Key Concepts for Media Literacy (source: mediasmarts.ca)
1. Media are constructions
·
Media products are created by individuals who make
conscious and unconscious choices about what to include, what to leave out and
how to present what is included.
·
These decisions are based on the creators’ own point of view, which will
have been shaped by their opinions, assumptions and biases – as well as media
they have been exposed to.
·
As a result of this, media products are never entirely accurate
reflections of the real world – even the most objective documentary filmmaker
has to decide what footage to use and what to cut, as well as where to put the
camera – but we instinctively view many media products as direct
representations of what is real.
Ask:
·
Who created this media product?
·
What is its purpose?
·
What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in
the content?
2. Audiences negotiate meaning
·
The meaning of any media product is not created solely by its producers
but is, instead, collaboration between them and the audience – which means that
different audiences can take away different meanings from the same product.
·
Media literacy encourages us to understand how individual factors, such
as age, gender; race and social status affect our interpretations
of media.
Ask:
·
How might different people see this media product differently?
·
How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are
from the people portrayed in the media product?
3. Media have commercial implications
·
Most media production is a business and must,
therefore, make a profit. In addition, media industries belong to a powerful
network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution.
·
Questions of ownership and control are central –
a relatively small number of individuals control what we watch, read and hear
in the media.
·
Even in cases where media content is
not made for profit – such as YouTube videos and Facebook posts – the ways in
which content is distributed are nearly always run with profit
in mind.
Ask:
- What
is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other words, how will
it help someone make money)?
- How
does this influence the content and how it’s communicated?
- If no
commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes might the media
product have (for instance, to get attention for its creator or to
convince audiences of a particular point of view).
4. Media have social and political implications
·
Media convey ideological messages about values,
power and authority.
·
In media
literacy, what or who is absent may be more important than what or who is
included.
·
These messages may be the result of conscious
decisions, but more often they are the result of unconscious biases and
unquestioned assumptions – and they can have a significant influence on what we
think and believe.
·
As a result, media have great influence on
politics and on forming social change.
·
TV news coverage and advertising can
greatly influence the election of a national leader on the basis of image;
representations of world issues, both in journalism and fiction, can affect how
much attention they receive; and society’s views towards different groups can
be directly influenced by how – and how often – they appear in media.
Ask:
- Who
and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light?
- Why
might these people and things be shown this way?
- Who
and what is not shown at all?
- What
conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?
5. Each medium has a unique aesthetic form
·
The content of media depends in part on the
nature of the medium.
·
This includes the technical, commercial and
storytelling demands of each medium: for instance, the interactive nature of
video games leads to different forms of storytelling – and different demands on
media creators – that are found in film and TV.
Ask:
· What techniques does the media product use to
get your attention and to communicate its message?
·
In what ways are the images in the media product
manipulated through various techniques (for example: lighting, makeup, camera
angle, photo manipulation)?
No comments:
Post a Comment