Seventeen, Self-Image, and Stereotypes by Bakari Chavanu

Chavanu’s article discusses the influence the media has on young people. As a class unit she had her students “study” the media, in this case she used mostly print advertisements and commercials. Students watched commercials and looked at several advertisements in Seventeen Magazine  they were asked probing questions about who the ads are targeting, what product they are selling, and most  what influence the ads have on the ideals of the consumer. Ultimately Chavanu’s objective was to have her students  become more aware of how the advertisement industry is influencing young people, “Thus, media literacy can play a necessary role in helping our students become critically literate and reactive to the powerful influence of television, video games, commercial advertising, popular magazines, and movies” (24).

As educators it is important to understand that “many of our students are walking advertisements and consumers of media. They purchase T-shirts, hats, and backpacks embossed with the ubiquitous Nike swoosh. They sport images of their favorite heavy metal bands and sports teams” (24). She also gives some important statistics about the viewing habits of our students. “They will have seen 350,000 television commercials by the age of 17” (24). Obviously with her students, and ours, this topic and lesson plan can be life changing for some students who “get it.”

Her unit took seven weeks and she covered many different topics in advertising; they analyzed the image of women, of race, gender, and class.  Along with the commercials and ads, she used different documentaries that help getting the point across of the "hidden curriculum." 

•  Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women
• The Colour of Beauty
• Western Eyes
• A Question of Color

 

 Very often in certain advertisements we can really see how clear S.C.W.A.A.M.P. is through the actors, the slogan, and the pcitures. Although I am very in tune with the underlying messages many ads are trying to get across, Chavanu also discusses the strategy music and voice has in the television commercials. They play on our emotions in different ways. She gives an example of a frozen food commercial and how the music and the narration pull the consumer in. This reminds me of the commercial for the dog charity with the Sara McLachlan song Angel playing in the background. This appeals to people’s emotions and hits their heartstrings.

 

Overall, Chavanu ’media literacy unit really challenged her students to look at advertisement in a more critical way. Her students came away from it understanding the implications of certain advertisements. “sadly, these images are part of a culture in which one out of five women has a serious eating disorder such as anorexia; where adolescent girls increasingly have problems with low self-=esteem; and where blacks, especially women, have historically had serious problems and prejudices concerning the lightness and darkness of their skin” (26). As an essay writing project she had her students write about their experience with the media literacy. She was happy that many of her students look at the media differently now. “Clearly, the unit had challenged their assumptions and caused them to question their own sense of identity” (30).