After reading Steinburg's analysis of the History of Barbie, I couldn't help but hear the laugh track and in my head think of the social commentary speech from Fight Club. Reading about Barbies history as a toy, I felt more queazy thinking of the ways in which children, and even adults, use the things they're infatuated by to make sense of the new knowledge. Only an child's idol such as Barbie is so approachable.
As I read about the way an all american girl like Barbie is used to tell the story of the pilgrims and the native americans, I find it unsettling as I look back on my own history lessons from elementary school. I remember harsh lessons such as the civil rights movement being brushed over in ways that seemed more like innocent bullying instead of deep rooted ethnic classes. I remember doing a book report on Jackie Robinson in 4th Grade, yet the book assigned to me was a picture book, and the men who didn't let Jackie play ball didn't exactly seem to have the same reasons as the real men did.
I think there is a time and a place for social studies and the lessons and histories we learn about. Sure a child can understand racism by reciting the definition, but does that child understand its context when the Native Americans seem to have blonde hair and blue eyes?
No comments:
Post a Comment