MEDIA

LITERACY
I respect all Indigenous Peoples and the land I have been
fortunate to live on. I acknowledge the harms and mistakes of
our continent's collective colonial past, and continue to work
with my community to move forward, striving to decolonize my
own practices and work towards reconciliation.

I have lived on the lands of the Niitsitpiis-stahkoii, Tsuu T’ina,

Ktunaxa and Metis (Airdrie, Alberta). I then moved to the lands of the
Anishinabewaki, Oceti Sakowin, and Metis (Portage la Prairie,
Manitoba). I moved to the lands of the NunatuKavut and Montagnais
(Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador) before moving back to Portage
la Prairie, Manitoba. From there I moved to the lands of the
Cheyenne, Nuu-agha-tuvu-pu, and Oceti Sakowin (Colorado
Springs, Colorado). Once again, I returned to the lands of the
Anishinabewaki, Oceti Sakowin, and Metis (Portage la Prairie,
Manitoba) before moving to the lands of the Huron-Wendat,
Onundagaonoga, Haudenosaunee and Treaty 57 (Kingston and
Wolfe Island, Ontario). I currently reside on Treaty 1 territory, original
lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene
peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.
 What does it
mean to be
literate in today’s
society?

Is media literacy
included in your
definition?
GETTING TO KNOW MEDIA

Let’s get to know each other’s media diet...

Think & Share

1. A piece of technology that I couldn’t go without
2. The media I you consume most often
3. The media I produce most often
4. The social media platform I you use most often
GETTING TO KNOW MEDIA
Now, let’s try to sort different types of media…

Step 1: Consider how you would organize this list into categories

Photo Television Song

Newspaper Digital Camera Film Reel

Pencil Cell phone Movie

Website Radio Internet

Step 2: Add one item to each of your new category lists

Step 3: Explain each category… what makes each category distinct?
Step 4: What item on your list do you think has the most impact on society?
What do we mean by Media?
Technology
- Tools
- Systems that combine tools,
software, procedures, protocols
- Do not on their own
communicate or create meaning
Media (Medium)
- Medium (middle, in between,
the carrier of a message)
- Creation of content and/or
communication
- Audience
What do we mean by Media?
Technology Media (Medium)

- TV - TV show
- Netflix Platform - Really just a TV show
- Digital Camera - Photo
- Computer - Advertisements
MEDIA LITERACY BASICS

1. All media are constructions.

2. The media construct reality.
3. Audiences negotiate meaning in media.
4. Media messages have commercial implications.
5. Media messages contain ideological and value messages.
6. Media messages contain social and political implications.
7. Form and content are closely related in media messages.
8. Each medium has a unique aesthetic form.
#1 Media are construct
Ask…

● Who created this media product?

● What is its purpose?
● What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are
reflected in the content?
#2 Audiences negotiate meaning
Ask…

● How might different people see this media product differently?

● How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different
you are from the people portrayed in the media product?
#3 Media have commercial
implications
Ask…

● What is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other

words, how will it help someone make money)?
● How does this influence the content and how it’s communicated?
● If no commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes
might the media product have (for instance, to get attention for its
creator or to convince audiences of a particular point of view).
● How do those purposes influence the content and how it’s
communicated?
#4 Media have social and political
implications
Ask…

● Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light?

● Why might these people and things be shown this way?
● Who and what is not shown at all?
● What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?
#5 Each media has a unique
aesthetic form
Ask…

● What techniques does the media product use to get your

attention and to communicate its message?
● In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated
through various techniques (for example: lighting, makeup,
camera angle, photo manipulation)?
● What are the expectations of the genre (for example: print
advertising, TV drama, music video) towards its subject?
Use the Collaborative Note
Taking Google Doc and
consider the following…

How much time do you

spend on your devices in
one day?

How does media influence

everything we do?

What types of codes do you

think you are most
influenced by?
 To understand how all of these concepts work together we can
ask triangled questions.
These are questions that look at three angles...

Text
Audience

The 3 put
together
form
Production meanings
 context context
Text
Audience

context

Another important
factor to consider is
Production context or cultural
life… how does this
context impact the meaning?
Why does context matter for
these photos?
 Is media literacy
important in your
day-to-day life?

Why or why not?

This leads us to understand what ‘coding’ and
‘decoding’ means in the context of media literacy
and there are 3 general areas to consider...
Authors & Audiences
Messages & Meanings
Representations & Realities

The truth is... as teenagers in 2021 you may be decoding

media already.

You have grown up with technology at your fingertips and this

has influenced how you perceive information.
 Authors & Audiences

Messages & Meanings

Representations & Reality

Let’s practice…

Look at the magazine covers in the link below or on

the following slides.

These are from around the world and feature

stories/articles about the pandemic from March
2020 to April 2021.

What is some of the coded language in the

magazine covers?
https://www.frankwbaker.com/mlc/pandemic-magazine-covers/
BRAIN BREAK
Let’s DECODE
At home
Look through the following photos and videos and
determine what you can decode.

You are looking for messages through the text,

audience, and production. Use the previous slides as a
guide.

You may choose to view the living Google Doc where

your classmates in class will be adding as we discuss.