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Chapter 13 Viewing. Caleb Benham and Jeff Jaskiewicz. Neil Postman. “The problem does not reside in what people watch. The problem is in the fact that we watch. The solution must be found in how we watch.”
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Chapter 13Viewing Caleb Benham and Jeff Jaskiewicz
Neil Postman • “The problem does not reside in what people watch. The problem is in the fact that we watch. The solution must be found in how we watch.” • “As (Huxley) saw it people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.”
Media literacy • What is it? • Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms (Aspen Media Literary Leadership Institute).
Why teach Media Literacy? • Technology, information overload age • Credibility of authors, journals, scholarship, etc • Develop critical thinking, context clues and pragmatic thought.
Inconsistencies in the Media • Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky • Hurricane Katrina
Inconsistencies Cont. • Katrina Report: White Militias Attacked Blacks • By Casey Gane-McCalla, Assistant Editor December 18, 2008 1:39 pm • The Nation is reporting that during Hurricane Katrina, a white militia from Algiers Point, Louisiana used high powered weapons and pick up trucks to patrol their neighborhood and fend off violently African-Americans they believed were looters, despite the fact that Algiers Point was an evacuation for Katrina refugees.
Five Crucial Components of Media Literacy • All messages are constructions • Messages are representations of social reality • Individuals negotiate meaning by interacting with messages • Messages have economic, political, social, and aesthetic purposes • Each form of communication has unique characteristics
Activity 1 - Commercials • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmmsr7PAhWU • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osTrMe76kes
Commercials Cont. • What product is being advertised in each commercial? • Describe different tactics used to promote these products? • Which way do you think is more effective? • To viewers what does each commericial say about the company and the product?
Example of Activity 2 • #3 A close-up shot of a silver BMW’s front as it is driving. The car appears to be driving down a windy, mountainous road. Several shots of the car’s engine and interior are shown highlighted on the ad’s borders. A description reads “Compromise is cliché” front and center. • #4 Advertiser appears to be selling prestige and performance.
Discussion • "When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not so much about who has access to what technology as about who knows how to create and express themselves in the new language of the screen. If students aren't taught the language of sound and images, shouldn't they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read and write?“ - George Lucas
"Media literacy is not just important, it's absolutely critical. It's going to make the difference between whether kids are a tool of the mass media or whether the mass media is a tool for kids to use."- Linda Ellerbee (Nickelodeon). • If, as Aristotle said, "The unexamined life is not worth living," so, in today's life, "the unexamined culture is not worth living in." George Gerbner (Temple University)
Your turn… • What do you think of these quotes? • How important do you feel it is to teach media literacy in the English classroom? • If so, how do you go about teaching it? • Is there anything from today’s lesson that you might take into your teaching career?
Works Cited • Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion. 3. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. • "Media Literacy Definition and Quotes." frankwbaker.com. Frank W. Baker. 9 Apr 2009. • Smagorinsky, Peter. Teaching English by Design. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008.