Media Letter

So this week in my media class we had to write a letter to someone with some influence in the media. I decided to write to Nicholas Sparks. Here is what I said:

Dear Nicholas Sparks,

            I am studying Human Development at Brigham Young University and would like to say thank you for keeping your books so clean. You probably get a lot of pressure to do otherwise, but I personally am glad that I can pick up one of your books without worrying about the kind of romantic detail that might be inside. The movie industry is definitely not concerned about this kind of thing when they uses your stories, but I think it really says something that you are able to make popular clean stories before the movie industry even gets a hold of them. I feel like you are a pretty influential figure in a lot of teen girls’ lives, and your books teach girls that they do not need to have sex to have a successful romantic relationship with someone. I think that your books also teach girls that they do not need to settle for someone who is only interested in them for sex because your books show them that there are guys out there that could be more interested in their personality than their body.

            The only thing that I noticed in your last book was that there was quite a bit of violence. I can’t blame you because violence sells books and is very realistic in the story you depicted, but it still has an influence on the way teen readers perceive reality after reading your books. Safe Haven obviously teaches teen girls not to tolerate abusive situations and teaches guys to avoid becoming abusive, but readers are exposed to a lot of violence in the process. This may lead teen girls to think that there is a good chance that they will become involved in an abusive relationship and to fear relationships and men as a result. Obviously the effects of this would not be life changing, but could add to other life experiences they’ve had to create a stronger cumulative affect. This is just a small thing that it might be nice to take into consideration. I am a HUGE fan though and I appreciate all you’ve done to help girls better understand romantic relationships.

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                Jessica Morrell