Fake Stake or Not: Why we need media literacy.

To-may-to. To-mah-to. The perfect example of why media literacy is important. How does it relate. Well let me explain. No matter how close we are to someone this expression illustrates exactly how different people can be. We are all entitled to our own opinion and when we produce anything thing from a video or a piece of literature, there is some type of bias in it. It is unavoidable to keep everything completely unbiased. Everyone from adults to children trust opinions that we see from people and it affects how we see the world as well as our morals and ethics. Spend the next few minutes with me contemplating why teaching media literacy to our children and teenagers is important among media and all of its perspectives.

Form the very start of any discussion of media literacy the first thing to understand is that we are exposed to media messages on a daily basis. Form advertisements to just general media messages they are constantly bombarding us. We taking in these messages (whether we actually think about them is another thing) and just go on with life the only time we actually pay attention to something is when we find something that sparks a little piece of our brain. A key word or phrase we have programmed in our minds from different likes and dislikes. With all of these messages swarming us we are completely influence by them. “The mass media affect how we perceive and understand the world and people around us, from what we wear, eat and buy to how we relate to ourselves and others” (http://www.mediachannel.org/classroom/) The perspectives of each person are embedded in this Which is exactly why it is so important for us to create an awareness and teach children and teenagers media literacy.

In a child’s eyes what they see and hear is all new and learning for them. They may not be able to comprehend the plots and deeper themes of news and such but they are able to understand their own likes and dislikes. For advertisers this is great because Children see the colors and fun objects and then go tell mommy and daddy that they want this product. The same works for different fast food ads. Take Ronald McDonald for example. Children don’t realize that he is actually selling something they just like him and want to do what he does… including eating McDonald’s French fries. The children take one perspective and do not have the ability to comprehend that opinion of the advertisement. The media messages are a “fundamental in helping young people to become informed citizens who can actively and successfully communicate with society and the world.” (http://www.mediachannel.org/classroom/)

Unlike the younger children, teenagers can comprehend more meaningful parts of television or radio because they have the cognitive abilities to piece together themes; thus, making them susceptible to different types of perspectives at the start of the moral and ethical developments. Teenagers spend several hours of their day exposed to many media messages that all have different perspectives. Even though they may be exposed to different perspectives without know that they need to decipher the difference between all the messages. Not only the difference but what the goal of each is. The analysis of media messages is an active process. When you know what to do it becomes easier as you do it but most teenagers do not understand the concept of media literacy. Without knowing such concepts teenagers or children may be skewed easily by the media that they feed off of and form their opinions from.

Media Messages

This chapter in our book dealing with media messages and how they affect us is probably the most influential chapter of all of them. I took the 13 Effects and judged them against myself and also I chose a media source: rap. I personally chose rap because I understand it and I listen to it frequently. I came to realize many things about not only myself but the effects of rap as well. One thing I realized was the affect of rap music on little kids and even adults. Personally I am a very against people bashing the rap industry. I like it and I think some of it has real meaning. Now you can agree to disagree on that point because we all have our own opinions. Unfortunately, I have discovered much about the mind form this chapter. The fact that children do not fully understand media messages and morality at a young age and that like the University of Michigan med school , charade they should start learning not a alludes to why so many people have a problem with Eminem. He reached far in his audience and younger children were listening to him. Granted by the age of twelve everyone know what is right or wrong (for the most part) so you could almost say the parent train al warnings actually do accomplish something if they are enforced.

One of the most interesting points that I learned during my reading was the one that almost controls all of the others. A personal Locus boils down to the determination of using what you know to better yourself. While I think personally feel that I have a high personal locus I do believe that there is a lot for me to work on. I know understanding media messages and media effects I’ll help me make choice better as an audience member. Since I am old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong I would not day that I am not being influenced but I am being offered a media message that I can either give in or not. For many who do not have very strong personal locus they tend to be easily influenced by media messages. This self motivation towards you is determined by many things including lifestyles and habits. The tricky part to a personal locus is that even though you may have a very strong one you control which media messages affect you. I know I am not easily influenced negatively by music and movies. I may listen to a lot of rap buy I do not let the messages influence me. There are times though when I will let different media messages influence my mind. I have a weak spot for clothing stores. If it says sales then I am there. This is one of the things that I need to work on. Since I have been in this class I am recognizing so many more messages that are thrown our way. I see many things that I need to change and am currently changing about myself and society.

Rating House

House. One word, simple, mysterious, and it makes for a great show. I am not a big TV buff. I do not have time to sit around and watch television vomit. I have more important things to do with my life. I call it vomit because most shows are just a different form of the same idea or concept. House for me is different. It has factual information and has a good plot and dynamic characters. I know a lot of people who love House even the ratings are showing it. I like it because of the time as well. It is on FOX (a personal favorite channel) on Mondays at 8. Actually the time has changed several times. It used to be on Tues and then Mondays and I think a few times it was on Wed. but I could be wrong. Either way it is always in the late evening which a nice because you can sit back an relax after a hard days work, This week it came in third on the Nielson ratings of top watched shows. I think that is wonderful because coming in fourth is Grey’s Anatomy. Which to me a more soap opera like version of House. Grey’s is a more of a over dramatic “Oh my God! She slept with him?!” deal. Personally, I am just not into all that.

