I loved reading this article! I am such a sucker for articles that discuss hidden meanings in literature. It is always amazing to me time and time again that I never noticed these hidden messages. I was aware of the message of certain stereotypes etc. because I had focused on this as one of my points in my MGRP. It is true that most media contains white, well to do characters that are often without worries. This issues causes lots of children and adults from other racial and societal classes to be left out and feel bad about themselves.
I know as a child, I was always reading and watching media that enacted these stereotypes. I loved Disney movies; I loved Popeye; and I loved Duck Tales. Every type of media guilty of stereotyping was enjoyed immensely by me. I love looking back at everything I loved and see just how bad they really are. This topic often makes me think of my sister. She always had lots of dates and hardly had a long term relationship. She always claimed she wanted the kind of romance you saw in the movies. The romance, she learned through movies existed in real life. Luckily she has gotten over the idea of the "perfect" guy and married a really great guy and has children.
As a child, I enjoyed Popeye and Duck Tales while escaping the influences of "secret education". Now that I'm an adult, I notice the obvious stereotyping in reality TV but I still watch certain shows for their entertainment value. Many of us were fortunate enough to be brought up and educated to which we don't allow media to dictate our attitudes and beliefs. I really liked the article because it reminded me that some children may have spent more time with TV/movies than with their own folks.
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