viernes, 17 de septiembre de 2010

The Adventures and Misfortunes of Iron Man and the Invisible Woman

By: Jessica Medrano

In the 21st century, Mary Poppins is out of the city, and she has been substituted by an everyday flatter box. Yes, television is the babysitter that everyone adores. It takes care of our children, and at the same time, it educates them while the parents are doing house chores or watching TV in their room. However, the way children see the world on this flat screen affects how they will understand it in the future. In this flat world, men dominate and women are still seen as dolls. The cartoons that Nicktoons transmits, for example, are promoting in the children a patriarchal society where the men are violent heroes and women have to follow the role that society traditionally imposes on them.

According with the Longman Dictionary a patriarchy is "a social system in which the males hold all the power"(657). In a patriarchal society, men are the ones who rule or control a nation politically, culturally, and economically. When in cartoons the main characters are played by boys or men, It reinforces the idea that only the most powerful roles in most sectors of society are held predominantly by men, and the least powerful roles are held predominantly by women.
Margaret L. Andersen and Howard F. Taylor in their book Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society defines socialization as "the process by which people learn the expectations of society. Roles, for example, are learned through the socialization process, and are the expected behavior associated with a given status in society" (83).The first socialization agent is the family, but in the last two centuries, the mass media has been also one of the most powerful socialization agents. According to Anderson, "The average young person (age 8-19) spends six three-quarter hours per day immersed in media in various forms"(86). Television and Internet are the most popular in the 21st century. Cartoons are the favorite programs for children, and for this reason they contribute to create stereotypical images of men and women. Anderson claims, "The media in their various forms communicate strong, some would even say cartoonish, gender stereotypes. Despite some changes in the recent years, television, the most pervasive communication medium, continues to depict highly stereotypical roles for women and men." (306)

Nicktoons are animated television shows which are produced by and aired on the children's television channel Nickelodeon. Actually, the cartoons that are aired are Iron man, Avatar, Danny Phantom, Wolverine and the X men, Dragonball Z, and others. These cartoons have the classification of TV-Y7. It means that they are directed to older children. According with the Federal Communications Commission, these kinds of programs are designed for children age 7 and above. However, it advises:
"It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in this program may include mild fantasy violence or comedic violence, or may frighten children under the age of 7. Therefore, parents may wish to consider the suitability of this program for their very young children. Note: For those programs where fantasy violence may be more intense or more combative than other programs in this category, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV."
In my opinion, the Nicktoons’ TV programs have an intense violence that children cannot always differentiate between fantasy and reality. Moreover, these are showing a world where physical power is more important than intelligence. These programs subtly also teach to the children that society is managed by men.

Nicktoons is one of the principal entertaining sources for kids in The United States. Its programs have broken the record for highest-rated in more than once occasion. For example, in 2009 the hour-long premiere of Iron Man: Armored Adventures broke Nicktoons Network's record of highest-rated original series by premiering with over 125,000 viewers. As reported by Marvel Animation Age, the children who watched the premiere were between 6 and 11 years old.

If we visit the Nicktoons website these days, we would find that twelve series are promoted: DragonBall Z, Iron Man, Wolverine, Speed Racer, Fantastic Four, Invader Zim, Danny Phantom, Making Fiends, Teenage Robot, El Tigre, Avatar, and Tak. Ten of these have something in common; and no, it is not only the TV-Y7 classification. In most of these series the main character is a boy or man. This is not a new factor. In her article "Gender Stereotypes in Children's Television Cartoons", Kelly Eick reveals that in the 70s, 80s and 90s the males featured in each cartoon ranged from 66 to 70 percentages. For example, in the 70s The Jetsons had 51 male characters and 26 females, while in the 90s The New Adventures of Captain Planet had 67 males and only 27 females characters (Eick). This difference between men and women is supporting the idea that this world is a man’s world, and that to live in a patriarchy is correct. In the Four Fantastic program for example, there is only one woman who plays a main character: Susan Storm. In the series, she moves in a men’s world where seven men play the principal roles as good or bad guys. Curiously, the superpower of this girl is to be invisible. This could be a perfect target to attack for feminist groups because it could support the idea that women can be good in something, but is better that nobody notice them.

In the Nicktoons programs, most of the superheroes are men, while women are portrayed as mothers, girlfriends, or annoying sisters. This is supporting many stereotypes of our society. In his article “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes,” Aaron Devor explains how the gender signals that traditionally tell what a boy or girl supposed to look and act like are a cultural constructs and not a genetic or "natural" fact(1). Cartoons are part of the modern culture, and they are helping the children to grow up with stereotypical images in their minds. According to Devor, masculine characteristics are used to identify persons as males, while feminine are used as signifiers for femaleness(1). In his Article, Devor claims "the patriarchal gender schema currently in use in mainstream North American society reserve highly valued attributes for males and traditionally feminine characteristics to women."(568) In this society, he says, "men are seen like strong, aggressive, and more self-confidence than women, while gentleness, passivity and strong nurturing instincts are some of characteristics that are usually associated with women"(568). Some of the popular cartoons are consolidating these stereotypes. For Example, In Dragon Ball Z the main character is Goku. He is a powerful man who always is out of house fighting with the bad guys. His work is to save the planet. Chi-Chi is his wife, and she is supposedly the most powerful woman in the earth. However, her role in the series is to be a lovely mother and a very understanding wife. Goku's wife is not a main character in the series, and most of the time she has to be at home and educate her son, Gohan. In some way, Chi-Chi renounces her superpowers to perform the duties of a loving wife and doting mother, concerned and protective, of her family. It means that she plays the role that society traditionally has for women.

