Transcript Managing Mixed Messages

Video watching — Dove evolution (from
next-door girl to superstar)
 What do you think this video implies?
 Do you have trouble managing such
messages?
 Will you fall for it sometimes?
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2. Cinderella, a legendary girl whose
beauty eventually captivated Prince
Charming, is now used to refer to a
person of unrecognized merit or beauty.
What, if any, is your or your friend’s
Cinderella appeal? Do you find any
problem in Cinderella appeal?
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What does the author mean by
“mixed massages”?
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confront / vt.
1 if a problem, difficulty etc confronts you, it
appears and needs to be dealt with :
› The problems confronting the new government were
enormous.
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be confronted with something
› Customers are confronted with a bewildering amount
of choice.
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2 to deal with something very difficult or
unpleasant in a brave and determined way :
› We try to help people confront their problems .
admonish (vt.)
 advise to do (or not to do) sth. in a serious
way
 admonish sb. to do
 e.g. When I was young, I was constantly
admonished by my father to be honest all
the time.
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amplify (vt.)
 increase, make stronger
 e.g. These terrible stories only amplified
her fears.
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amplification (n.)
e.g. signal amplification
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Young girls have to try their best to avoid
the harmful effects of kids’ programs and
take full advantage of the benefits of
these programs that will make them
stronger.
In US:
 Commercial TV is the practice of
broadcasting for profit. This is normally
achieved by interrupting normal program
to air advertisements.
 Public TV is non-commercial educational
(NCE) broadcaster usually funded by
government or public donation.
 Cable TV and Satellite TV’s service are paid
partially or wholly by subscribers. Most of
them sell commercial time too. There is also
completely ad-free TV service like HBO who
operates solely on subscriber fees.
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know better
 If someone knows better than to do
something, they are experienced
enough to know it is the wrong thing to
do 懂道理, 有头脑, 不会上当
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e.g. She knew better than to argue
with the policeman.
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“Like many moms of my era, I was one of those
who righteously banned Barbie, the doll that
launched a thousand women’s studies
dissertations, on the grounds that we didn’t
want our daughters’ role model to be a giddy
shopaholic who said, “Math class is tough!” and
had a figure that defied the laws of gravity…
…In the face of years of criticism, Nurse Barbie
had turned into Doctor Barbie, Stewardess
Barbie into Astronaut Barbie, with a host of
multicultural friends. There was even Barbie for
President 2004 in a trim red pantsuit with a Starsand-Striped scarf. But somehow Barbie remains
incurable pink and retro, because she is an icon,
a Warhol painting, a Smithsonian exhibit…
http://www.gosmithsonian.com/nightatthemus
eummovie/”
-- Nancy Gibbs TIME Feb. 20, 2006
bring something to bear (on/upon
something)
 to use something, for example your power,
authority, or your knowledge, in a way that
will have a big effect on something or
someone（充分发挥;施加, 运用, 完成, 瞄准）
/To put (something) to good use:充分地利用
（某物）
 e.g. bring pressure to bear on the student's
parents.
 e.g. The full force of the law was brought to
bear on anyone who criticized the
government.
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“Having grown up with the mess media
myself…have her hopes and fears
shaped by the mass media too.”
 My growth was also accompanied by the
mass media which had great impact on
me, good or bad. I know how influential
the media can be and actually is. The
media will help shaping the world view of
my daughter and that of her peers.
Taking this into consideration, I’ll try my
best to utilized the power of mass media
in educating my daughter.
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大众传媒伴随着我的成长，其中既有有益的、
也有有害的影响，我意充分利用之，扬长避短
地用于对我女儿的教育，而她也将以她的方式，
和她的同龄人一起在大众传媒的影响下形成她
的希望或恐惧。
Maria
Muppet
The Paper bag princess
not to mention
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much less, let alone
 e.g. It's too far to walk, not to mention
the fact that it'll probably be closed by
now anyway.
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It goes without saying (that) …
 It is used to say that something is so
clearly true that it does not need to be
said
 e.g. The Internet, too, it goes without
saying, is a good source of information.
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TV commercials are full of sexist
messages. Could you give some
examples?
consummately (adv.)

completely, used for emphasis 完全；彻底
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consummate
adj. 完美的；熟练的；有成就的；技艺高超的
a consummate musician一位技艺高超的音乐家
He won the race with consummate ease.
vt. 1.To bring to completion or fruition; conclude:完成或使取
得成果；
consummate a business transaction 完成商业交易
2. To realize or achieve; fulfill 实现或达到；使尽善尽美；
使...达到顶点
a dream that was finally consummated with the
publication of her first book.
她处女作的发表实现了她的梦想
Portrait of
Monet’s wife
By
Pierre
Auguste Renoir
What’s the problem with this stories in
which “selfless, beautiful girls are
rewarded by the love of a prince they
barely know”?
 According to the endings, the only way
for girls to realize their values is through a
marriage to a prince. But the
prerequisite of this marriage is that the
girls should be selfless and beautiful.
Ending stories in this way, the mass
media endeavors to make girls a
weaker sex.
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What are the major assumptions underlying
the phrase “dropping like a sack of onions”?
 This phrase vividly describes the daughter’s
funny behavior in the pretend game of
“Snow White”. Given to her height, she is
no taller than a sack of onion. The phrase
describes how the little girl drop slowly, little
by little, to the ground.

vengeance (n.)
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Syn: revenge, retaliate(tion),
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with a vengeance: in an extreme or
intense manner（拼命）
cannon fodder

soldiers, sailors, or other military
personnel regarded as likely to be killed
or wounded in combat.（士兵，炮灰：被
认为有可能在战斗中被打死或打伤的士兵、
船员或其他军事人员）
 fodder: 草料，原料， 来源
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The author states “boys are ‘cool’; girls are
their mirrors”. What does “mirrors” suggest in
the context?
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Mirrors are “flat, shiny surfaces whose only
function is to reflect”, indicating that girls
just need to be pretty without independent
thought, and need only to admire those
boys who play coolness all the while.
“So she will be surrounded by media
imagery that holds out promises of female
achievement with one hand and slaps
her down with the other.”
 The media will continue to infuse her with
confusing information. On the one hand,
it will showcase programs wherein great
expectations are made of women; on the
other hand, sexist notions and genderbiases still work to the disadvantage of
women, two contradicting situations are
juxtaposed.
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她既想有控制权又想被爱，她所成长的文化与
五六十年代一样, 女性仍困惑着如何在这两者
之间兼顾取舍。她周围充斥着矛盾的媒体形象，
伸出一只手向她许诺女性可以有所成就，又用
另一只手把她搧倒在地。
What is the general tone of the article?
 Aggressive
 Liberal
 Ironic
 Imposing
 Live-and –let-live
 mild
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What’s your opinion on the issue raised in
the text? Do you agree with the author?
Or you have different opinions?