Pochahontas at the Clinic - Heather Hourigan

After reading the title for this article I was very confused as to how
Pocahantus could possibly relate to health care, however, through the use
of popular culture in our everyday lives it is evident to me now.  Popular
culture such as Disney characters, ?provide a common language for adults
and children, a set of public symbols that they can draw on to try and
connect with one another? (499). The type of speech that this article
examines is this common language of popular culture like the quote above
says.  No matter where you go in life there will always be an issue with
race and discrimination, including in heath care, but it takes having
something to relate to someone else that allows for people to overcome that
barrier. The example I found to relate to this article was a youtube video
of a girl getting a surprise trip to Disney Land. Her reaction was
priceless.

Trust needs to be formed between a doctor and their patient and in most
cases this is formed through our speech with one another. The doctors I
trust the most now are the ones that I have the best conversations with and
can tell they genuinely care about my health. This speech is hard to come
by in a child to adult situation. That is why popular culture such as
Disney characters is an immediate way of sparking conversation, which eases
the children?s minds. In a way this article touches on this adult to child
speech while using the idea of code switching. Not that the adult is using
a different type of language but is shifting the way he or she is speaking
to the child versus when they are speaking to that child?s parents.

The video that I attached to this post does not necessarily go with the
health care and Disney connection but I feel that it portrays the author?s
understanding on how important these Disney characters become to these
children. This video shows a young girl opening presents for her birthday.
Almost all of the presents she gets have to do with Disney whether it be a
Disney coloring book or pajamas. The most amusing part of this video is
when the girl?s mom says she gets to take all those things on a trip to
Disney Land. Immediately the girl is in shock and starts crying of
excitement. This shows not only how important these popular culture items
are to his young girl but the speech between the mom and daughter is
focused on this relationship of her love for Disney. The feelings are so
overwhelming for the young girl that she literally stops speaking and cries
out of excitement. Who knew popular culture could have such incredibly deep
feelings in the hearts of young Americans, and affect their speech between
adults.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpOhlGiRTM