Media Literacy

Not a single person can fully comprehend how much, exactly, we are influenced by the media. Influence is deeply hidden in the all of the adds we see, the clothes we buy, how common tasks are viewed and how we raise our families. I believe it is important to at least become comfortable with the idea that... we can not entirely convince ourselves.

When wikipedia'ing media literacy:

Media literacy is the process of accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms.

It's important to at least realize that there is some level of influence with everything we may watch or hear. It is a matter of controlling how much of that personally influences you. 'Rising above', I guess would be the best advice.

An example of the influential media would be a video, such as this:


I think that if I loved Chris Brown enough, I would have had to purchase some double-mint gum ASAP. I chose this video not only for its influence, but for it's feedback. Check out the responses below! Perfect examples of how one may be influenced by such a simple add.

Hip-Hop Wars: Tricia Rose

I am really torn between sides. I believe that in order for you to really try to understand either side, it is important to realize how hip-hop has developed throughout the past 15 years. Both its motive and intentions have entirely changed. It's important to realize where we are right now in our society, in terms of financial and political drama. It's important to compare issues then, to issues now.

When I say that I am torn between sides, I mean that part of me is disgusted by the fact that 90% of the songs involve violence of some sort, and the idea that we have become quite a violent society. I think it's wrong to point a finger at the hip-hop industry and blame our youth issues on their content.

"I think it is disingenuous because they know that this isn't just about turning off one song. You would have to turn off all commercial black radio. You'd have to shut down all of your children's and your own investment in MTV, BET, VH1. You would basically have to unplug from society as a whole. So they know this is not going to happen. They know you're not going to do it because that means rejecting the entire system, not just a given artist."

Tricia Rose entirely recognizes this issue and I believe she perfectly states the 'problem'. For me, 'the entire system' extends beyond music. It's in the depths of our media, classrooms and households.

I honestly never listen to the radio. I feel that I've developed some kind of 6th sense when it comes to people trying to influence me; so I avoid influence at all costs. I barely even watch TV. The hip-hop I do listen to, well yeah it involves some violence. I do not personally relate to most of it, but I have learned to respect the artists voice. People typically tend to like a song based on how it sounds, which is something that should be taken into consideration, not just what it's about. But then - that's getting back into the hip-hop wars. I do not want to exclude those who listen to a violent song for the violent lyrics.

I feel that I clearly understood everything that was portrayed in this interview. I would like to hear more from Tricia Rose about her views on the hip-hop wars. For me, hearing her speak and reading her interview clarified how I feel about hip-hop.

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Marc Prensky

I really enjoyed the writers perspective on how the public education system has actually not been changing. I find it interesting to think that our students are out growing education so rapidly. The writer believes that the school just can not keep up to pace, and therefore, it appears that the education system is failing us. I always felt like the education I got was crappy, but it really wasn't. It just couldn't keep up with the intelligence of my class. It's reassuring knowing that our society is actually growing, and quite rapidly, in an area we thought was falling apart.

"In geography – which is all but ignored these days – there is no reason that a generation that can memorize over 100 Pokémon characters with all their characteristics, history and evolution can‟t learn the names, populations, capitals and relationships of all the 101 nations in the world. It just depends on how it is presented. "

We also have to familiarize ourselves with how our youth is learning. We have to pay attention to what they learn the greatest from, and currently it happens to be electronics. TV, video games and computers have never had such an effect on our youth. We need to tend to their needs and remain familiar with their interests.

I strongly agree with all of this writers points. I feel that the writer spoke too much in his own voice. I believe personality should come through with shorter articles, compared to 5+ pgs. I found the same attitude a bit annoying after 2 pages.

Proposition 8: Courage Campaign

Please sign the campaign, I did!

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager: Thomas Hine

Understand: In this article, Hine addresses many common misconceptions of teenagers. He basically gives them a lot of creidt in this article. Hine believes that they deserve more respect and that people need to realize that they are going to make mistakes. I think that Hine cares about their downgrading because of the future. He realizes that all of the teenagers now, sane or insane, are our future. I believe Hine is trying to give this statement the respect it deserves.

"Our beliefs, about teenagers are deeply contradictory: They should be free to become themselves. They need many years of training and study. They know more about the future than adults do. They know hardly anything at all. They ought to know the value of a dollar. They should be protected from the world of work. They are frail, vulnerable creatures. They are children. They are sex fiends. They are the death of culture. They are the hope of us all."

(Don't) Understand: Honestly I fully understood all of Hine's statements. I am infull agreement with his thoughts. I also enjoyed that he used factual information, like the story about the girl at prom.

