An Analysis of Little Miss Mary and the Big Monster Makeover - Essay Example

Little Miss Mary and the big Monster make over Name Instructors’ name Name of institution Subject Number of words Date An analysis of children popular culture texts (Little Miss Mary and the big Monster make over) This essay focuses on popular children culture in the contemporary world and it aims at analyzing recent texts that depict the culture of children under ten years of age. Module four and module five covers theories namely; post-structuralism, cultural studies, post-colonialism, feminist perspective and queer theory however this discussion will take into account two theories which will be explored to enhance our understanding of popular culture. Popular culture is an overview of the daily life of an individual showing the totality of their social world. It shows how we interact with other people and the environment that include the ever changing technology. For instance research indicate that children greatly interact with books, video games, television advertisements and their play items at the tender age. Children can spend most of their time with toys watching television asking endless question and reading exciting texts without tiring. Some of the texts that capture their interest may be seen meaningless to the adult world however it is this text that shape these kids, it is from the same text that their behaviors are defined and such text influences their future[Gle08]. Writers targeting children as their main audiences draw their literature from different fields and have a lot to write about, however their writings are limited in scope for instance children’s literature will usually focus on social institutions such as the nuclear family, extended family and school where children interact with the larger society. As children interact with the larger society conflicts increase within their small environment and this is what attracts many writers to cultural text writing to address cultural diversity writing about migration, racism, gender, sexuality, ethnicity among other issues popular in our society. In this connection this essay will take into account popular children literature in the recent past by analyzing a vignette form online children text published by Carol Moore. The story “Little Miss Mary and the big Monster make over” is a short children literature retrieved form online children storybooks[Gle08]. In this text little Miss Mary likes shopping and is capable of moving from one shop to the other picking on every item attracting ladies attention. After retiring from a days’ tedious shopping spree Mary encounters a big monster whose intention was to scare the little girl however her response startles the creature because it expected the girl to scream and run away instead she offers to apply makeover turning making it less creepy. In the text the monster is referred at a he and therefore male and the fact that roles change when the monster is scared when Mary holds a pair of scissors to trim its fur arouses my interest because boys are expected to be brave. The fact that the monster accepts to take a bath and a makeover describe a situation against normal behaviors this same case applies to the girl child scaring the monster instead. This text will be analyzed using the queer theory as follows[Gle08]. Feminist post-structural gender theory and queer theory The queer theory is an extension of post-structuralism theory developed upon the feminist challenges in relation to the essentials of the self as well as social constructions namely sexual acts and identities. The theory covers sexual identities development that are categorized both as normal or deviant therefore the theory defines anything that contradicts societal norms thus theory relating sexual stereotypes to the perceived norms of heterosexuality. According to Michael Warner, in [Mic93] the queer theory challenges established institutions in an attempt to achieve tolerance and bring about equality. Today almost every literature contains themes on homophobia and heterosexuals as a result the institutions have spread globally. Therefore the proponents of this theory focus on gender and sexuality and their argument reveal that there are no fixed identities therefore categorizing identities based on a fixed components is not right the theorists conclude that there is a great rift between an individual’s actions and the self[Cha03][MBl05]. Under normal circumstances it is presumed that gender/sexual identities are developed through socialization and interaction with the environment where children copy from parents and peers. However this theory does not agree with the argument that gender and sexual identities are develop as stated above nor do does it presume the inherent or children reproduce them naturally. Heterosexual norms apply and determine gender/sexual identities in children to the case where children conform to behaviors’ expect of them by the society however in the text above Mary’s behaviors is quite unremarkable so is the monster’s reactions. The queer theory asserts that gender/sexual identities are constructed with the influence of heterosexual norms[Dav89] in [Dav89]. Feminist post-structuralism conclude that gender discourses that develop human behavior that seem as normal behaviors help to manage children behaviors however it emphasizes gender/sexual identities develop as a result power struggle among the target groups that negotiate a compromise[Dav89]. The struggle between Marry and the monster in accordance to feminist post-structuralism creates a contest between gender discourses which intern shapes children to conform to resulting dominant and subordinate masculinity discourses. On one hand Mary comply with girls’ discourse by doing the shopping alongside her mother however she challenges the other discourse by taking boys’ role scaring the monster who does not comply with masculinity thereby turning submissive. In addition power struggle creates another unremarkable discourse whereby the monster accepts a makeover and Mary dominate this comply with the fact that there are no fixed discourse and children can contest for available powers. However the queer theory conclude that consider all sexes as heterosexual and that gender is a way of acting therefore to some extent Mary’s actions may fall outside the heterosexual matrix but our actions are examined from what we establish as dominant heterosexual norm and anything outside this bracket would be regarded abnormal[Tyl05] [Kat10]. An analysis of children popular culture texts (The stew that grew) In the ‘stew that grew’ another collection of children’s literature that will be featured in this analysis we will examine the gold