Reading and Discussion #6

1. I like the idea of students witting and making podcasts, which can be used in a future class to teach content. After the experience of creating a podcast, I could guide my students into the experience of a video PSA. I can see my students creating a storyboard and applying that to the development of a video PSA.

2. I liked the PSA, it was creative. I like the use of video and then bare text to give the PSA an air of seriousness, not humor, which middle school students probably prefer. This would be a legitimate example of writing ability in persuasive writing, mood setting, and emotional projection. Sex ed is important, especially in this generation of middle school students, because many of them are the product of sexual protection negligence and a lack of parental guidance/supervision. If the students chose a pro-choice stance I would allow them to make the PSA, but then not allow them to disseminate it.

3. Yes, I think the students at this age are more likely to copy or produce a PSA more like the mainstream media PSAs than not. As the students become more mature and study the impact of media more, then they may be able to create a more original PSA without as much direct influence from the Mainstream media.

4. I am afraid that my students (at risk, lower income, "problem" children) will not take the most serious topics seriously, because I hear them talk about drugs, alcohol, sex, fighting, and generally illegal actions that they perform and aspire to. Also, some students may start to read into the media more than is practical and start questioning the value of education and become negatively critical of what we see as positive behavior.

5. I would use the topics of recycling, pregnancy, STDs, hard drug use, and respectful discourse. The valuing of education and effects of higher education would be among the top topics I would use.

6. I would start my having my students read through magazines and have them select ads to deconstruct. Then, I would have them construct their own advertisements and counter-advertisements. Further, the students would view commercials and deconstruct them, along with a couple PSAs. Finally, I woule have the students choose a topic, create a storyboard and script, then film their PSA utilizing the persuasive elements they learned through earlier lessons.

Magazine Counter Ad

I chose this ad to counter:

The above add uses the following persuasion techniques:
     Fantasy Worlds: It may subconsciously cause men to buy this product in the hopes a woman, like the          one in the ad, will come around. There is a sexual nature produced in this ad.
     Subtext: Sexy women love this sandwich.
     Beautiful People: Sexy women love this sandwich, you like sexy women right? Buy this sandwich!

I made a counter ad, because I found that Burger King corporation barely pays over minimum wage to it's employees and has a history of sexual advertisements. Many people even dress up as "The King" and pose with sexy women and go out and "party" as a king in this outfit. The mascot of Burger King is easily recognized and found in video games, but the costume face wouldn't have sold as many faces as the lady above.

My counter ad:

Discussion #5

"Interrogating" texts means to review the text and look through is closely to find the true meaning behind the mere words. Interrogation is an extraction of meaning, sometime hidden, to better understand the message of the author. We should not just question everything, that would slow the reading and the learning process dramatically. But, at any time we find ourselves questioning an ulterior motive while reviewing text or other media, we should slow down and deeply penetrate the text for  insights we may have missed.

To bank is to take from ourselves and place a valuable piece of information or consciousness and place it into another in the hopes that the receptacle will use this bit in a way that grows knowledge and understanding. Banking in education is when teachers place bits of information into the student that they store up and use, but the student does not develop their own knowledge from what they have stored. This procedure is flawed, in that the students do not learn how to use their knowledge to develop new knowledge, ideas, or learn to apply their knowledge in a different situation than the one in which it was deposited. We need to open dialog between our students so that the students are actively engaging with each other and their environment. By doing this, the student may arrive at their own conclusions without someone else (i.e., teacher) holding their hand on the way. This development of opinion and new knowledge by the student, for the student, and of the student frees the student to become actively engaged in their own learning and understanding of the world; not one instituted by another.

Paulo Freire was an educator and philosopher who developed critical pedagogy to release the oppressed of the world of their oppression through teaching the knowledge and understanding of their effects on the world. Critical pedagogy is the active reflecting of the educator on how he/she teachers, on what and how the student learns, and the effectiveness of the educational method. This is to say, that teachers must be critical of every learning experience they are part of to better meet the needs of the student, especially the oppressed student who may not know that they can affect the world.

