From our understanding of current events and popular culture to our
preferences as consumers, the media plays a powerful role in shaping the
way we interpret the world. This course will engage students in a critical
examination of various forms of media to understand how they are
constructed, and to critique the effects they have on culture and society.
Enduring Understandings
1. Audiences actively interpret
media
Meaning does
not reside in the media text itself, but is a product of the interaction
between text and audience. Audiences interpret meaning based on
situational elements such as geography, culture, age, class, gender, time
of day, and the context in which they interact with the medium. Various
media forms resonate in different ways, depending upon the experiences,
values and knowledge that audiences bring to it. Although audiences differ
in their perceptions, understandings and reactions to media, the key to
media literacy is to educate them to be aware of their own subjectivity as
well as that of others.
2.
All media are constructions
Media are neither reality nor
windows to the world. Instead, they are carefully constructed products –
from newspaper headlines to nature documentaries. A media literate person
is aware that many decisions are made in the construction of each media
product and that even the most realistic images represent someone’s
interpretation of reality. By critiquing and constructing media, it
becomes possible to analyze and produce different interpretations of
reality.
3. All media
are owned
All media are owned by individuals
or institutions that have historical-social contexts that may be concealed
from the general public. Institutional elements from production to
distribution influence the content as well as audience perceptions of the
content. It is important to call attention to the idea that commercial
institutions are owned and ultimately operated according to principles
that will generate the highest profit. Therefore, media representations
are carefully constructed to achieve this goal.
4. All media express values
Media are carefully constructed
products that represent a particular view of actual people, places,
events, and ideas. These values are oftentimes hidden from the audience,
and a critical consumer of media needs to be able to decode the media
messages to uncover these values. Questions to ask of each medium are:
"Whose story is told?" "Whose interests are served by this
representation?" "Whose story is left out?" and "To what extent is this
representative of reality?"
5. All media adhere to specific codes and conventions
Whether it
be through editing, narration, sequencing, camera angles, soundtrack or
timing – each media form has a language of its own and uses different
conventions to achieve specific rhetorical effects. Magazine editors use
different codes and convention as compared to video producers as compared
to web designers. The languages used influence the constructed meaning of
the media text and are intended to control the audience’s response.
What students should
be able to do to demonstrate that they can effectively
interpret different media:
That media messages have economic, political, social, and aesthetic
purposes (e.g., to make money, to gain power or authority over
others, to present ideas about how people should think or behave, to
experiment with different kinds of symbolic forms or ideas)
How
different media (e.g., documentaries, current affairs programs, web
pages) are structured to present a particular subject or point of
view
The
elements involved in the construction of media messages and products
(e.g., the significance of all parts of a visual text, such as how a
title might tie in with main characters or themes)
The
production elements (i.e., rhetorical elements) that contribute to
the effectiveness of a specific medium (e.g., the way
black-and-white footage implies documented truth; the way set design
suggests aspects of a character's socio-cultural context;
effectiveness of packaging for similar products and their appeal to
purchasers)
The
influence of media ownership and control (e.g., concentration of
power and influence with a few companies; diversification of media
corporations into other industries; the commercial nature of media;
influence of origins on a media message or product)
The
influence of different factors in the construction of different
media (e.g., media owners, sponsors of specific programs, codes
governing advertising aimed at children, copyright laws) on media
production, distribution, and advertising (e.g., whether a program
is scheduled late at night or at peak times, whether a film is
released in theaters or only on video)
The
different aspects of advertising in media (e.g., advertising
intertwined with media content, such as advertising copy presented
in the form of news stories or the close association of feature
articles with surrounding advertisements; the influence of
advertising on virtually every aspect of the media, such as the
structure of newspapers; advertisers as a pressure group;
sponsorship as a form of advertising; ambiance in media that is
sympathetic to advertising, such as lifestyles portrayed on
television)
The
extent to which audience influences media production (e.g.,
selection of audiences on the basis of their importance to
advertisers or media institutions; production of programs with high
audience ratings and low production costs, such as game shows; how
media producers determine or predict the nature of audiences)
The
relationship between media and the production and marketing of
related products (e.g., how and why books are reissued in
conjunction with film releases; how the target audience for a film
determines the range of products marketed and this marketing in turn
helps shape the film)
The