For not liking a lot of TV shows I do like American Idol. Actually I lied I was obsessed with American Idol and House in High School… now I don’t have time to sleep much less watch TV. You may laugh but I was such a religiously viewer of American Idol that I have the Hotline to vote in my cell. Sad, I know but it is about as addictive as tobacco… maybe worse because it is so readily available and no one is stopping us. American Idol is the top one and two on the Neilson ratings for this week. This comes to no surprise because it has been the top one and two since the season started. That is funny because the ratings are actually down for this season, compared to all the other seasons. IT is on Tues and Wed earlier in the evenings.

Comparing the two of my favorite shows I feel like House can hold its own against most other TV shows; however, as much as I love house I don’t think it could stand up to American Idol. There are just too many people who still watch American Idol to part with it. Also I think House would have a hard time being at the same time as American Idol because if you don’t watch American Idol every week you can get behind and confused. Unlike American Idol, House is a show which you can skip one or two and still understands what is going on for the most part. It is more individually based not season based.

Postman Review

We watch Television. We read books. We do both at the same time sometimes. What we don’t do however is look at how we as a society or as a person have changed because of it. With each new revolution of change in the media industry, people and society change as well. Our learning habits change, the way we view media changes also. In today’s culture we are the digital electronic age. We rely in most case for our entertainment, news, and everything else in between through the computer or the television. Books and newspapers are still a huge part of society but not as much as it was when the printing press evolved. Neil Postman explains in his book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” the affects television has had on the minds of America. Postman’s believes that the television has dumbed Americans down and although a great technological advancements ultimately a trump on society as a whole. Postman is correct to certain extent but the media has changed which allow for a different take on television.

Let me break this down for you. Postman sees the television as a reason for breakdown in society and in our culture. He feeds off beliefs the inventor of television himself had. Both men thought television was creating an inactive society, as the inventor P.T. Farnsworth expressed,
“There’s nothing on it worthwhile, and we’re not going to watch it in this household, and I don’t want it in your intellectual diet.” (http://heartland.temp.siteexecutive.com/pdf/17238.pdf) I almost completely agree with this statement. If you look at the media today you’ll find reality T.V. shows, mind numbing sitcoms, and dramatized series. To watch most of them you need “nothing but your eyes.” Meaning that we look and see but we don’t process or think critically about anything. We “veg” if you will. What Farnsworth and Postman couldn’t see is the Discovery channel, The Home Improvement Channel and the Food Network. These are factual and educational shows. You watch and learn something. Some of them are even interactive such as, the food network or the DIY channel. So yes, society has been numbed by the fact that people watch mindless TV shows but, not all shows are bad its how you look at them and how active you make yourself. Postman presents solid points but exaggerates because he can’t see the industry today.

Favs vs. Fans

"I think the fans versus favorites setup is the ultimate challenge because we have the favorites who have obviously played the game before, coming in here with experience. But at the same time you have us (the fans) and we know their game. We know not only their strengths but weaknesses too. So I think that puts us at a huge advantage."

So i would first like to state that I have never watched survivor so I can't really provide much background. I can say however, that from the quote I understand how the media has influenced their decisions and their actions. They have watched the show and made emotional and logical connections connections with the "favorites". From watching and creating these connections the media has given "The Fans" faulty beliefs. This is clearly what has happened.

The media does this everyday: gives people faulty beliefs. Think about the news ... depending on who tells the story it can have a totally different spin then what actually happened. Also, when a reporter takes a different viewpoint it can skew the actual message of the story. The worst in my eyes are the tabloid you see. I could believe everything I see and everything I hear but in the end I have to choose for myself if I am being lead int he right direction.

Now maybe the Fan who is saying this understands all that goes into media messages and how they affect her and also what they are saying. But I believe that if she doesn't know then she needs to sit down and look at their strategy and reevaluate. They may think they understand they weaknesses and the strengths of the Favs but reality T.V. will put on the best most exciting and dramatic pieces and that is what the Fans see. So I personally would wish "The Fans" luck and and also the "The Favs".

Max Headroom: War Episode

So let me first start off by saying that this was one of the most ..unique... shows i have encountered in awhile. For being in a mass communications class I found myself picking out the media messages in the episode. Although there are three different types or classifications of media messages, i found that this particular episode dealt with two specifically. One was entertainment and the other was information messages.
As an audience we rely on the news to bring us the informative side of the media. We expect truth and have a trust in them (to some extent at least) to provide it to us. Audiences are not only interested in the informative side of the media but also the entertainment side as well. People get so caught up in gossip and celebrities sometimes the actual informative part can go to the wayside. People like to get emotionally involved in stories and when they do more people wastch and ratings go up.
Now, as a T.V. program your popularity and job rides along ratings. This basically means whatever attracts the most attention goes on air. In the T.V. show Max Headroom, the stations started dueling over the fact that one news station started making news up. Breakthru channel starts staging terrorist attacks so that they can get better ratings. So what do you do when the news is wrong? When the news is turning informative messages into entertainment messages? How do you compete with ratings that are through the roof when its all based around lies?
At this point in time, it's the channels going head to head. One has to expose the other for it's actions. There are many times in which the different media messages are blurred. And, yes, many times informative and entertainment messages blend together to form one message, but Breakthru is a perfect example (slight exaggeration) of what is taking the entertainment portion too far. It shows us that ratings mean everything to some. But there are still a lot of channels that are focused on the news and the informative stories. Even if the stories are feature stories most channels care about the informative message much more then ratings.