Sources used to complete this assignment and develop my understanding of critical pedagogy:

Avila, J., & Pandya, J. (2013). Critical digital literacies as social praxis: Intersections and challenges. (Vol. 54). New York, NY: Peter Lang.


Seeing through paulo's glasses: Political clarity, courage and humility [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.freireproject.org/freire-project-tv/

Media Messages and Critical Pedagogy #2

In this video advertisement, the message is from and paid for by a brand Nolan's Cheddar to sell their strong flavored cheese with humor and a memorable ad. The target audience is anyone who likes cheese with flavor and finds animations funny. Few children like strong cheese, so I think the target audience is ages 25+, European/Americans that enjoy different or flavorful foods. The text of the message is an animated mouse sniffing around and climbing on a mouse trap with sad music in the background, the screen goes black as we hear the trap spring sprung, another scene opens with mourning music as the mouse seems about to die, then workout music kicks in as the mouse bench presses the trap bar. The subtext is that the cheese advertised is so strong that it even makes a mouse strong enough to overcome the trap and even use it to workout with; this must be some strong cheese! An uncautious and adventurous life is shown. Humor, mood setting music and environments/background, and the "cute" factor of the mouse are used to sell the cheese.

A positive message is that working out is good. Adventurous people and flavor loving culinary enthusiasts would be drawn to this advertisement and empowered. The company is banking on these people to become interested in and buy their product. A part of the story not being told is how did the mouse eat the cheese before the trap was sprung to allow it to be strong enough to bench press the trap bar? The fate of the mouse is taken for granted, because if the mouse was really interested in the cheese on the trap, it is likely that it would have died trying to eat it. The cheese is related to physical power.

Media Messages and Critical Pedagogy #1

I agree with both deconstructions, because of the strong language and coercion detailed in the first deconstruction and the great amount of detail given in the second cell phone plan commercial deconstruction. It baffles me that if so much information and discussion can result from one commercial, how much effort, research, and revision needed to occur to prepare the advertisement itself? It is amazing!

The Century Link ad is a big cover-up to show the service provider that it maintains its "values" and that customers are satisfied with the corporation and there are no problems (it's a family company, right?, slinkys cannot be evil, right?). This ad helps to cover-up the damage done to the economy and consumers' provider choices. Stereotypes are definitely present and projected in the Alltel ad, because the "American" family shows distaste for the other men and their chicken when there is no cause to do so (the men and chicken are not violent, unclean, or breaking laws).

I saw nothing wrong with the Alltel ad, until I watched the deconstruction. It is so easy to look down our noses at people from other cultures we do not understand or don't relate with. It was only until watching the deconstruction that I realized I was entertained by something so raciest and discriminatory.

By deconstructing these types of media, we can empower our students by letting them understand that there most likely  is nothing wrong with their culture and not to hide from their identity and not to assimilate into the media's version of "America." Having minority students in a classroom with the majority populous and completing deconstructions together while holding discussions can open the eyes of our so easily swayed youth into understanding that these media can hurt, that they often bash/disenfranchise a minority, and that just by unwittingly watching and doing nothing is just as bad as actively damaging another culture and people.

Through active discussion while deconstructing the ads, our students can talk directly to each other about how the ads make them feel, how their views are either changed or reinforced by the media, and how "going with the crowd" is not a positive choice to make, especially if "the crowd" is the media itself. These active discussions can help define the cause of racial slurs, inequality, and segregation that can open the eyes of both the minority and majority group.

Traditional education systems focus on the jamming of ideological and culturally void (usually) information. Many times I find myself asking, "Where did this come from?" or "Does this really happen?" when reviewing before I teach either a new topic or the history of a topic well known to me. Our educational system seems void of flavor and bland facts or figures. The separation of facts and knowledge from those who discovered the information. The history of how we developed our knowledge is lost, along with the memory of the people and cultures who discovered it for us. Traditional education methods do not teach students how to think for themselves.