influence of media on society as a whole (e.g., influence in shaping
various governmental, social, and cultural norms; influence on the
democratic process; influence on beliefs, lifestyles, and
understanding of relationships and culture; how it shapes viewer's
perceptions of reality; the various consequences in society of ideas
and images in media)
The
legal and ethical responsibilities involved in media use (e.g.,
censorship; copyright laws; FCC regulations; protection of the
rights of authors and media owners; standards for quality
programming; regulations for broadcast repeats; forms of media
self-control; governmental, social, and cultural agencies that
regulate media content and products)
The
role of the media in addressing social and cultural issues (e.g.,
creating or promoting causes: U.N. military action, election of
political parties; use of media to achieve governmental, societal,
and cultural goals)
Use a range of strategies to interpret
visual media (e.g., draw conclusions, make generalizations,
synthesize materials viewed, refer to images or information in
visual media to support point of view, deconstruct media to
determine the underlying biases and decode the subtext)
Use a variety of criteria (e.g., clarity,
accuracy, effectiveness, bias, relevance of facts) to evaluate
informational media (e.g., web sites, documentaries, advertisements,
news programs)
Identify the conventions of visual media
genres (e.g., a talk show contains an opening monologue, humorous
discussion between host and a sidekick, guest interview, interaction
with the audience, and special performances; news programs present
the events of the day as stories with setting, character, conflict,
and resolution)
Analyze and explain how the rules and
expectations governing media genres can be manipulated for
particular effects or purposes (e.g., combining or altering
conventions of different genres, such as presenting news as
entertainment; blurring of genres, such as drama-documentaries)
Use strategies to analyze stereotypes in
visual media (e.g., recognize stereotypes that serve the interests
of some groups in society at the expense of others; identify
techniques used in visual media that perpetuate stereotypes)
Interpret and make connections between
context and values projected by visual media (e.g., the implication
in television science programs that science is progressive and helps
solve problems; influence of changing societal values on media
products; political context, such as conflicts between loyalty and
betrayal in High Noon, made in American during the McCarthy period;
cultural values suggested by omissions from visual media, such as
soap operas featuring only materially advantaged people)
Explain how images and sound convey
messages in visual media (e.g., special effects, camera angles,
symbols, color, line, texture, shape, headlines, photographs,
reaction shots, sequencing of images, sound effects, music,
dialogue, narrative, lighting)
Interpret and evaluate effects of style
and language choice in visual media (e.g., use of long-shots to
signify both real and metaphoric isolation; rapid editing in a
television commercial; juxtaposition of text and color in a
billboard; words in headlines intended to attract attention)
Interpret how literary forms can be
represented in visual narratives (e.g., allegory, parable, analogy,
satire, narrative style, characterization, irony)
Identify, analyze, and critique a variety
of techniques used in advertising (e.g., portrayals of happy
families and exotic places; celebrity endorsement; use of humor;
emphasis on value and reliability; sex appeal; science and
statistics; appeal to fears and insecurities)
Demonstrate an understanding of how
editing shapes meaning in visual media (e.g., omission of
alternative perspectives; filtered or implied viewpoints; emphasis
of specific ideas, images, or information in order to serve
particular interests; the careful construction of seemingly
straightforward texts)
Interpret and explain the effects of
visual media on audiences with different backgrounds (e.g., age,
nationality, gender, class, belief system)
The
specific reading skills and strategies outcomes that will be targeted in this course may be found in the
informational text reading outcomes.
Beyond the readings that students complete as the course (e.g.,
articles assigned by the teacher), students will also read a minimum of
two full-length books, which may be completed as independent reading
assignments at the teacher's discretion.
Writing Requirements
The writing skills
and strategies that will be targeted in this course may be found in the
standards-based
writing outcomes. In order to practice and demonstrate
their proficiency with these outcomes, students will be required to
produce a minimum of four (4) polished pieces of writing. Two of the
four tasks must fulfill the tasks required of 12th grade students for the
expository and persuasive genres. These two
tasks, respectively, are the
research report and
the position paper.
The other two writing tasks are at the teacher's discretion and may come
from any of the four genres.
Final Assessment
Students will
complete a portfolio assessment, which will constitute the final exam for
the course (20% of the final course grade). The portfolio assessment
will include representative samples of student work that have been
completed throughout the semester (number of pieces and criteria for
selection to be determined by the teacher and students). In a
reflective essay, students will draw upon samples of the work they have
produced throughout the semester to synthesize and present their
understanding of the enduring understandings for the course. The
reflective essay is the component of the final portfolio that will be
evaluated for the final exam grade.
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