When I think about teen pregnancy, the word “entertainment” does not come to mind. The show Teen Mom formally called 16 and Pregnant is a popular reality program aired on MTV. The show was originally intended to show the life changes and hardships these young girls encounter after having a child. In 2008 MTV News reported a story about a Massachusetts High school that gained public attention after a few of the female students started a “pregnancy pack” and made it their #1 priority to get pregnant at the same time, which happened to be before they graduated from high school.
In 2008, if MTV’s goal was to educate young people about the seriousness of teen pregnancy than I have to say that MTV has changed gears and over the past three years has made an empire out of promoting and some would argue encouraging teen pregnancy. I will provide examples of why and true stories and articles that relate to this very important issue that I will future explore throughout the course.
I have never personally written a letter to an editor or public official. There has been times that stories and events struck a nerve, but I would have to be involved on a personal level in order for me to make a public statement about anything. I will share an example of how a public statement affected the lives of a family that I am very close to and maybe some of you can recall. This past year the movie Conviction was released, it is based on the true story about a woman named Betty Ann Waters and her determination and hard work that resulted in the release of her brother, who had been serving a life sentence for a murder that he did not commit. This is a wonderful story about a brother and sister bond; Betty Ann Waters was positive that her brother was innocent and she got her GED and successfully graduated from law school in order to re-open the case. To make a long story short, Betty Ann has a large family who all participated with the case in one way or another, but the fact is that she went to law school and was the person movie directors were interested in making a movie about. Her sister was upset about not being compensated and not receiving the attention she felt that she deserved and displayed her aggravation in a letter that she sent to the Providence Journal. She wrote about her anger and aired the families “dirty laundry” for all eyes to see. During this time Betty Ann was receiving a lot of positive media attention from strangers but was struggling with a personal family issue that also became public knowledge. I am really close with Betty Ann and her family and saw the devastation and heartache that this public letter caused.
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