Library Assignment

Patrick Bruno

Sanja Trpkovic

Understanding Media Studies

16 Sept. 2009

Library Assignment

1. Book: Children, Gender, Video Games
Author: Valerie Walkerdine

The title of this book roped me in from the beginning since they are three of my favorite topics. Walkerdine discusses the ongoing debate of whether video games are detrimental to children, but more importantly, she analyses game playing as a social phenomenon. She looks at this complex virtual gaming world in which kids are the experts and wonders how this alternative realm affects psychological development. She also considers how gender figures into gameplay.

2. Article: Keeping Pace with Teen Media Use
Author: Heidi A. Fuller; Amy M. Dmico

This article was actually based on a study that was conducted to understand how teenagers experience media and the potential health risks involved with media use. 21 students (11 boys, 10 girls) were chosen randomly from a New England high school; each student was given a one-on-one interview pertaining to their media involvement. Open-ended questions allowed each student to speak specifically about their concerns with media (mainly television and advertisements). Interestingly enough, the one-on-one interview method seems tainted from the start as this type of atmosphere would most definitely affect the responses of a group of adolescent kids. I even remember reading that the gender of the interviewer affects how the interviewee will reply.
But what these researchers found to be most significant about the analysis is that the adolescents didn’t feel at risk for falling victim to alcohol or tobacco advertisements. This feeling of being above the influence, one of the media elite, is quite common amongst media users. Most people contend that they are not fooled by advertisements; however, the products still get bought. I think that just assuming you’re one of the elite is a good way to put yourself at risk. Just because they believe they’re above it doesn’t mean they aren’t affected and shaped by it every day.


3. Video: Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex, & Power in Music Video
Writer, Editor, Narrator: Sut Jhally

Dreamworlds 3 discussed gender roles and how they are played out in music videos. It seems that the objectification of women has permeated all genres of the music video (country, hip hop, rock, etc). Women are constantly portrayed as fragmented images, scattered shots of body parts. Femininity is always connected to sexuality, and the women are repeatedly dependent on men and the male gaze. Masculinity is often associated with aggression which the women passionately welcome. These concepts of what it means to be a man or woman rule the dreamworld, but it can become extremely dangerous when this spills over into the real world.