The cultural spaces of Fairfield County differ greatly from the niches of what is right and wrong to what makes us better people. The cultural spaces of Fairfield county are revealed everywhere, from advertising to cartoons and the physical places we live in.
Overall major values that appeared throughout different types of media was the idea of being a better person. Cartoons are a major hub for influencing children to live morally and care for others and grow into a better adult. Uncle Grandpa taught kids to care for their friends and to help others. Advertisements such as one from the AAA insurance company persuade adults to purchase better insurance so that they can save money and enjoy better lives. This builds the connection between purchasing an item and being a better and smarter person. Many advertisements in Fairfield County do this. It seems that Fairfield county values good friendly people, raising children to be good people, and buying things in order to improve oneself.
Fairfield County however seems to undervalue the idea that we are still a very divided community. If you visit the towns of New Canaan and Darien 99.9% of people are white. If you go to another city like Bridgeport it has a much higher population of blacks and Hispanics. Why is there such a large rift between the population of two places in close proximity? Many Americans in Fairfield County neglect the fact that our community is very divided. Any visitor to the area would notice great differences in the physical places in Fairfield county, especially looking at the racial makeup of public schools throughout the county. observing the physical places in this county is the best way to observe the inequities of racial diversity throughout the county as a whole. As Americans who call ourselves a melting pot we have an obligation to diversify more of the public schools throughout the county that are majority of one race. We at least need to create more magnet schools to allow for more diversified education. We need to start hiring certain majorities of races who are working for minimum wage for higher paying jobs.
Now that I am aware of the values that our media plays in shaping who we are as a person I need to think back about how our county is very divided as a whole. How can this media be shaping or strengthening the rifts between the different cultures in our society today?
Joe, you have consistently strong entries! Great work on these posts!! Your observations are specific and interesting--not sure I agree about cartoons being stupid (make-believe is an important part of childhood! think about how it fosters the imagination and how much imagination helps with reading and writing and problem solving of all kinds). Very thoughtful final reflection.
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