Recently my EDUC 353: Integrating technology into the Curriculum professor showed us her Prezi on media literacy. Professor Zumpano emphasized the reality that “the goal of most media messages is to persuade the audience to do something, buy something, or believe something.” In my opinion, she concisely summed up the objectives of a multi-billion dollar market. I was amazed at how strong of a grip the media has in shaping our culture and subconsciously swaying my buying decisions, and all the media pieces in the Prezi reassured this notion.
If we stop and think about that statement for a
moment we will arrive at the conclusion that it is nearly impossible to avoid
these billion dollars persuasive campaigns from seeping into our everyday life
and influencing us. The quicker we realize that these advertising companies are
not disappearing anytime soon then the quicker we will realize that we have to
educate our youth in media literacy. According to Professor Zumapano’s Prezi, media
literacy is our interaction with media and the messages we take away from it. Educating
one in media literacy is providing them with the ability to access, analyze,
evaluate, and create media messages.
*Professor Zumpano’s Prezi on Media Literacy can be
located here*
Should Media Literacy be taught to students?
I believe that it is imperative to teach media
literacy to our students. This is a
skill that students need to have in order to avoid being influenced and dictated
by media pieces. We need to foster critical thinkers and the best way to accomplish
this is to help students become aware of what is working against this notion: the
media that promotes excessive materialistic consumerism. We must educate our students
in media literacy so that their generation is the one that takes back the
control from these monopolizing ruthless titans of advertisement.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Image Source: Screenshot of the: Call of Duty: Black
Ops Commercial "There Is a Soldier in All of Us" on YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pblj3JHF-Jo
A
Personal Touch
The above media piece had the most impact
on me. It is an advertisement for a first-person shooting war game called “Call
of Duty: Black Ops”. The trailer entails many well-known celebrities (Kobe Bryant,
Jimmy Kimmel, and many others) actually holding assault rifles and shooting
into the distance in a war-like environment. The
reason this piece impacts me is because my brother actively fought in Iraq
while he served in the Army. He almost lost his life protecting our American
freedom and liberties that many of us take for granted. He returned to the States
as a veteran, and what does he and countless of American soldiers’ family see
on their screens? They see billion dollar corporations glorifying gruesome
wars on our TV and internet screens. These billion dollar corporations don’t care
about families burying their fallen soldiers, they only care about making a
profit with their unrealistic glorification of war. This personal connection
that I have with my brother and war is the reason I feel impacted by this
nonsense every time I see it advertised on my television screen or while I have
to endure it in order to see a music video on YouTube.
*Let me know your throughts and comments regarding media literacy on the comment section.*
*Also make sure you take a look at the Prezi on media literacy*
Thanks for your personal thoughts on media literacy and how the experiences one faces influences how they see media pieces. Happy to hear your brother made it back safe and sound.
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