I think media literacy is the ability to look at media such as commercials, magazines, news articles and be able to understand what message they are trying to convey and why. Understanding the message includes dissecting the information given, inferring, and drawing conclusions based on what is given. Information can be presented in a variety of ways, and can be confusing. Dissecting information, and trying to understand each piece makes it easier to understand as a whole.
Knowing why the media is being presented is also a huge part of media literacy. Often companies have ulterior motives. According to Jane Tallim, "It's about asking pertinent questions about what's there, and noticing what's not there. And it's the instinct to question what lies behind media productions— the motives, the money, the values and the ownership— and to be aware of how these factors influence content." Understanding and finding out the ulterior motive is very important to do before inferring, and drawing conclusions because they can be skewed without the knowledge of ulterior motive. Strategies can be used to figure out ulterior motives. Ask yourself who is presenting the information, why, what strategies they are using and what audience is it intended for.
i think you stated what Media Literacy was very clearly. I like how you said "understanding the ulterior motive is very important." I think with just that being said, it sums up exactly what Media Literacy is and intends to do.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely helpful answer to the question because it not only gives a basic definition of what media literacy is, but you also used a quote and an example of how to start figuring out what the media is really presenting.
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