Media literacy 101

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Media literacy 101
Berkeley County Reading and Writing Institutes

• Frank Baker
• media educator
• fbaker1346_at_aol.com
• Media Literacy Clearinghouse
• http//medialit.med.sc.edu

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Media literacy 101

• It would be a breach of our duties as teachers
  for us to ignore the rhetorical power of visual
  forms of media in combination with text and
  soundthe critical media literacy we need to
  teach must include evaluation of these media,
  lest our students fail to see, understand, and
  learn to harness the persuasive power of visual
  media. NCTE Resolution on
  Visual/Media Literacy

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Media literacy 101
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Media literacy 101

• Our students are growing up in a world saturated
  with media messagesyet, they (and their
  teachers) receive little or no training in the
  skills of analyzing or re-evaluating these
  messages, many of which make use of language,
  moving images, music, sound effects.
  Source R.Hobbs, Journal Adult Adolescent
  Literacy, February 2004

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Media literacy 101

• American Association of School Libraries
• International Reading Association
• Natl Board of Professional Teaching Standards
• National Council for Teachers of English
• National Middle Schools Association
• Partnership for 21st Century Skills
• White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

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Media literacy 101

• What is media literacy?
• OR
• Why should your students become media literate?

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Media literacy 101

• Media literacy is concerned with helping
  students develop an informed and critical
  understanding of the nature of mass media, the
  techniques used by them, and the impact of these
  techniques. More specifically, it is education
  that aims to increase the students' understanding
  and enjoyment of how the media work, how they
  produce meaning, how they are organized, and how
  they construct reality. Media literacy also aims
  to provide students with the ability to create
  media products. 
  (Source Media Literacy Resource Guide,
  Ministry of
  Education Ontario, 1997)

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What media literacy is
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Media literacy in SC ELA
Elementary Middle High School
Recognize details, setting, characters and cause and effect in material from nonprint sources Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, to compare and contrast info and ideas, and make inferences in regard to what is viewed Analyze nonprint sources for accuracy, bias, intent and purpose
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Media literacy 101

• "If video is how we are communicating and
  persuading in this new century, why aren't more
  students writing screenplays as part of their
  schoolwork? Heidi Hayes Jacob

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Core Concepts

• All media are constructed
• Media are constructed using unique languages with
  their own set of rules
• Media convey values and points of view
• Audiences negotiate meaning
• Media Power Profit
• Source Center for
  Media Literacy www.medialit.org

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All media are constructed
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What is this?
No, this is a PHOTOGRAPH of a horse.
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Media are constructed using unique languages with
their own set of rules

• Language of filmCameraLightsSound/MusicSetsEd
  iting

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Media convey values and points-of-view
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Audiences negotiate meaning
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Media Power Profit

• Big 5 MediaFOX (News Corp) NBC
  (GE) CBS (Viacom) ABC (Disney)CNN (AOL/Time
  Warner)

What are the implications/ramifications if only 5
companies control magazines, newspapers, TV,
radio, newspapers, Internet, film, etc.?
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AdvertiserAudience

• This program
• is brought to
• you by the
• sponsor.

You arebrought tothe sponsorby the program.
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Critical thinking questions

• Who produces/pays for media?
• For what purpose(s) was it made?
• For which target audience(s)?
• What techniques does the messenger
• use to attract attention?
• Who or what is omitted and why?
• How do we know what it means?
• Does it contain bias or stereotypes?

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Techniques
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Techniques
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Techniques
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Techniques
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Techniques
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Techniques
The box of Oreos was not in the original NBC
Friendsit was placed there virtually for
DVD/syndication exposure
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Techniques

• well known
  case
• of the digital
• creation of a
  magazine cover
• featuring a
  woman who does
• not exist

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Body Image

• The subjective concept of one's physical
  appearance based on self-observation and
  reactions of others.
  (American Heritage)

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Body Image- Studies

• Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in
  Boston found that the more adolescent and
  pre-adolescent girls read fashion magazines, the
  more likely they were to diet and to feel unhappy
  about their bodies. (USA Today
  1/18/2006)

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Body Image- Statistics

• 69 of teens read a magazine in a typical day

Real Teens A Contemporary Snapshot of Youth
Culture ( by George Barna )
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Body Image- Statistics

• 42 of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner
• 45 of boys and girls in grades 3-6 want to be
  thinner
• 37 have already dieted
• 6.9 score in the Eating Disorder range
• 51 of 9-10 year old girls feel better about
  selves when dieting
• 9 of 9 year old have vomited to lose weight
• 81 of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat
• 53 of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their
  bodies
• 78 of 18 year old girls are unhappy with their
  bodies
• The 1 wish of girls 11-17 years old is to lose
  weight
• source Body Wars Making Peace with Women's
  Bodies by Margo Maine, Ph.D.

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Body Image- Studies

• "....unrealistically thin young women are often
  used in advertisements for everything from soft
  drinks to cars..... previous research has already
  shown that such advertising contributes to
  negative body images among young girls and
  women." (UK News
  story, Aug. 31, 2005)

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Body Image- Studies

• Males impacted "Action figures present
  subtle messages of unrealistic role models
  of well-sculpted, heavily muscled, 'perfect'
  bodies that little boys see as their role
  models. Sondra Kronberg, director and
  co-founder of Eating Disorder Associates
  Treatment Referral Centers

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Body Image- Studies

• According to statistics posted by the
  National Institute on Media and the Family, by
  age 13,  some 53 percent of American girls are
  unhappy with their bodies that figure grows to
  78 percent by the time girls reach 17. In another
  study on fifth graders, 10-year-old girls and
  boys told researchers they were dissatisfied with
  their own bodies after watching a music video
  by Britney Spears or a clip from the TV show
  Friends. And adolescent girls who viewed
  commercials depicting unrealistically thin models
  felt "less confident, more angry, and more
  dissatisfied with their weight and appearance."

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Body Image Are things changing?

• New Dove Ad Campaign

Just My Size Ad
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Body Image-Resources
www.jeankilbourne.com
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Other Resources

• CDC produced
  curriculumhttp//www.cdc.gov/tobacco/mediashrp.ht
  m

Media SharpAnalyzing Alcohol Tobacco Messages