Media Literacy and You

What is Media Literacy?  Why is it so important to know?  I'll tell you.  Media Literacy is something you learn from day to day, the knowledge of it grows from you using it.

Having a good knowledge of Media Literacy one can be even wiser with the media, and they can easily question certain things in the media if they seem wrong.  Consumers should always question the media.  There are three influential parts of Media Literacy that are important for people to know.  They are social, political, and economic.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone face-to-face?  Then you have had an example of unmediated communication.  Mediated communication is when there is a medium between you (IM chat room, twitter).  Mediated communication affects us differently than unmediated communication does.

Many people look at the painting and say
 "That's a pipe." but they are wrong. 
 It's a painting of a pipe.

Semiotics and Framing are the next spots to talk about in our understanding of Media Literacy.  Semiotics, or the study of signs and symbols, is how we view items and their meanings.  Many say that they are the heart of communication.

Semiotics is what tells you that a rose means love or happiness.  One famous example of semiotics is the painting by Rene Magritte (pictured right).  Framing is very similar to semiotics; it takes the signs and uses them to tell a story.  You can have two identical images, but the words you use next to them tell two different stories.  Another example is using stereotypes in the media, like when TIME magazine darkened O.J.'s face after he was arrested.

There is always a concern when new media mediums come around.  A large concern is for children too.  If it's too violent or if the message isn't a good one.  It's a long history of worrying about media.

Now onto Media Grammar.  Media Grammar is the ways in which one can understand and interpret different forms of media.  Each type has their own grammar as well.  You don't use all the same words to describe a newspaper as you would a movie.

You wouldn't talk to your friend about the
latest episode of Game of Thrones like
you would the headlining article in the
local paper.

With Print Media the language is more sophisticated.  There is a fight over if there should be more photos in newspapers in magazines, they want to attract more audiences.  Radio and music grammar is based on sound, they have voice overs, laugh tracks, and actualities (edited clips of interviews).  Film and Television have very similar grammar, mainly because television has a media grammar thanks to film.  There's also special grammar for online media as well.  Things like a hypertext which is a link to another website or page on the same site.  Digital Media Grammar evolves with us and our forever changing digital media world.

Commercial Media has many implications.  It can be locally, nationally, or even internationally.  (Maybe one day Intergalactically too).  Much of what one sees in the media is controlled and distributed by corporations.  As corporations come together more and create a media oligopoly, you see less diverse coverage and images online and on the screen.  One must question and always wonder where everything is coming from, not blindly agree with what you see.  This goes with stereotypes, racist and sexist content, and more that one sees in the media.  Media Bias is another thing many must look out for.  One's understanding of Media Literacy and Media Grammar can help them determine if something is being biased or not.

There are skills one must have and questions to ask that will help shape one's understanding and knowledge of Media Literacy even further.  They can also help you see if something is biased in the media.

1. What is the purpose of the media content?
2. Consider the source of the media.
3. Examining the framing of media content.
4. What stereotype(s) is/are presented?
5. Question the media ecosystem.
6. Make the media.

Photo creds: Game of Thrones, question mark, Ceci n'est pas un pipe, thinking face