rush. This literature has its setting based in colonial Australia during a period referred to as the gold rush a popular story among children. This essay will take into account a specific episode in the text particularly stew preparation whereby miners from different ethnic background working in the gold mines came together to prepare a meal. In the text Molly and her husband initiate the process of preparing the stew however other characters join each with his ideas and different ingredients for example Rudd brings carrots and ethnic others groups raise turnips, zucchini, onions, yams Kangaroos tail and many other ingredients to make the stew complete and the overall progress is monitored by the initiators. The entire text signifies cultural discourse in Australia the ingredients represent the different cultural aspects indicators such race, genders and related practices. In the text, gold rush in this case was seen as a rebellion against white dominance however it was the same white group that resist trivialization by taking a leading role in the new discourse involving that was to manage the cultural diversity[Mic90]. Post-colonial theory According to [Gha981] in [Gha981] this theory comprise of an analyses of cultural practices left by colonialism and the response to such legacies by modern societies. It attempts to explore the relationship between the master and the servant nations by examining colonial exploitations and the theory borrow heavily from fields such the critical theory. The theory illustrates concepts like feminism political science among other key components of culture. For instance it examines the interactions between gender, race, ethnic and culture in modeling post-colonial identities. This analysis will enhance our understanding of successful manipulation of local cultural (social, economic and political) knowledge to the advantage of the colonial nations. Post-colonial theory does not narrow its scope to the period just after independence instead it encompasses the reactions from the colonized towards colonial legacies social, economic, and political structures which reduces structures of the colonized people into a homogeneous whole. This theory studies how the structures mentioned above are reproduced or transformed to address the needs of modern nations. Post-colonialism as depicted in the text above different cultural discourses established by colonial masters still affect Australian ethnic and normative identities because white supremacy continues to form the dominant discourse[Gha981]. On the other hand applying the critical whiteness lens which draws upon ancient social stratification that have been extended to modern times to cover differences in races and exhibit perceived power of the whiteness dating back to increased interaction between slaves and their masters. In Australia for instance indigenous communities witnessed pronounced marginalization from the British as one major effect of colonialism. This theory examines whiteness as a social constructions and its implication for instance researchers argues that teaching critical whiteness theory in school is quite challenging in itself because students are quite aware racism. In any case Charles asserts that whiteness politicization has given a negative connotation to white race and student exposure to such treatment may feel socially disadvantaged[Cha03]. Racial identities the stew that grew is manifest when the white supremacy manage to control cultural diversity[Cha03]. According to Kerry pluralism is necessary in developing ones identity it is however difficult do away with social and legal inequalities. In any case pluralism from a wider perspective encompasses cultural aspects such as gender, race sexual preference and disability. The author notes that white cultural pluralism embraces the existence differences therefore it does not address certain inequalities but rather reproduces them. White dominance is seen in education institutions, political and social among other institution. In children for instance when adverts are aired in Anglo-Saxon language that is dominant they would tend to identify with such ethnic grouping though they originate from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore according to Luke in Kerry pluralism seems rigid and should are developed as homogenized entities which should not change. Therefore aspects such as language, lifestyle and other cultural practices are viewed as static contrary to the queer perspective that rigidity should not be a hindrance to exploration[Cha03][Ker05]. In conclusion early childhood education has been greatly influenced by social-political strategies based on cultural differences by exposing and allowing the young generation learns multiple cultural practices. These efforts were geared towards alleviating racial prejudice and imparting literacy skills and positive attitude towards other cultural values. For instance the curriculum that would implement these changes was referred to as anti-bias aimed at trivializing cultural differenced by teaching the learner to embrace cultural diversity. Cultural diversity in early childhood education draws a lot from conceptual strategies incorporated into the curriculum to capture cultural difference and cultural diversity in which multiple oppressions apply. Strategies employed involves collecting and emphasizing on equity and in this case children are allowed to focus on visible differences that the instructor assembles which for instance may involve children from same sex institutions whose background if white origin. Post-structuralism argue that though texts may be intended to produce a certain behavior children could interpret certain curriculums differently coming up with an entire different meaning. Finally post-structuralism, feminist, post colonialism and the queer theories have been used to examine how identities are formed in the texts as depicted by proponents of such theories. The fact that children interact with diverse culture through media and other related sources in modern days is enough evidence to show how these exposures help in shaping children’s identities. References Gle08: , (Gleb Topopov, 2008, pp. 1-6), Gle08: , (Gleb Topopov, 2008), Mic93: , (Fear of a queer planet: queer politics and social theory), Cha03: , (Charlse, 2003), MBl05: , (Blaise, 2005), Dav89: , (Davis), Dav89: , (Frogs and snails and feminist tales: preshcool children and Gender), Dav89: , (Davis, 1989), Tyl05: , (Tylor, 2005, pp. 163--), Kat10: , (Kath Browne, 2010), Mic90: , (Michael Gray, 1990), Gha981: , (Ghandi), Gha981: , (Post colonial thoery: A critical introduction), Gha981: , (Ghandi, 1998), Cha03: , (pp. 219-318), Ker05: , (Kerry Robinson, 2005), Read More