Reflections on Module 2 Readings
So far these readings have introduced us to inequalities of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. It also has mentioned the daring topic of cyberbullying and how media education can be mportant. In the activity 2 video, Professor Tollefson mentions that there are five key question that media literate people would ask themselves when experiencing a piece of media and they are:
- Who created this message?
- What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
- How might different people understand this message differently than me?
- What values, lifestyle, POV are represented or omitted from this message?
- Why is this message being sent?
Although all media messages are created, they also can be uncreated. In this video, i also learned that everyone can be viewing the same media message but perceive it differently, and media education is about trying to understand why the same media message can be differently viewed or translated. Media has implanted values and P.O.V. All media types are representations and not reflections. They don’t reflect society as it is; they represent the value and perspectives of whoever created the message/s. Hausman makes known the kinds of things that media makers tend to lean on as being unnoticeable to the average media consumer. The power and visibility are two closely associated schemes. We should get into the habit of asking the 5 key questions.
Going into the other videos and reading, I seemed to enjoy the trope vs women video, the text book reading, and the gross 21 reading. In the book reading, it mentioned that with new media coming up it make it more challenging to protect children. This fear rose when cyberbullying was on the rise.”New technology allows meanness to pervade new spaces.” When online, anything goes. It doesn’t matter how popular you are or not, whatever is said about you and posted on line, it’s viral. Although the internet is said to be a negative, it can also give those who feel alone a sense of community and acceptance. “Tolerance is growing at the same time cyberspace has given everyone of us an almost magical ability to invade other peoples lives.” In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court made legal changes that made schools liable if they don’t take action to protect students from sexual harassment.
