By Nichole Bogarosh, Ph.D., Director, Center for Student Involvement & Student Media, Center for Student Involvement, Student Affairs, Gonzaga University
What is your favorite TV show? Whether your answer to that question is Amazon Prime’s The Boys with its biting social commentary; or Netflix’s light-hearted romantic romp, Emily in Paris; or the long-running reality series The Bachelor on ABC; or any of the other millions of options that one can access through streaming, cable, and broadcast services, one thing remains true: These shows all teach us about others, our world, and what are considered norms, oftentimes in very subtle ways.
You may have heard of the term “media literacy” before, but, more often than not, this term is conflated with the term “news literacy.” News literacy is very important in this time of misinformation, AI technology, and rapidly shifting headlines, but media literacy is a much broader term that refers to pop culture products, as well as news. Media literacy is defined simply as attaining an understanding of mass media (film, TV, music, social media, etc.) and how they construct meaning through the deployment of a critical thinking process. It is extremely important to be news literate, but it is also extremely important to be media literate when it comes to the pop culture products we consume at an outstanding rate.
Even if we just concentrate on television entertainment, the reach of pop culture is immense. Studies consistently show that 83% of Americans subscribe to at least one streaming service, 96% own at least one television (with the average number of televisions being 2.3), 50% of adults watch television shows on their phones, and 40% watch shows on their laptops. The average number of hours spent each day watching television programming is 3.5, and this number goes up as we look at younger demographics. We all need to be aware of the messages we are consuming through these products—messages that we often do not critically examine as it is viewed merely as “entertainment” and inconsequential. However, learning to examine what is consumed via the media more critically is an especially vital skill for youth to develop.
A decade ago, the Washington State Legislature proposed RCW 28A.650.045, a bill to guide the implementation of digital and media literacy in public schools throughout the state, emphasizing the importance of equipping young people with the skills to critically examine media and technology they encounter, focusing on online engagement. This was a good first step, however, even now, the focus remains on content outside of entertainment media, leaving a gaping hole in education around media literacy.
When thinking about the impact of pop culture, consider the following: According to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, one of the premiere research groups on representation in pop culture, individuals from marginalized identities based on race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class, age, weight, and ability are still substantially underrepresented both on screen and behind the scenes. When we do not have populations represented behind the scenes, we often find that stereotypes associated with various marginalized groups prevail. Thus, we are oftentimes consuming products that do not give realistic representations of major portions of our population, fostering misunderstandings, division, and continued interactions based on stereotypes.
Pop culture influences what we think about and what we even consider thinking about. It comes to represent everyday experiences for us, even when set in mythical or futuristic locations. We extract information from what we view without even thinking about it.
This is where media literacy comes in. If we train ourselves to stop and critically analyze what we consume using the basic steps of the media literacy process, we become more thoughtful and engaged citizens. If parents take time to follow this process with their children and stop and discuss with kids what they just viewed/read/listened to, the knowledge on how to critically examine media takes root at an early age, and it becomes more reflexive to view media content in this way
So, as we move into the summer months and catch up on television offerings, enjoy blockbuster films in the theatre, listen to music while outside, and scroll through social media, take a moment to critically reflect on what you are consuming and discuss the messages being shared in these products with others, especially the youth in your life.
Media Literacy in 5 Steps
- DESCRIPTION In this step, you identify central themes/topics and characters. An important piece of this is also thinking about what is missing. Are there different viewpoints? Are certain people (identity groups) missing?
- ANALYSIS In the second step, you take the information gathered from your description and isolate patterns you see that need further attention. For example, maybe the show is from the viewpoint of the government, but you do not hear from citizens affected by the policies being discussed in the show.
- INTERPRETATION In the interpretation step, you try to determine the meaning of the patterns you observed. If the program is only from the viewpoint of government officials, as in the previous example, what does that tell us? Why does it matter?
- EVALUATION Taking things a bit deeper, after interpreting the patterns, you will make an informed judgment on the impact and meaning of what you consumed and whether you agree or disagree, and why, with what is being portrayed.
- ENGAGEMENT In the last step, you engage with others around these topics by talking with friends and family about the values, ideologies, and norms you have observed in what you watch. Engaging with our youth about media literacy is part of media literacy in this final step!
