Media Literacy

Well I can honestly say that this class has been and incredible learning experience. It comes as a strange realization that some people are part of a culture that has reality spoonfed to them on a daily basis. The human mind is an extremely moldable thing, but that's to be expected, the world is a very hard place to live in, no matter who you are. Rich and poor alike, some people strive to make the best of what they have, and others squander it in one way or another. Everybody has their good days and bad days, but however you want to explain it, there are people who don't really care one way or another what happens in the rest of the world. Sure, we all hear the opinions of political commentators who think they understand the views of the real politicians, but truth be told what goes on in Washington is most often kept a tidy little secret until after the bills are signed and the American people are burdened with months and years of unfair economic decisions.

And that's what it really comes down to isn't it? Our government is constantly pushing us to consume more and more. The constant stream of advertisements are aimed at creating a demand for the product being promoted. But perhaps we should ask ourselves, how much do we really need? Is that new pair of shoes really going to make our lives a whole lot easier? Much like the coke bottle in "The Gods Must Be Crazy", I think the function mass media serves is more of a distraction from the really important things in life. That is, without proper media literacy skills.

Media literacy is more than a concept, it is a tool. It's not a tool that many people have either. I'm not quite sure how I've acquired these skills in such a short time, but my eyes have definitely been opened to the fact that our world is fast changing. Media will be more and more useful as a way to keep society connected and informed. Individuals can plug into mass databases and as more information becomes available, people will need to understand the internal language of the messages they recieve.

The creation of media really needs to be revolutionized in order to serve the people who recieve it instead of prodding them like cattle to the slaughter. There is definitely hope for our world, and mass media should used as a means to unite and conquer the challenges that face us. This is a state of emergency; its about time somebody sounded the alarm.