According to Kay Bussey and Albert Bandura in their article, "Social Cognitive Theory of Gender Development and Functioning":
Gender differentiation takes on added importance, because of the attributes and roles selectively promoted in males and females tend to differentially valued, with those ascribed to males generally being regarded as more powerful, effectual, and higher status. Although some gender differences are biologically founded, most of the stereotypical attributes and roles linked to gender arise more from cultural design than biological endowment.(92)

There is another example how women have to follow the stereotypical role that society imposes on them in the Danny Phantom series. Jasmine is Danny Phanton's sister. She is very attractive and popular in high school. However, she has a secret. She is smart. She does not want everybody to know that because her popularity would go down. "I have an image to protect", just to say the teenager girl. This girl does not want to look like an intelligent woman because people at the school would classify her as a nerd and her popularity would decrease. This character reveals how in the American society women have to be beautiful and popular with men and women, while being an intelligent woman is not an attractive characteristic in teenagers.

Nicktoons also portrays women as tomboys. This is a phenomenom that psychology named Masculinization of women. According to Andrew P. Clark in his article "Self-perceived attractiveness and masculinization predict women’s sociosexuality ," Masculinization is "the attribution of male characteristics to women in an attempt to understand their behavior rather than locating women's behavior in female experience or structural location. In the Nicktoons, there are a couple of female characters that live this phenomenom. For example, in Iron Man, Pepper Potts is a girl that acts and dress like a boy. She is very energetic and tries to be part of a man's world. Another example is Jenny, the main character in "My Life as a teenage Robot". Jenny is a teenage robot who always is saving the planet. Jenny shows the image of a typical teenage in high school. She looks sweet and very friendly. However, her work is to protect the earth, so she has to be aggressive and fight like a man with the bad guys. Jenny's dilemma is to decide between being a regular girl or a Robot. Nevertheless, at the end of every episode, Jenny decides to be and act like a Robot with all the male characteristics that it implies. This shows the the children that girls have to act more like boys to be successful in modern society.

On the other hand, in Nicktoons men are always portrayed with the traditional masculinity's characteristics. In 1999, the National Poll of Children, Focus Groups, and Content Analysis of Entertainment Media Boys to Men: Entertainment Media. Messages about Masculinity identifies that the most popular stereotypes of male characters are the Joker, the Jock, the Strong Silent Type, the Big Shot and the Action Hero. The last one is the most recurrent in Nicktoons series. In Wolverine in the X Men, for example eleven, male main characters have super powers and are a part of the good guys. According to the Poll, "The Action Hero is "strong, but not necessarily silent. He is often angry. Above all, he is aggressive in the extreme and, increasingly over the past several decades, he engages in violent behavior."(Media Awareness Network) Aggressiveness is a common characteristic in the X men. In every episode, they are fighting with the bad guys. They usually destroy furniture or buildings without concern. Their faces show anger and hate towards their enemies. In his book, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood, William Pollack argues "Our culture puts boys in a gender straitjacket, channeling their full range of healthy emotions into narrow forms of expression, often aggressive ones. Media legitimates these constraints at a time when we desperately need to reinvent manhood in America." (338) Male characters in cartoons teach children that violence is part of the manly characteristics, and that aggressiveness is a good way to resolve conflicts with their opponents. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric affirms, "extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater aggressiveness. Sometimes, watching a single violent program can increase aggressiveness. Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see."

Another stereotype promoted by Nicktoons is the men as a jock. Most of the male characters in the series are attractive, brawny and athletic. According to the National Poll of Children, "The Jock is always willing to "compromise his own long-term health; he must fight other men when necessary; he must avoid being soft; and he must be aggressive. By demonstrating his power and strength, the jock wins the approval of other men and the adoration of women."(Media Awareness Network) In Danny Phantom series for example, Danny is not popular with girls in the school, while the football team's players always have girls around them. For these teenagers Danny is a loser. This situation changes when Danny transforms himself in a ghost with super powers. He is very strong and athletic, so the most popular girl in the school falls in love of him.

At the same time, cartoons usually reflect a society where men are portrayed as businessmen, politicians or any profession that implies control and power. This is what The National Poll of children defines as the big shot. This stereotype of professional men suggests that a real man must be economically powerful and socially successful. In Wolverine X Men, the only two recurrent characters who do not have mutant power are W. Worthington Sr. and the senator Robert Kelly. Even though, they do not have power to fight with the X-Men, they have political and economical power to destroy the mutants. Women in powerful position like these are not very common in cartoons. This is one of the principal element in Patriarchal society. In cartoons, the focus is on the men's actions while women with a kind of power have no relevant importance in the development of most the stories. Kelly Eick in her article, "Gender Stereotypes in Children's Television Cartoons", argues that even when women are portrayed in more male jobs like policemen or judge the stereotypes persists because they still show women as weak and with less power than men (1).

In conclusion, the stereotypical gender portrayals in cartoons affect the way children understand the male and female roles in our society. In animated series like X-Men, Iron Man, Danny Phantom or Dragon Ball Z the male and female characters have distorted images about their roles in society. In television, children are learning that there are some activities for men and other for women, that there is no real gender equality between them. Boys learn that to be aggressive is part of their masculine instinct, while women learn that their principal work is to be beautiful and excellent mothers. Unfortunately, in the 21st century cartoons still promote the idea that boys have to imitate Iron Man, and women have act like the Invisible Woman.