Comm 411 Motherhood Smore
Michael Chase Daniels
Novel
The novel that I decided to conduct the project on was The Brave. This was a very good book and painted the picture of a fantastic mother. The thing I learned from this is that the majority of the novels that represented motherhood, was in most cases positive. It showed even through all the hardships that comes with being a mother, they will always be there for their children. In the brave, she was not able to raise her child because she was so young at the time, but she came back for her son. When things went bad in Hollywood, she disappeared with her son, never to return to the big city.
Films
When watching the films, I came up with the conclusion that a lot of motherhood films can be both shed in a positive and negative light. Some of the films the mothers are very insightful and on the opposite end they're portrayed as terrible mothers that were never there for their children. The film I was assigned was Forrest Gump. Mrs. Gump was a mother that always had great advice for her child. Forrest Gump was disabled with a learning disability and through all the bullying Forrest faced, Mrs. Gump never let that get to Forrest.
Life is a Box of Chocolates - Forrest Gump (7/9) Movie CLIP (1994) HD
Television
Television was another portion of the class that could go both ways. The majority of the time I saw television portray mothers as fun and crazy. When conducting the project portion, I looked at shows such as, Modern Family, Friends, Roseanne, and The league. Al of the shows they are shed as positive mothers, but have a crazy side to them that makes them really funny. I learned that the majority of the time they are seen as a really close funny friend but when it comes down to them stepping into that mother role, they are always there. This was one of my favorite activities in the class and is something that I will always pay attention to when watching television in the future.
Rachel from Friends
Modern Family Mothers
Jenny from The League
Mothers in the News
Majority of the class that presented Mothers in the News was always in a negative way. I learned a lot through these pieces. It showed me that their are mothers out there that have no reason being ones. A lot of mothers go to the extreme of not wanting their children and is making mothers look bad everyday. Not all mothers are what the news makes them out to be. They're loving mothers that would do anything for there children and its said to be this type of news in our everyday lives. I liked the activity because it kept the class up to date with news, but wish we could have seen news that represented mothers in a positive way. Below, I have attached a link of one of my mothers in the news articles.
Advertising
The one thing I learned from looking at how mothers were portrayed in advertising, is that their are a lot of stereotypical aspects that go along with it. It never showed a mother at work or doing something other than cleaning the home. I understand that these companies are targeting mothers because they are wanting to sell their products to them because they are the ones that most of the time are looking to buy those products, but I believe that society has represented mothers in that fashion for years now. Not all mothers stay at home with there kids and enjoy cleaning up messes on a daily basis. This was one of the most frustrating things to see as a student. Below, I have displayed a picture that bothered me and created controversy.
Magazines
Magazines was another aspect of the class that I saw stereotypical tendencies. In most cases, a lot of the problem I had was from old magazines. I learned that in older magazines, mothers were portrayed as stay at home moms. I realized through the class that this was how it was and what was expected from women. The husband went out and worked and the mother stayed home and attended to the children. Most of the articles ranged from, fashion, cleaning supplies, holiday supplies, cook recipes, and articles for young mothers. When looking at magazines for mothers today, I saw a lot of differences between the old and the new. Newer magazines have articles such as sex, and ways to fix relationships. It tended to be more vague than previous years.
The Feminine Mystique
The Feminine was Mystique was a great way of getting in the mind of mothers and seeing them for what they really are. Betty Friedan interviewed mothers and it showed that being a mother isn't the perfect picture that everyone thinks. From what I read, even when it looks like mothers are so happy and have the perfect house, perfect husband, and the perfect children, sometimes it isn't the life the mothers want to live. It really gave me a new outlook of what motherhood is really about. This booked was based around the 1950's and is a time where mothers were expected to stay at home everyday where the husband went out and made the money. It was an amazing book and gave me a male of what being a mother is all about and isn't what everyone thinks.
Video The Feminine Mystique Watch Makers Women Who Make America Online PBS Video
Disney Films
The one thing that I learned from the class from Disney Films is that in most cases the mother is absent in the film or they were cast in a negative light. A lot of controversy goes behind Walt Disney to wonder why he didn't have the motherly figure in his movies. Many believe that Walt Disney blames himself for the death of his mother and father, and is why he never had the motherly figure. This transitioned in later films after Walt Disney passed away, but in the beginning of the movies in most cases the mother was absent. Below is an article of Walt Disney blaming himself for his mothers death and his obsession with death.
Children and Teens
A lot of the class I saw Children and Teens get the aftermath of the bad mother. On the opposite end, I saw mothers give great guidance for there children to live a happy life. I saw this mostly through the music activity. We saw me pictures of mothers and their children and you just saw a positive outlook of what our mothers really mean to us in that time period of being a child and a teenager. Sometimes through being a teenager we can distance ourselves from our mothers but we know they will always be there for us and able to go to them for anything we might need help with.
Surveys
This was an excellent activity that gave me a big perspective of what being a mother everyday. I was able to engage with tons of mothers that ranged from 19-50 years old. I could ask a lot of questions and I got many answers that were brutally honest. Many people dont understand the way mothers actually feel until you ask them the personal questions that we asked. The next thing I learned is that a lot of mothers weren't aware of things such as how mothers are portrayed through advertising, movies, television, and etc. I believe I helped mothers see the types of stereotypes that go along with being a mother. Below is a link to a survey that I conducted.
Music
This was by far my most favorite activity throughout the class. I love music and loved doing research on how music portrayed mothers. I choose the band Good Charlotte-Thank you mom, to do my project on. This painted the picture of the lead singer saying thank you to his mom for always being there for him. She played both the mother and father figure because of his absent father. The majority of the music presented in class was very positive always praising the mothers. Not all songs are like this, some mothers are cast in a negative light but in most cases its always positive. I loved the song I choose and thought this was an excellent activity. Below is the song by Good Charlotte-Thank you mom.
Good Charlotte - Thank You Mom lyrics
Final Summary/I Love You Mom
This was an amazing class that I will always remember. Going into the class I was skeptical because I didn't know if I would learn that much because it wouldn't help me in the future, in reality, it was the complete opposite. I learned so much about motherhood that every male can't see through our lens. I loved how the class was very active, we interacted with each other, which made the class very entertaining. It wasn't your normal class, to where we were just staring at a power point and you just taught us. You let us interact with you and you actually valued your opinion and is something im very appreciative of. I also liked how the projects were actually fun. We were able to use our resources and actually had to think to complete the projects, it really challenged our minds as students. Lastly, I wanted to be able to say thank you to my mom. You do so much for me and I can not thank you enough. I dont know what I would do without you in my life. You have taught me to be hard working, loving, and a very caring person. Everything that you posses, I can see in me and I'm so happy to say that. I know you will always be there for me, and I promise you that I always be there for you. You will always be my mom and that will never change. I love you mom.