Is The Media A Mirror Reflecting Reality Or It Is A Lens Distorting It?
Since the emergence of Music Television (MTV) and other similar cable stations there has been a concern about its influence on adolescences and how much these adolescences are applying what they see on TV to solve daily relationship problems in the real world. One particular show features adolescent girls going through a rite of passage. Although this rite of passage has no cultural significance it seems to be a trend in middle to upper class families. The show being referred to, “My Super Sweet Sixteen” does a particularly bad job at depicting what the average American girl experiences at the age of 16.
The premise of the show is a mini-documentary featuring the planning and execution of the Sweet Sixteen celebration for these girls. The families spend thousands of dollars on a one day event for their daughters. The planning consists of elaborate and over the top decorations, shopping for that special dress or dresses, and the girl pleading “Daddy” too many times to count. The event usually includes a prom like dinner and dance featuring a C-list entertainer singing Happy Birthday, several wardrobe malfunctions, a few tears, uninvited guests being kicked out, and finally a surprise car for the birthday girl which (gasp!) is the exact car in the exact color she always wanted.
For the majority of females watching the show, disgust runs over the face within the first five minutes. Thoughts like “Why are the so spoiled?” and “Who would ever give their 16-year old daughter that?” run through the mind of the average viewer. What do viewers on either side of the spectrum think? Imaginably, girls from low income and perhaps middle income would wonder why they do not receive this elaborate rite of passage and if perhaps they are less of a woman because of it. They might wonder if others view them as women without this formal occasion. They might show jealousy for the girls on the program for being so “lucky” and hatred for their parents for not giving them this...
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