Teaching Media Literacy

The pages of the article that our group had to read about were from 3-18 and 32-34. We read about the skills needed in a media culture, the overall participation in the culture, the three problems with teaching media literacy, and how to sample media text. I'll talk about the reasons we should be teaching media literacy. Firstly I think that education is going in the direction of learning on the internet using remixes and using social interaction through myspace or facebook. Our class is mainly geared around learnign through these types of media. We use blogs and remixers to learn about the different theories and ideas that are presented to us. We learn through one another by reading others blogs and watching the clips provided. Its essential to teach kids how to use these tools provided to them. Everyone should have access to the internet and should try to learn the different programs on the computer so they won't fall behind in learning. Also I htink that when students learn how to use media in their work, they also need to be wary of Copy rights and that they could get in trouble for not citing their work.





Ok, i know that this video is about copy rights and media literacy, but the professor is on this one. I have to make it work somehow.:P This video is concerned about students using video or materials in their works that are copy righted and how they could get in trouble if they use them. The reason they use the clips is, because the work so well with what they are trying to convey. This is a part of media literacy, because it teaches students how to be wary of copy rights and when it is appropriate to use videos in their work. Copy Rights is a big issue with downloading songs and using other peoples' work in your work. I think this is a big deal when it comes to learning how to use the tools at your disposal and this should be taught to students. I for one, don't know to much about Copy Right laws.

Genderlect Styles

In Deborah Tannen's Genderlect Styles Theory, she described the conversational styles of men and women. According to Tannen, conversations between men and women are cross-cultural conversations. For example, Tannen states that men and women "speak different words, from different worlds. Even When they use the same terms, they are tuned into different frequencies" (Griffin, 429). Tannen then, went into detail to describe all of the differences between male and female conversational styles.

I do not fully agree with her theory. Deborah Tannen has come up with a decent basis that further research and studies should be focused around. I did not find her argument's to be strong, because I thought her results were too extreme, without enough evidence to prove her findings.



This is a simple video of a man (Stevie) talking into the camera about the differences in communication styles, between men and women. According to Stevie, he states that "when it comes to communication, women are subtle [and] men are direct." He says that when a woman wants a man to do something, she throws him subtle hints, instead of just asking him directly. Tannen did not mention anything about women being subtle, but she did mention that women are more sensitive in nature. Tannen and Stevie do agree that men are more direct, in nature. Stevie also stated that women will not let you know, if they are mad at you. They might drop subtle hints or ignore the fight altogether. Tannen agrees that women try to avoid conflict, at all costs. She states that women view conflict, as being a threat to connection, therefore they will try to avoid it at all costs.

--Bret Schlein

The feminist communication theory is based on three criteria of gender, communication, and social change. All of which encompass and understanding of how communication and gender interact with the respect of assumptions constructed by society.

-The feminist communication theory is stated as explanatory because the theory itself is designed by experience. It is articulated by the experiences that individuals have and their perspectives involving the significance of communication in the every day rituals of females.

-It's political because the politics surrounding feminist communication reach a personal level. Women have been silenced and been seen as insubordinate in one way or another has been such a huge part of society's history that it cannot be seen but anything as personal.

-The theory is seen as polyvocal because it has been formed by many different female voices with many different opinions, philosophies, and morals which at times can be conflicting interests. Because of the all the different kinds of women with so many different experiences the theory has so many different perspectives to draw conclusions from.

-The idea of a true "voice" is when one as the ability to articulate thoughts and then in turn also be able to listen to what others have to say that may or may not be in conflict to your opinions and/or ideas. As I mentioned before there have been so many times throughout history when women have been denied the power of their voice and have been silenced and so women were forced to find other creative ways to express the communication that they were denied.

Deborah Tannen stated in chapter on genderlect styles that males and females think on two different levels and express themselves in very different ways. She used the really great examples of dialogue from the movie, "When Harry Met Sally" to better illustrate her point.

The following is a clip that defines certain stereotypes that define the differences men and women and who they are as individuals.

Racism in Society

In Stuart Hall’s lecture entitled “Race as Floating Signifier,” Hall discusses why race matters so much to people today, and how race works in one’s head, and the logic behind it. Hall notes that the meaning of race is constantly changing all of the time, hence the “floating signifier” aspect of the video. In the video Hall makes many valid points about race and how it has become almost a form of “human classification,” but one point that he focuses on in depth is his “politics without guarantee” theory.

