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Messages commenting about the topic of women’s rights
are a strong presence in the forum when scenes of the telenovela allude
to this subject. The next example shows the poster’s reaction
when the novela shows Jade’s struggle to keep her daughter after
her divorce from Said:
im muslim but …
i am really pissed off about the stupid cultural thinkings that always
get mixed up with religion. I hate the fact that if a woman divorces,
men think they can just take the child from the mother. HORRIBLE.
Islam says heaven is under the foot of your mother, three times more
than the father! How can a child obtain heaven if he is torn away
from his mother's arms. It makes me sick how some people use religion
as an excuse when its just the culture that promotes these ridiculous
notions to give men power. this happens alot in islamic countries
unfortunately. let me tell you as a muslim woman i know my rights,
and hell if my husband whenever i get married that is, if we divorce
ill be damned if anyone takes my child, i will shoot the bastard and
his entire family, sorry about my language haha. i know its difficult
though in countries where men seem to rule all of society. it just
enrages me though. poor jade she really doesnt have any choice it
seems but to win back said so she can stay with her child. but man
if i were jade, id have ran away with lucas when i had the chance,
religion be damned! love is the true religion and God understands
that. why cry your whole life with someone you don;t love. true said
was great to jade and she didn't try to get over lucas when the relationship
ended and he also married, but still arranged marriages suck!
i'd never have one! but culture always seems to play a key factor
in many people's lives. im just so glad that i had the blessing to
be born in america and have very liberal muslim parents, or i'd have
been in the hugest depression ever if i had to live like that. sorry
i had to vent this way!
Besos, N (name)
And the responses that his message received were:
Re: im muslim but …
te apollo N
Re: im muslim but …
Go N you rule girl. Now I really sympathize with Jade a child's
place is with his or her mother.
Agree with you, N. Ok to vent
here in the forum. We are with you.
In this example, the poster expresses affective interaction with
comments of strong feelings aroused by the telenovela’s representation
of a women’s right or lack thereof to keep the child after
the divorce. The message writer places herself in the character’s
shoes and articulates what would be her reactions to the same situation
“but man if i were jade, id have ran away with lucas when
i had the chance, religion be damned!” The poster explores
her own feelings regarding the women’s situation not only
represented in the novela, but also making the bridge to the outside
world: “It makes me sick how some people use religion as an
excuse when its just the culture that promotes these ridiculous
notions to give men power. this happens alot in islamic countries
unfortunately.” The message writer also refers back to her
own condition as a Muslim woman when expressing her views and feelings,
which reveals the sub-dimension referential parasocial interaction.
In this forum’s dialogue, the first posted message initiates
a discussion about women’s rights. Her statements are strong
affirmations of empowerment and self-efficacy. “let me tell
you as a muslim woman i know my rights, and hell if my husband whenever
i get married that is, if we divorce ill be damned if anyone takes
my child, i will shoot the bastard and his entire family.”
For a moment, the writer feels that she knows her rights as a woman
and as a Muslim, and that this knowledge somehow would give her
the strength to fight against established rules. She believes she
is able to change the established power structure. However, on the
same breath reality hits, it is as though the writer sees the real
world context, and acknowledges the difficulties that women experience
in countries where men have all the power to rule society. The poster
then recognizes that the character, Jade, does not have any choice
but to go back with her husband in order to have her daughter back.
In the above example, the messages that follow encourage the poster,
her ideas, and her clamor for justice, agreeing with it in the form
of cheering posts: “you rule”, “te apollo”.
This interaction while intentionally directed to the poster might
also be interpreted as an agreement with the feelings of outrage
when dealing with the power struggle to assert woman’s rights.
The social learning environment here is demonstrated when the interpersonal
communications exhibited reflect the discussion of the theme but
also the feedback of encouragement from the other posters (Papa
et. al., 1995). This can also be seen as an expression of “conscientization”,
or the process of raising consciousness, as Freire (1998) posited:
“… the individual can gradually perceive personal and
social reality as well as the contradictions in it, become conscious
of his or her own perception of that reality, and deal critically
with it ( p.14)”.
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