Hello Blog!
Thursday’s class has left me pondering the quote:
“Fiction reinforces, in a circular fashion, the manner in which the adult desires the comic bc received and read” (Dorfman and Mattelart 114).
One of the questions I wrote down was “Is there a way to break this “cycle”?”
Adults are always choosing what children are interacting with. It is just a fact of life, and I am not really sure if this can change. Though this fact might not change, the way we go about exposing our children to certain topics can change.
Earlier in the passage, Dorfman and Mattelart state that, “…the imagination of the child is conceived as the past and future utopia of the adult” (113). I then started thinking about how this relates to all of the intersectional issues raised by capitalism, whether that be the upholding of racism, classism, or gender roles. I know we were discussing how the toys a parent picks for their child plays a role in the reinforcement of the cycle of fiction. I would like to use the example of the 1940’s “The Doll Test” to try and explain/work thought my thoughts.
For those of you who are not familiar, “The Doll Test” by Dr. Kenneth Clark and Dr. Mamie Clark was an experiment to study the psychological effects of segregation on black children. It involved giving black children four dolls, two of which had light skin and two of which had dark skin. The children were then asked which dolls they preferred and their beliefs about the morality of the doll (if it was “good” or “bad”). The results of the experiment were devastating. The children would say that the doll with dark skin was “bad” and that they were like the “bad” dolls. They had extremely low self-esteem and believed themselves to be inferior to the light skinned dolls. Dr. Clark and Dr. Clark were able to prove that segregation gave black children a sense of inferiority and that it would last the rest of their lives. They then used this conclusion in their testimony to help win the case of Brown V. The Board of Education.
Adults (and honestly society) chose what to expose their children to, as well as what they want to teach them though toys and other games. The fact that the children were able to make a distinction between the dolls, the toys, and then let that reflect back onto themselves at such a young age is sickening. This was a result of many intersectional problems occurring. It was the result of centuries of generational trauma, capitalism, racism, and sexism that was taught to children by our society (the “Adult” or “Parent” in this example) and they then internalized this rhetoric as they grew up.
I'm going to think about this some more this week and the idea of breaking this cycle.
Here is a link if anyone would like more information on the study from a museum: https://www.nps.gov/brvb/learn/historyculture/clarkdoll.htm
That's all for now blog,
aveyourfavblogger
Comments
Post a Comment