Friday, April 25, 2008
Muted Group Theory
The muted group theory explains why certain groups in society are either silenced or not heard at all. Because women, as a muted group, believe that they have no choice but to "fit in" or conform to the male dominated society than to change the way they talk. Women are not only considered as less powerful than men but a group that doesn't speak the same language. Males are mostly the cause of women's mutedness because they do not want to even begin to understand a language that is not their own.
The muted group theory relates to this clip of Martin starring Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell because he uses control as a method of silencing Tisha. Martin thinks that Tisha works entirely too much and he feels that she should be home more often in order to perform her duties as a wife such as cooking. He went to her boss and demanded that he cuts her hours. In the process, her boss fires her.He uses a "sugar-coated bullet" when silencing her by praising her accomplishments and telling her that she could get another job anywhere. This is an example of gender-based differences in perception. The explanation lies in the division of labor that allocates work on the basis of sex, such that women are responsible for tasks in the home while are responsible for work outside of the home. Martin exerted his dominance by taking control of the situation and demanding that his wife take her place in the home while he worked.
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6 comments:
I agree with Chanice in the fact that this clip does accurately depict the Muted Group theory. The video clearly shows Martin silencing Tisha through the method of control. He ignores her argument and dominates their discussion until she finally gives into his desires.
I was also surprised to see that this was an example of a woman actually enjoying her submission and giving up her desire to fight back and resist the masculine domination. I feel there are most likely many women who do not want to resist the domination in this type of case.
This is an excellent and accurate example of the impacts the Muted Group Theory can have upon every day life. The idea that Martin feels he has the right to silence Tisha's excessive work, in the process of putting her in a role he feels she fits into, is one that is clearly consistent with the theory's concepts. Although this is only one example, I am confident that situations such as these are common occurances within many of today's home environments.
I thought this was a good example of the "sugar coated bullet". Martin is able to manipulate his wife through conversation. He compliments her in order to get what he wants. He also refers to her with terms like "baby". Afterwards, she seems brain washed. Tisha gave up her goals of being a career woman in exchange to be something more pleasing to her husband. I also thought the fact that she gave into the domination was interesting.
I think that this is an excellent example of the muted group theory. Not only was Tisha muted, but she also fully embraced the dominant groups desires and wishes. This is something that happens many times to many, many women. This clip showed exactly what can happen when the dominant group manages to manipulate the muted group.
I'm glad to see you applied the concept of "suger-coated bullet" well :)
This clip of Martin does depict an intance in with the Muted Group Theory is present. Martin exibits processes of silencing but using the ritual process in which he tells his wife her place is at home. He also assumes control and pretty much demands it of her that she attempt the housewife status.
The gender-biased differences are also prevalent since the wife states that she didn't go to college to stay at home, but the husband uses references of women from tv shows that didn't work in order to persuade her. While Martin finds that to be the ideal woman, the wife and her friend relay that this is just a depiction on a tv show and not real life.
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