The Purpose of Critical Media Literacy
Renee Hobbs, the media literacy movement is characterised by seven great debates, one of which concerns the critical educational objective of the movement. Some participants in the movement argue that the goal should be to reverse young people’s dependence on media messages and instead encourage an interest in alternative media arts (Hobbs, n.d.). Others, however, understand mass media consumption to be a normal part of childhood and adolescence and do not see it as a problem in need of reversal (Hobbs, n.d.).
The main purpose of critical pedagogy is to impart to learners the skills for a self-managed life which are conditional upon three goals of media education: (a) self-reflection in order to ‘know thyself’, (b) ‘critical’ pedagogy which makes students aware what militate against them and shapes their consciousness and (c) the conditions for producing a new life, a new set of arrangements in transforming nature and themselves. (Aronowitz, 2009, p. ix; Brazil in the 1970s). Freire, P. 1996, 1970)
CML deals with critical analysis of media, structure and its effects on society. It seeks to empower individuals to be an active audience and equipped with interrogative aptitude to become informed media consumers, and to understand the ways in which media can shape public discourse and influence public opinion. Darrell West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at Brookings, argues that the news media has a major role to play in combating fake news and sophisticated disinformation campaigns. West argues that the government should invest in media literacy so that voters can identify false information and stop its spread. CML is concerned with critically evaluating the purposes and motivations of media productions of all kinds. Examining whose voice is being heard, and equally important, whose voice is not (Ng, 2012b:1068). CML involves “ways of looking at written, visual, spoken, multi-media and performance texts to question and challenge the attitudes, values and beliefs that lie beneath the surface” (Tasmanian Dept. of Education, 2009).
Media education also helps people to manage content and communications, and protect themselves and their families from the potential risks associated with using these services. As recently as 2012 the public had “little or no familiarity with the phrase ‘media’ “(BBC Trust Media report, 2010:11) However, it also emerged from the report that there was a demand by the public ‘for much more active promotion of these efforts, both on and off-air.’ (2010)
CML enables people to imbue the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to make full use of the opportunities presented both by traditional and by new communications services. Media literacy also helps us to manage content and communications, and protects themselves and their families from the potential risks associated with using these services. As the governments seeks to tackle a variety of problems of the age, media (or digital) is often cited as the solution, partly because it is far less controversial than attempting to regulate the internet. (Sonia)
CML is conditional upon multiple literacies; digital, cyber-security, computer, information, gathered its various meanings from its affinity with a specific field. Rhetoric, speaking and listening, print (Hobbs & Moore, 2013), television (Buckingham, 1993b), visual (Moore & Dwyer, 1994 cited in Buckingham) information (Bruce, 1997 cited Buckingham) media (Bawden, 2001), critical (Lankshear & McLaren, 1993), computer, news, digital (Donna Alvermann & Hagood, 2000), gaming, SM (Caperton, 2010), internet and multimedia (Hofstetter, 2002) are some of them. Development of a Media Skills Scale Bahadir Eristi & Cahit Erdem. (2017). Development of a Media Skills Scale. Contemporary Educational Technology, 2017, 8(3), 249-267) [NEXT – Why Do We Need Critical Media Literacy?]