The moving image is perhaps the greatest storytelling tool in human history. While informed by so many other art and literary forms, film and television allow access into the minds of artists in unprecedented ways.
âIt is this world that inspires me,â says À¶ĘźÊÓÆ” communication professor Christopher T. Gullen, who also co-hosts âThatâs A Wrap,â a podcast on film, media, and culture about which he says, âWe wax cinematic on a variety of topics.â
As a filmmaker, he describes his work as âinformed by citizenshipâwhat it means to be a citizen, or more specifically an Americanâespecially within marginalized or oppressed groups of people.â
Gullen authored, âThe Taboo of the Tiara: Examining How âToddlers and Tiarasâ Sexualizes the Child Female Body,â a paper that examines one of the most controversial television programs of the past several years.
The Learning Channelâs âToddlers and Tiarasâ series follows the families of contestants in child beauty pageants. The programâs focus on pre-pubescent and younger beauty pageant contestants has generated considerable controversy in academic circles due to the hyper-sexualized exhibition of the children.
âThis program is problematic for more than the common complaint that it causes young girls to develop unhealthy standards of self-worth but also societally confuses our reception and interpretation of child female sexuality,â says Gullen.
While critics have called âToddlers and Tiarasâ child pornography and creating in the participants an unhealthy and unrealistic attitude toward femininity and sexuality, defenders have asserted that pageants are a healthy way for girls to build self-confidence and poise.
âNot only do we have a perverse objectification of the pre- pubescent female by male viewers, but we simultaneously have a performance, a practice of idealized femininity for other women,â Gullen says in his paper.
Gullen discusses that by enacting all the various pageant activities, young girls are learning that by placing themselves in these positions, they can get money, fame, and power. He cites the âToddlers and Tiarasâ spin-off program, âHere Comes Honey Boo Booâ as an example of its disturbing aftermath.
Gullen voices concern that what lies beneath the fake teeth, the frilly dresses and the heavy makeup on young children is a perilous path to identity dysmorphia. In addition, research suggests there is a dangerous connection to the onset of eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression when girls are exposed to sexuality early in life.
Professor Gullen holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Film/Media Studies, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan.