What Critical Media Literacy is NOT!
The following is a list of ideas to help explore and understand how media literacy is different from other literacies and what are some of the basic elements of a more comprehensive media education.
Media ‘bashing’ is NOT media literacy, however media literacy sometimes involves criticising the media.
Merely producing media is NOT media literacy, although media literacy should include media production.
Just teaching with videos or other mediated content is NOT media literacy; one must also teach about media.
Simply looking for political agendas, stereotypes or misrepresentations is NOT media literacy; there should also be an exploration of the systems making those representations appear “normal.”
Looking at a media message or a mediated experience from just one perspective is NOT media literacy because media should be examined from multiple positions.
CML is a Responsive Strategy
CML is a responsive strategy to ‘a literacy crisis, especially in regard to the diversity of media forums which mediate our everyday lives.’ (Rhonda Hammer, 2011). News and information as well as discourses are being rechannelled in ‘a media saturated, technologically dependent, and globally connected world’ (D. Kellner and Jeff Share) for 360-degree multi-platform. To address this problem, it is essential to incorporate CML in education as a means of combating the scourge of disinformation. CML in our conception is tied to the project of radical democracy and concerned with developing skills that will enhance democratisation and participation. (ibid). The transformative media ecosystem seeks the Socratic method or Chanakya’s scientific inquiry for identifying counterfeit news and false news. Socratic questioning is one of the most powerful methods to promote CT through discussion from questioning …..’ (Paul, 1993)
ML encompasses the following literacies: advertising, algorithm, civic, cybersecurity, cultural, computer, data, digital, environmental, financial, health, information, propaganda, news, social media, spiritual, audio and visual. The three-decade old concept of media has been outstripped by contemporary developments in neuroscience and discoveries in our cosmos. Today’s digitalisation is a paradigm shift which calls for a revised response to chaotic upsurge of omni-directional flow of multimedia content without being scrutinised with a critical lens.
This is a type of inquiring literacy that seeks to find the information source of a media message as well as the purpose of the message a media product seeks to convey in society.It seeks to create citizens who are well-informed and active, self-thinking and opinion forming, who are able to explore the media environment and make educated conclusions based on all types of information. (Buckingham, D. 2003)
Nevertheless, in light of the digital age-focused approach a stronger definition is now required in order to contextualize media literacy in relation to the media education of students in the 21st century. [NEXT – Additional Definitions]