.
ReplyDeleteI liked how it showed the struggle of the African American woman to compete with the white female population. It showed how their beauty is judged based on skin tone and the way their hair looks. I learned how much these girls have to go through to reach this beauty goal that has been set in front of them and that if they can't reach it they feel worthless. This supports multiculturalism because of this speaks out to all women because the bar has been set so high for all of them. In this day and age the ideals of beauty are at levels that are only reached by few and those that cannot reach are shamed.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a story. I like that the narrator of this story chose to interview black teens and also conducted her own experiment to add to her story. I learned that many black teens do not feel good about their appearances. I find it very sad, because as I watched the video I was thinking of how beautiful they all are, and they are all talking about how beauty is white skin and straight hair. This is definitely an eye opener to the culture of young black teens in our country.
ReplyDelete