Page 262 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Med a L teracy: Creat ng Better C t zens or Better Consumers? | 1

ThE mEDia LiTEraCy DEBaTEs
There is quite a bit of disagreement among media literacy advocates about
key issues related to media education. For example, AMLA describes the func-
tions of media literacy in this way:
Media literacy empowers people to be both critical thinkers and creative
producers of an increasingly wide range of messages using image, lan-
guage, and sound. It is the skillful application of literacy skills to media
and technology messages. (AMLA http://www.amlainfo.org)

While this commonly accepted approach to media literacy is focused on mes-
sages, or the content of media, others have argued that content must be under-
stood contextually. A contextual approach focuses on issues such as ownership
of the media, structural factors behind what sorts of messages are produced and
by whom, what is missing from media content, the consequences of growing up
in an environment saturated with commercial values, and the role of the media
in promoting or inhibiting democracy. The message-based approach, however,
advocates for a version of media literacy that focuses on teaching students to be
more adept consumers of media messages, rather than both critical readers and
active participants in, and even challengers of, the media system itself. This dif-
ference in philosophy is indicative of just one of a number of unresolved issues
in the media literacy community.
Renee Hobbs, one of the founders of AMLA, has framed these differences in
approach and philosophy among media literacy advocates as the “Seven Great
Debates.” The questions addressed in these debates can be recognized as fall-
ing into two broad and overlapping categories: questions about media education
strategies and questions about media education goals.

mEDia EDuCaTion sTraTEgiEs

One of the key strategic debates revolves around the teaching of media pro-
duction skills as a central aspect of media literacy education. Advocates of a focus
on production argue that it allows students to directly experience the media lit-
eracy insight that all media messages are constructions rather than reflections
of the real world (see “Core Concepts of Media Literacy” sidebar). They also
suggest that students can be empowered by learning how to use media technolo-
gies to create artistic and creative media of their own. Skeptics, however, argue
that too often media production education simply teaches students to imitate fa-
miliar commercial media forms and conventions, without any critical reflection
on the power of those conventions to shape our values and beliefs.
Another issue of contention related to educational strategies is whether media
literacy should be focused on popular culture. Educators and administrators
often discount the importance of popular culture, dismissing it as something
that is trivial and has no place in the academic environment. Most media liter-
acy advocates, however, recognize the central role that popular culture plays in
our lives. In fact, many media educators would agree that the so-called popular