Discussion #4

"They think advertisements are trying to make them do something immediately.They're wrong." (Hollis, 2001) I chose this quote, because a great many of my students say this often. They are covered in brands from head to toe, and still say that advertising doesn't affect them! Ha! The short terms effects of advertising are small if at all, but the long term influences advertisements have are great. We are so influenced by our surroundings that we often do not notice that we are being influenced, the same with advertisement. So much so, that a major highlight of the Super Bowl is the advertisements! In the long run, we are so affected by them that I'm certain that many of our beliefs, action, and opinions are a construct of those very same advertisements that we may abhor and influences deny.

The URL to one of my favorite "good" advertisements: Best Ad Ever

I liked this advertisement, because we see a mouse seemingly being lured into a trap, the screen blacks-out and we hear the trap being sprung. We all know what has happened...then we see the mouse, seemingly about to die. But, they tricked us! This funny commercial sticks with me and if I see that brand I will buy it and try it, because of the humor and because I like strong cheeses.

References:

Hollis, N. (2001, August 31). Why good advertisement works (even when you think it doesn't. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-good-advertising-works-even-when-you-think-it-doesnt/244252/

Best ad ever - winner of 2010 best tv advertisement award [Web]. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tCtM8UEQv8


Reading Question Responses:

What reasons for teaching media literacy resonates with you? Why?
We need to teach reading literacy, because it is all around us, even at a very young age. Young children are more susceptible to advertisements, because they can take everything told to them as a truth and will not question the author's motives. We need to teach our students that everything we see on and learn from TV, magazines, the Internet, etc. are not always true and in the best interest of us. Many people are out to manipulate us, take our hard earned money, or make us believe we need something more or different to fit in to society or be above others. Our students need to know who designs the ads, what the influences of ads are, how they affect us, and why advertisements are so powerful.

Why is teaching media production important for teaching media literacy? What are the challenges?
This activity helped us understand that corporations are not the only ones who can create media. All people can create media and by creating the media we can better understand the methods behind the "media mogul monsters." We were told to create an interesting and catchy cover, so we had to apply our experiences with the media and apply them to catch the eyes and minds of our fantasy readers. The creation of the magazine cover allowed me to show off a portion of my own culture I identify with. The challenge lies in identifying the audience and designing the media to illicit a desirable response from the audience. 

How did the deconstruction and creation of a magazine cover address the 4 key concepts of media literacy programs? Give specific examples.
 All media helps show and explain culture, and at times the media also is used as a tool to change and shape a culture throughout time. The media also communicates values/morals/political views. All three are intertwined in our lives and media helps share those views to others. One might see that I am a proponent of real marriage outlined by God from seeing that I included a picture of my wife and I on our wedding day. I also included two pictures of me having fun with nudity, vulgar sexuality, alcohol/drugs, etc. Now, I'm certain that the viewer of the magazine cover can derive different meanings from my media creation than another; i.e., two people can view the same media in possibly coming from different contexts or cultures and form differing opinions and interpretations of the magazine. 

Explore the Common Core Standards and find three standards that media literacy would help you address in your content area or interest.

• CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-IC.A.1 Understand statistics as a process for making inferences about population parameters based on a random sample from that population.
• CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-IC.B.3 Recognize the purposes of and differences among sample surveys, experiments, and observational studies; explain how randomization relates to each
• CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-IC.B.4 Use data from a sample survey to estimate a population mean or proportion; develop a margin of error through the use of simulation models for random sampling.
• All three of the above standards were taken from the following reference:
• Common core high school statistics. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/HSS/IC

My Magazine Cover

In my magazine cover I used the "exclamations" technique to emphasize the cover-line at the top of the cover page. I used a teaser in the bottom right corner of the cover to suggest the magazine will teach the reader how to do something they never knew how to do in an interesting fashion. A minor sentence is used above the flashy explosion shape used to draw attention to the main character's life style. I used short and catchy liners so that readers will know exactly what is in the magazine and that the articles revolve around me, but that all of the articles are varied. This variety will interest a wider audience. "Action" photos were used to show that the articles will be of an active nature and not drone on about a topic that may not interest the reader long enough for them to read a longer article. The cover photos show me in three different lights: the home man, the married man, and the nature man. Hopefully, these different images will attract more readers than just those only interested in home life, inventions, weddings, or nature.

