Muted Group Theory and the Little Mermaid

Muted Group Theory This topic is to basically analyze the theory of Muted Group and to see how it correlates with Walt Disneys The brood Mermaid. What is Muted Group Theory? Muted Group Theory was first proposed by Edwin Ardner and the theory is an attempt to explain why certain sort outs in club be muted which means they are either silent or just not heard. Edwin Ardener was an anthropologist who discovered that a group becomes mute due to the escape of power that is experienced of a group with a low status.Ardener then realized that this particular theory might form more of a sex activity perspective. Females are seen as being constructed differently and it is these specific differences that cause females to act in a different way as opposed to males. It is these reasons that women and minorities are to be considered muted groups because they are considered to be of a lower status than the dominant groups. Ardener called the theory the muted group because these muted groups a re liken to black holes since they are muffled, overlooked and invisible (Griffin. 003 Prentice. 2005 Rogers 1978). It is not necessarily always seen that women are automatically muted or feel like a muted group just women believe that have no choice in order to fit in other than to change the way they act and talk. Women still live in a world that is dominated by men and women have taken the backseat to a man for centuries and depending on some acculturations, the status of women and how they are viewed is not possible to change any time soon.There is quite a bit of power play being executed in environments where a specific group because of gender, race, or cultural background goatnot be heard for who they are, hardly rather only by acting in ways they are reflective of who is auditory modality, the dominant group. It would not be until Cheris Kramarae offered a different perspective to the Muted Group Theory. According to Cheris Kramarae, language is something that was const ructed by man. The words and thoughts of women are ignored in our society.Because of this, it is difficult for women to extract their experiences as opposed to men. Kramarae further stated that language does not serve all its speakers in an equal manner regardless of the culture because women are not as free as men to say what they want, when they want, and where they want. Men have a dominant control of society and how the members of society should express themselves. As such, different terms are used to describe tasks done by both males and females even when they are doing the exact same thing.It is also because of this that just about sexual suggestions that are considered degrading are usually referring to women than to men (Anderson & Haddad 2005 Eckert & McConnel-Ginet, 1992 Epstein, 1986 Griffin, 2003 Prentice. 2005 West. 1983). In Order for women to express themselves to others, they must do so as how males express themselves (Epstein, 1986 Griffin, 2003 Rogers. 1978 Stets & Burke. 1996) one of Kramaraes first published articles explains why women are perceived differently in the world and how they are not only less powerful but a group that does not speak a similar language as men.Men and women speak a different language. According to popular belief, at least, the speech of women is weaker and less effective than the speech of men. Our culture has many jokes about the quality of womens speech . . .. Compared to male speech, the female form is supposed to be emotional, vague, euphemistic, sweetly proper, mindless, endless, high-pitches, and silly (p. 82). The Muted Group Theory does not necessarily explain all the possible ways woman can interact to confine their desired goals within an organization or something along those lines.Some women use certain techniques and tactics in which they are inherently strong and it is these particular women who can overcome the male power. One prime example of a women overcoming male power is the classic Disney M ovie the particular Mermaid. When Walt Disney released its adaptation of Hans Christian Andersens The Little Mermaid, it had become a box-office hit. Yet, the pictorial matter captured the attention not just of young girls back in the late 1980s but sociologists and anthropologists as well since the movie became a perfect example of whey they had termed as the muted group theory. References Griffin, E. M. (1991). A first look at communication theory (3rd Ed. ). New York McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ISU discourse Studies. (n. d. ). Context of communication. Muted Group Theory Information Page. (1998, April 8). Kramarae, C. (1996). Classified information Race, class, and (always) gender. In J. Wood (Ed. ), Gendered relationships (pp. 20-38). Mountain View, CA Mayfield. Kramarae, C. (1981). Women and men speaking Frameworks for analysis. Rowley, MA Newbury House.