One major point that Hall made with this theory is that society does not know how to conduct politics without guarantees, and that we have yet to find an ethically responsible way to conduct politics around race without the guarantee of biology. What comes out of this are so many stereotypes of people of color, such as their loud ways, their better ability in certain sports over whites, their abrasive natures, and so on. What Hall tries to convey in his lecture is how people of color have been fighting for themselves against these kinds of stereotypes throughout history, and that people need to take biology less seriously, and such stereotypes as blacks being less intelligent than whites that are not true, and need to be proven even more so, rather than being pushed aside, and instead finally be put to rest for good.

In the following video that I found, the boy discusses how one should “act black” in response to a question that somebody wrote to him and asked. The point that he tries to make in the video in my opinion is that there is no real way to “act black,” and that all of the stereotypes that exist around black people do not define them as people, just like stereotypes of white people or any other race of people do not define them or make them act in certain ways either. The thoughts that I leave you with are why do you think these stereotypes started in the first place, and what would it take for our society to completely abolish them for good and come together as one or is that impossible? And the second video is for your own enjoyment, because I believe that the lyrics really speak true to our society today, and how judgmental it has become, and how we really need to come together as one and stop the stereotypes and hate. Enjoy!

Stuart Hall Cultural Studies

I think the realist, linguistic, and Discursive position all play a role in Race. There are genetic differences in people, differences occur through our different languages and cultures, and through the systems of thought and language we use to make sensee of our differences. I don't think we can say that one position is more right than the others. Maybe its just how my system of thought and my language come into play, just like Hall said. I don't know if that is correct to call what I am and how i view race. I guess Hall is correct that we have different systems of thought that we use to make use of the differences, but then again everyone has a different system of thought. I'm not to sure what to make of his thoughts. I mean it makes sense, but what exactly does his ideas do for the world to see everything the same.



I picked the part of Do the right hting that Sut Jhally used in the movie we had to watch. Like him i think it shows exactly what these three positions mean and how the men in this clip use them. All of hte guys use descriptors that either talk about genetic differences, cultural differences and thought differences.

"...where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it 'history.'"

For centuries the media has influenced the way society thinks and feels. However whether the media influences intentionally or not is another debate. Stuart Hall is a retired professor of sociology at the Open University. Hall is responsible for the communications theory of Cultural Studies. Although Hall believed that media does produce images that may at times influence society his theory states that the way a theory is interpreted is left up to the people. When I read the chapter I visualized Hall's theory similar to the human digestive system. The viewers eat the information that is being given to them and as they digest the body decides what to do with the "food." Is it believable and used to better the body or is it disagreeable and turned to waste? This is where the obstinate audience comes into play. Is the "food" operating inside the dominant code and accepted, applying a negotiable code, or will it be substituting an oppositional code?

It's not just the words we speak that can interrupted oppositely but it's also visual images or even people.

In the musical Wicked the Wizard sings a song to Elephaba about one person can be looked at completely oppositely by different people. Here is a video clip from the show and the lyrics so you can read at your own pace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-WxYP3R1S8

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/wicked/wonderful.htm

I still have one last question. Who is the person who decided what was wrong and what was right? What is true and what is false? And why have we believed them all this time?

Semiotics

Semiotics is a theory by Roland Barthes. Semiotics is the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems. In other words, it is the analysis of anything that can stand for something else (Griffin 323). According to Barthes, a "sign" is the combination of the signifier and the signified. The "signifier" is the actual image of the sign, as we see it through our senses. The "signified" is the meaning we associate with the sign. Signs carry ideological baggage/meaning with them, wherever they go. This ideological baggage/meaning is called "connotation" (Griffin 324).
The example that I found to illustrate Roland Barthes' Semotics is the well-known Oscar. The Oscar is the award that is given out at the Academy Awards Ceremony.

The Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnGtmKEPko4 (The embedding option was disabled, so you have to go to the site)

The signifier is the golden Oscar statue. The signified is respect. In the movie industry, if you win an Oscar, you receive a great deal of respect from your fellow peers and the public. The prestige-building Ocsar statue.