My initial thoughts about creating a "text set"

TGFW- Thank God for Wednesday:

I would still be confused were it not for our in class discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. To be sure, I had gotten the gist of "multi-media text sets," but I really benefitted from hearing others' ideas about their multi-media text sets. As our discussion progressed I was able to refine my understanding of, generate ideas about and gain insight into the process of designing my multi-media text set.

The driving social issue to be explored with my multimedia text set is Stereotyping. As I mentioned in class I have decided to make Loud Lips Lucy the central text of my multimedia text set. Check out the book preview on Amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/Loud-Lips-Lucy-Smarties-Book/dp/0970829604. As, I feel it negatively portrays a young African American child in stereotypical fashion. The main character is garbed in stereotypical fashion wearing baggy jeans, a midriff exposing top, with unruly hair. Further, she uses slang, and is both loud and ignorant. I feel that this stereotypical depiction of an African American child is socially relevant considering our current social climate(see Jena 6, and "the NAACP holds a symbolic funeral for the N-word").

I have since decided to use Brother Eagle Sister Sky as an example of stereotyping, because its illustrations, while moving, are inaccurate. The illustrations that accompany this text portray Native Americans, in popular fashion, as headdress wearing, horse riding folk.

In regard to the image which will accompany my multimedia text set: I may use an illustration from The Story of Little Black Sambo, and an image of it's American adaption "the black faced minstrel" juxtaposed in order to create a stunning visual statement about the potential impact of children's literature and the potential harm of stereotypes.