Rise and Fall of the American Teenager argument

Hines argument is trying to state that "The purpose of this book is to sketch out a useful context for thinking about the young-----one that jettisons obsolete and destructive aspects of our contemporary view of teenagers." What the author is trying to do pretty much is find out the truth about teenagers.  He want to know what teenagers are really about. "Are they really important?" Well in my honest opinion I think they really are important. All people are important. I don't think people lack importance.

 While some teenagers are mean and some get in trouble. There are the ones that are good and the ones that have bright futures. Teenagers are defiantly important in todays society. While teenagers from way back when are a lot different then teenagers now. They were also alike.  Teenagers from back in the day had a lot more responsibilities and had to grow up faster. They became adults sooner, had jobs sooner, got married sooner. Teens back in the day had more to go through had more things to handle, or thats what society thinks. Teens quit school early to help their parents out and there really wasn't any child labor laws. Now you can only really work at a certain age. Some teens quit school but on their own accord because either they don't like it or sometimes it just not for them, (but there are also other reasons.) Yes teens can be troublesome at times but at other times they are helpful and kind.  I don't think its necessarily right for us to judge people just because of their age. Just because someone is young does not mean they do not know things.  Yes they are still learning. Everyone makes mistakes along the way. We do learn from those mistakes. I think if we can learn from them and take something good away from them that will make us better people in the end.  Teenagers are most defiantly necessary. We were all teens at one point and we all went through those awkward years but thats what everyone goes through eventually.

a tangle of discourses quotes

"A powerful, pervasive story about adolescence is that it is a clear, predictable (but turbulent) stage that teenagers inevitably undergo as they grow into adulthood. " This statement is true and untrue all teenagers go through adolescents. Some may consider adolescents a bit awkward. I think it all depends on how the teenager goes through that adolescent period.  I think it all depends on what happens and what kind of events are thrown your way.  We all have different experiences and some of our lives are much more difficult or different then others. In my honest opinion I don't think adolescents is at all times predictable. Adolescents is a time of ups, downs and spirals. It all depends on what direction we take and all the twists and turns along the way.


"Adolescence is discursively framed as a stage that seems to require a degree of self-refection, it is also marginalized (in terms of voice and self-refection) and often laced with current, popular concern about adolescents as dangerous, ungoverned and in need of control." All in all this is a well said statement. Adolescence is a time where teenagers not all the time but sometimes need guidance in everyday happenings.  I don't think we necessarily have to control this time period in a teenagers life but we do need to sometimes push them along the way.  Some teenagers are free spirited and some even like to live by their own rules. At times this may be dangerous but other times teens need the ball in their own court. Sometimes they need to make their own rules. As adults we can help them along the way but at times we won't always be there to help them. They need to learn how to do it on their own.


"I know with my parents sometimes they’ll turn things around. Like when they want me to take responsibility for something they’ll say you’re supposed to act like an adult...but then um when I am whatever taking responsibility or when I’m out for the whole day doing my own things and then I want to go to a party or something they’ll say ‘you’re not 21’. (Vienna) " Parents do sometimes put a lot of responsibilities onto teens. I think some parents do this because they know their teens can handle this. I however don't think its fair when parents are contradicting of what they originally say. I know teens can be confusing but parents can be just as confusing. Like teens they can mean one thing and say another. I defiantly experienced this as a adolescent but I also had a very rough time during this period. All most parents want is whats best for their children. They want them to succeed in the best way possible. In order to do that I think teens sometimes need clear cut rules guidelines and not have their parent or parents confusing them.

Do you think adolescents are predictable ? Why or Why not? And do you think they should have more control in their lives ? Why or why not?

Unlearning the myths that Bind Us Linda Christensen argument

This author Linda Christensen argues that "Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream. The indoctrination hits young children especially hard." When young children/ young adults view movies, cartoons, magazines, tv; these images tend to influence what happens in their daily lives. This makes children believe that they have a certain image to follow and maintain. Some of these images tend to fit certain stereotypes and tends to not really represent what is real in todays society.  If people believe that the media doesn't have any power over them at all this is not true.  Media and other related things have lots of control over us.  The things images etc that we view on a daily basis is quite outstanding. When I was little and used to watch a lot of movies a lot of the disney movies that involved princesses that fit that pretty girl need to be saved by a prince sort of stereotype. Now if I went back to watch these movies I would see a great difference in them. I would view them with a since of more knowing society and how they are pictured.  The author makes another good point in the article about how the students try to argue that they are not influenced by media yet here they sit/stand in their name brand clothing. While a lot of what the author has to say is true.  I think as time changes media and other aspects of media start to change. While some media images have had a negative impact on us I think other images have had a positive impact on us. A movie that is not mentioned in this article is a movie called Brave. Brave is about a princess who wants to be her own savior she does not want to marry. She wants to have fun and enjoy life and not be tied down by a marriage. So while media does affect us as children and adults. It has positive aspects and negative aspects and it all depends on how we take them and understand them.

How has things that we have seen as children influence us nowadays?

intro/coming out

So I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Eian McCartney Eastwood. Ive been at ric for forever i live by myself with my two cats. I don't really get along with my mother and father. The only person i really get along with is my brother carlos. My brother aaron passed away a little over 4 years ago.  So one big thing you should know about me is that i am  trans guy. I started the process of transitioning in june 2012. next step legally changing my name and top surgery. Those of you who already know me know some of the struggles that i have been through. a lot of the time i come out on top. i love my job. i work at a group home with adults that have developmental disabilities (they are people first their disabilities come second) i love food basically anything you put in front of me ill probably eat. i put hot sauce on everything. I'm a little shy at first but ill eventually come out of my shell

media and ideology quotes

"George W. Bush suggested that "dark dungeons of evil on the internet" were partly to blame for school violence." It was also said that "politicians from across the political spectrum focused on violent video games as one of the causes of the violence." What this quote is basically saying is the media and images that teenagers view online on tv and in video games etc, cause teenagers to act irrationally. People think that just because a teenager sees something on a video game they play or something online that they see that this will influence them to do horrible things and or make bad decisions. While sometimes this is the case it is not the case all the time. People have their own minds that they can make up while they view these things it may effect them in the decisions that they make. I would not blame all of their actions on these things though.  People may see something and say o let me go do that. But that was them that made that decisions to go do that.  Someone might have told them to do something but again that was them that decided to follow that.  They could always make the choice and not follow that.

"One of the principle reasons why media images often become so controversial is that they are objectionable."  Some of the media images that they put out there can be viewed as bad or good.  I have a feeling that the media put images out there that will have a wow factor. The wow factor is what draws the viewers in.  It is something that might shock or amaze someone. It draws a viewer in because its something that interest them or its something that the media makes it seem interesting. One of the things that upsets me is that I feel like the media does not care what they put out there.  I feel like they are just there to do their job.  It feels like sometimes they don't think before they act.   They just want to do whatever it takes to get what needs to be done done.

"Consent is something that is won; ruling groups in a society actively seek to have their worldview accepted by all members of society as the universal way of thinking." This is completely understandable. Groups/society try to put out ideas and try to see if they can be acknowledged and taken on by other people. They try and see if they can get other people to believe what they believe in.
Sometimes I think people go to extremes to have their view accepted.  Sometimes people even think their view is the only view.

Do you think Media (internet, tv, etc) influences peoples decisions that they make? How and why?