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Media and identity: Where do YOU fit in?

+Social Media Revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXKI506w-E

+Media Literacy

Being literate in the digital information age goes above and beyond novels, short stories, plays, and poems

Up until now, we have looked at: poetry the play (The Crucible)

But let’s get a little more relevant…

+Multimedia and responsibility:

You use multimedia everyday, but: WHAT are you using? Are you using it critically or accepting everything? Are you being a responsible digital citizen? Are you creating content, digesting content created by

others, or a bit of both?

Let’s go over a few definitions before we get started…

+Identity|īˈdentitē|noun ( pl. –ties) // the fact of being who or what a person or thing is

+Stereotype|ˈsterēəˌtīp; ˈsti(ə)r-|noun // a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing

UrbanDictionary.com: “These are labels given to individuals generally during high school years, to catagorize them. They range from preps, bimbos, geeks, nerds, jocks, townies, grungers, emos, goths, punks and the infamous chavs."

+Stigma

|ˈstigmə|noun // a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person

+Label

|ˈlābəl|noun // a classifying phrase or name applied to a person or thing, esp. one that is inaccurate or restrictive

+Generalization|ˌjenərəliˈzā sh ən|noun // a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases

+Up until now:

Media has constructed and controlled most identities, stereotypes, stigmas, labels, and generalizations

Stop and think: how have YOU been affected?

+Stereotype Images

+Glee: Challenging Identity?

+It’s a Teen’s World: Chapter 2

Media Influences (video clip)

“I wanted to be liked. I was acting like the girls in the video. I guess guys thought they can act like the guys in the video so we can play a role together. It was a definite mistake.” Maria, age 16

+Media Influences: Questions

1. Why do many teens take their cues for behaviour from the media they consume?

2. Why are sexual harassment and other sexual pressures so commonplace among teens?

3. How do labels like “cool” and “popular” contribute to the problem?

4. How do friends escalate a situation by spreading gossip as entertainment?

(adapted from http://www.itsateensworld.com/)

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Let’s consider a few factors.

+Five Core Concepts of Media

All media messages are constructed.

Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.

Different people experience the same messages differently.

Media have embedded values and points of view.

Media messages are constructed to gain profit and/or power.

Source: Center for Media Literacy (CML).

+These guys (used to) control what you see:

+The Shift: Social Media Revolution

+Social Media Revolution

+Things to think about:

What do YOU think about this?

+Five Key Questions:

Ask the following questions when using any form of media.

Who created this message?

What techniques are used to attract my attention?

How might different people understand this message differently from me?

What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in or omitted from this message?

Why was this message sent?

Source: Center for Media Literacy (CML).

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So where do YOU fit in?

+The Paradigm Shift

YOU are now in control as the ‘Produser’ the user of the medium and the producer of the content

As produsers, we are going to: Construct our own media message (and take control). Be creative and use our own rules (within reason). Acknowledge that our message will be interpreted in

multiple ways. Have a point of view. Construct a message to gain awareness.

Let’s take another look at the Social Media Landscape.

+Social Media Revolution

+The Assignment

We are going to be deconstructing and unpacking common stereotypes that you experience as a teenager (nerd, football jock, etc.) that also appear in novels, movies, television shows, etc.

Brainstorming time: let’s use http://www.mindmeister.com/and brainstorm a few stereotypes.

+The Assignment continued

In Produser groups of three, you will be responsible for the tasks below. You will be critically analyzing media and then creating your own media as a response.

Part One: The Image Experiment // Google Images versus Flickr

Part Two: YouTube Assessment and Five Key Questions

Part Three: The Tables Turn // Poster Campaign

***Everything is to be completed in a blog entry on the classroom blog.

+The Purpose You don’t have to accept “the given” in multimedia