Relations: When I was a teenager, I constantly felt disregarded and treated poorly. This is just how it goes. During teenage years, you make mistakes. They are the prime years for mistakes, and that is also exactly why they are treated so terribly. I still am technically a teenager, but I feel much more respected than I did a few years ago. It all has to do with how you carry yourself. Maturity levels make a huge difference. Once you jump the 'I'm mature now' fence, things start looking up.

Questions/Comments: I enjoyed reading this article because of the tone of the passage. It wasn't some generic article posted by an adult complaining about teenagers. It was logical, fairly easy to read, and interesting.

test

this is a test to see if I can really post from my phone. I think I'd enjoy that.

How to Kill a Transperson: Ceridwen Troy

An editorial my girlfriend read February 2008 in Q Salt Lake...

On Saturday, Feb. 9, Sanesha Stewart , a transwoman of color living in the Bronx, was murdered in her own apartment. She was 25 years old. Her killer, Steve McMillan, had known her for month. Yet when he was arrested, he claimed to have been enraged to find out that she “Wasn’t really a woman.” He stabbed her over and over again in the chest and throat. She tried to fight him off; there were defensive wounds found on her hands.

On Tuesday, Feb, 12. eighth-grader Lawrence King was in a classroom in Oxnard, Calif. He was openly gay, and often came to school in gender-bending clothing, makeup, jewelry and shoes.

According to another student, it “was freaking the guys out.” One of them shot Lawrence in the head. He was declared brain-dead on Wednesday, and subsequently died on Thursday.

On Friday, Feb. 22, Simmie Williams, Jr. was shot dead on a public street, executed by two young men for wearing women’s clothing.

Williams was 17 and lived with his mother in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “I gave him $2 for the bus and he never came back,” his mother said. “He was a quiet person, kept to himself. He had a lot of friends. He wasn’t a troubled child. He was a happy person.” His killers remain at large.

It’s easy to look as cases like this and think, how tragic. How random. How senseless.

But then you forget how easy it is to kill a transgender person.

You forget that all across this nation faith leaders of all stripes, men and women, who claim to speak for God Himself, call us sinners, call us abominations, call us evil.

You forget that at best, the media depicts us as something to be pitied, something that our families must be strong and overcome. At worst, they depict us as abnormal, exploiting our bodies for ratings, exploiting the public’s fear of us for shock value.

You forget that on a good day, law enforcement agents are neglectful of us, and that far more frequently they join in on our harassment. You forget the transwomen of color who are rounded up on suspicion of prostitution. You forget the beatings that go uninvestigated. You forget the molestation and rape we face when we are arrested.

You forget the medical establishment that drains our wallets for the therapy and hormones and surgeries they tell us we need. You forget the way we are then refused treatment when we are dying, dying of treatable diseases, dying of easily patched wounds.

You forget that, by the law of the land, it is legal in the majority of states to deny us employment, to deny us service, to deny us housing.

You forget the shelters and the rape crisis centers that will not allow us through their doors.

You forget that many of us don’t even have family to turn to when we are at our most desperate.

You forget that the leaders of our own community have told us that it is not time for us to have rights, that it is not pragmatic for us to be considered worthy of the same respect as other human beings.

You forget that in our own circles, it is considered a negative thing to be too flamboyant. You forget the way our pride parades have been derided by our own community. You forget the scorn heaped upon drag queens by other gay men. You forget the fear to be seen in public with a friend who is considered to open, too queer.

You forget the way it seeps into the minds of transgender people, too.

You forget the way a transsexual will shout that she is not a cross-dresser, as if there were something wrong with that. You forget the catty names we call each other if the don’t “pass.”

You forget how many of us take our own lives every year.

You forget because the noise is always there, a constant drone in the background. Every newspaper article that calls a transwoman “he” instead of “she.”

Every talk show host who spends an hour talking about our genitals. Every childish taunt about “looking like a tranny.” Ever transperson who talks about themselves as “true” transsexuals, differentiating themselves from the cross dressers and the genderqueer.

Every activist and politician who tells us “now is not the time.”

You forget too, how easy it is to kill a person of color, with myths about “gangstas” and lies about immigrants. You forget how easy it is to kill a person living in poverty, cutting off her welfare because she’s “being paid to breed.” You forget how easy it is to kill a sex worker, with sex-shaming language, slinging about slurs like “hooker” and “whore.”

You forget the message hidden inside every single one of those statements.

“You are less than I am. You are not worthy of the rights and respect that I am worthy of.”

“You are not human.”

It’s very easy to kill something that you don’t see as human.

It’s very easy to kill a transperson.