Discussion #3

In the video, "Tough Guise," the main argument is that most young men think a "real" man is a tough, strong, and independent man and that there is a strong influence of media to couple "being a man and violence." ("Tough guise: Violence," 2006) I understand that men are more violent than women, but it is in our nature to be violent at times. I disagree with the highly weighted opinion of the speaker in the video. For example, the first statistic given is of a percentage of violent people (men vs. women). This is fine, but does not back up his argument that men are violent because of media influences. He needs to provide data on the percentage of overly violent men versus non-overly violent men. We, as men, are violent at times, it is in our nature. Men have been territorial and violent for thousands of years, well before the advent of advertisements.

In the video, "Killing Us Softly," the main argument is that media advertisement is greatly remodeling what it means to be an American woman; so much that, "advertisement is the foundation of the mass media...(selling the concepts of love), who (women) are, and who (women) should be." ("Killing us softly," 2010) I agree with this idea, and have seen it played out throughout the years as styles change and so do the women around me. Many of my female students will change their styles, looks, and behavior to win the attention of the boys in the school. It seems that they think they must change their selves to gain attention and be accepted, which is partially true. Media promotes this idea of constant change and that women need to be as perfect as possibly to be accepted.

I think that the media is partially responsible for some violence in men and low self-esteem in women, but I also feel it is in the nature of men and women to be both violent and swayed by others, respectfully. Mass-media has definitely influenced our culture and our perceptions of our gender roles. New forms of media are so pervasive in our lives that we need "to define and develop a new learning style that fosters within students the abilities needed to be information literate." (Semali, 2001) We need to teach our students that all of the advertisements are not educational and are not the truth, because I see many of my student blindly following the media without a thought given to what is influencing them. I can now see that "a lack of critical pedagogy in schools creates passive citizens." (Semali, 2001) I see my students just letting the media guide their lives and suck them into a state of passiveness and persuasion. My students are not the only ones allowing this to happen to them, most educators are, also.

References:

Tough guise: Violence, media & the crisis in masculinity [Web]. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI

Killing us softly - women are used like pieces of meat [Web]. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVmcmePRqSk Semali, L. (2001, November).

Defining new literacies in curricular practice. Retrieved from http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/semali1/index.html

My Magazine Deconstruction

I chose to deconstruct the following image of a 2003 Muscle & Fitness magazine cover:

Media language: There are red/orange colors denoting power. Arnold Schwarzenegger is wearing dark clothes and sunglasses that show he is “cool” and has a mysterious/dark side. Schwarzenegger is flexing with a scowl like he is a “tough guy” and reading this magazine can help you be like him. The headings “Seven Exercises” and “IN 3 BIG MOVES” advertise that it is easy to lose flab, gain muscle, and become huge (maybe even get a movie deal and become a governor of a state. This magazine advertises that you can learn the secrets to become a “man” like Schwarzenegger if only you would buy this magazine and read it, so that the “experts” can teach you.

Institution: Front cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

Genre: Men’s fitness, health, and body building.

Representation: Represents a strong and powerful public figure, celebrity, body builder, and governmental figure all-in-one, associated with a very strong male body. Advertises the illusion that all men can become as big as Arnold and can achieve what he has if only they could change their workout routine and get ripped like him. The hard work needed (diet, time, continual weightlifting) to get large muscles is not represented.

Audience: Men ages 18-40, who either want to get big muscles, are body builders, or gym rats. Men focusing on their physic and know that having bigger muscles does equal more physical power and possibly can mean life success.

Ideologies and Values: Muscles are power and this magazine is here to help you achieve that power. Success can be built like a bicep, if you focus on your goals and never stop trying to achieve your goals. It is manly to have large muscles, even if you need the help of a magazine article to get you to the size you want to be.

Narrative: All guys want more muscle and Arnold can let you know how to achieve that goal. Any man can achieve a great and strong physic.