I have been reading about what I think of as the media literacy "movement" for several years now. (It's how I got to Daily Kos in the first place. A recommendation on a media literacy listserve recommended Eric Alterman's blog, and from there I followed the link to dKos.) According to the
Center for Media Literacy:
Media Literacy ... provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms -- from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.
I'd love to see someone formally deconstruct some of the Republican/Christian right/anti-social security/pro-war messages but haven't jumped in myself because my only background is that of having paid close attention for a while. But the discussion of this past weekend has emboldened me to try my hand, using the(original) "pie fight" ad as my test run, with the caveat that I've only seen the copy that comes up on dKos - haven't clicked through. (Heaven help me, here goes):
We cannot escape the media and their influence on us and on everyone around us. As
Jean Kilbourne says about advertising, "[it] is our
environment. We swim in it as fish swim in water." As Kilbourne also says, most of us would probably say we're not influenced by advertising/media messages. The question then is, why then do corporations (and politicians) spend so much money on it? (Although I am not influenced ;-), others around me - teenagers, sports fans, housewives, "Red staters" - obviously are?)
I've been in workshops where the presenter has given examples of the deconstruction process, and one thing that has stuck with me is that the deconstruction is always better as a group effort, rather than individual, so I'm sure this effort will reflect what I bring to it and will benefit from any additional contributions readers may be inclined to make. I'll use the deconstruction questions posted by the New Mexico Media Literacy Project:
Who paid for the media? Why?
TBS paid for the ad to build an audience for its upcoming TV program because it's in the business of selling viewers to advertisers. The larger the audience it can deliver to its advertisers (especially in the coveted young (approximately 18-45) male demographic, the more money it will make.
Who is being targeted?
The target appears to be primarily young males or those who were adolescents when they first saw Gilligan's Island .
What text, images or sounds lead you to this conclusion? Cartoon-like (L'il Abner) pictures of Ginger and Mary Ann and the text: "Pie fight" ~ middle school food fight?, "An adolescent fantasy fulfilled at last."
What is the text (literal meaning) of the message? Watch the show - it'll be fun (and sexy - "hot").
What is the subtext (unstated or underlying message)? Subtexts: in watching the show, you'll escape into a more innocent and perhaps happier time; this is what attractive young women look like; women, not men, will participate in the adolescent "food fight fun" - men will merely observe and laugh. Not sure whether the audience will be "laughing with" or "laughing at" but whatever, it's "good clean fun" because it's Gilligan's Island, fer cryin' out loud.
What kind of lifestyle is presented? Is it glamorized? How? No particular lifestyle is seriously depicted - it's tongue-in-cheek escapism. I suppose you could say it depicts a lifestyle that uses this kind of adolescent fantasy as a good, healthy stress-relief mechanism. Glamorized? Yeees...it's presented as "cool" - excuse me, "hot."
What values are expressed?
This is what sexually attractive females look like: basically little girls (pigtails) with breasts much larger than the typical woman's breasts. Sort of like Barbie, or (again) Daisy Mae. This "look" is what adolescent women should strive for in order to be attractive, and what mature women by definition will never be able to attain. Fun is good. Pie fights are fun. Women fighting with pies is sexy fun. It's good, clean healthy fun - it's Gilligan's Island fer Pete's sake.
What tools or techniques of persuasion are used?
Humor, symbols (Gilligan's Island characters), testimonials, nostalgia
What story is not being told? I'll leave these last two questions to be answered by the reader. After all, I do see this as a means of promoting thinking and questioning.(Gosh, maybe I should have left all the questions to the reader.)
In what ways is this a healthy and/or unhealthy media message
See above.
The following are some resources for learning more:
New Mexico Media Literacy Project
Media Literacy Clearinghouse
Center for Media Literacy
Can't Buy My Love:
How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, by Jean Kilbourne.
I'd love to see many more of our fellow citizens asking some of these questions of the political messages they're continually bombarded with. (Imagine if the Swit Boat ads, for example, had been met with a much greater degree of critical thinking...) Years ago when I was in school there were no lessons based on media literacy. I know that the concept and practice have been gaining ground among educators, though, and I personally look forward to hearing more about it in the future.