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CRITICAL LITERACY INTRODUCTORY BOOKLET

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Critical Literacy Workbook 1 24 December 2011

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CRITICAL LITERACY
Critical literacy looks at written, visual, spoken, multimedia and performance texts and considers the attitudes, values and beliefs that lie beneath the surface. Text: The individual results of media production: a movie, a TV episode, a book, an issue of a magazine or newspaper, an advertisement, a stage production, artistic image. As users of language we shape it and it shapes us it is never static. Language is not neutral, it is constructed. Choices are made in the construction of texts and it is these choices that give meaning to the text. Students of Critical Literacy will: 1. Examine meaning within texts 2. Consider the purpose of the text and the writer/composers motives 3. Understand that texts are not neutral, and they represent particular views, silence other points of view and influence peoples views 4. Analyse the power of language in contemporary society 5. Understand there can be multiple readings of the same text as people interpret texts based on their own beliefs and values. 6. Identify the techniques used to give texts meaning

1 Critical Literacy Terms

Critical: Reflecting on the meaning, biases or value messages of a text. Critical Viewing is the ability to use critical thinking skills to view, question, analyze and understand issues presented overtly and covertly in movies, videos, television and other visual media Construction: As a verb, the process by which a media text is shaped and given meaning. This process is subject to a variety of decisions and is designed to keep the audience interested in the text. Deconstruct: To take apart, analyse, or break down a media text into its component parts in order to understand how and why it was created. Discourse: This refers to all the language associated with a particular life experience or identity construct (e.g. race, social class, gender, sexuality, age, etc.). Individuals can belong to a wide and ever changing number of discourses and they all can affect the way we made meaning of texts.
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Gaps and Silences: These occur frequently in texts. They are created when the author, intentionally or unintentionally, chooses to include some pieces of information and omit others.

A gap is a place in a text where something is left out and it is up to the reader to fill in (or maybe not fill in) the blank. A silence is when the viewpoints/voices of a certain person or group is left out or never heard. Dominant Position: Values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions held by the majority of people as expressed within textual products of that society. For example; it is argued that competitiveness is a dominant value within Australian society

2 Why is Critical Literacy important?

Our lifestyles are changing rapidly in a high tech world. We are able to access information from a wide range of sources. We are swamped by masses of information from sources across the globe. Somehow we need to make meaning from the huge array of multimedia, music and sound as well as written and spoken words we are confronting each day. READING 1 Read the article The misinformation age by Phillip Adams (Weekend Australian Magazine April 19-20 2003) Questions: What is the main idea of the article? What is your understanding of these sections of the article? It reminds us that data isnt information. Information isnt knowledge. And knowledge isnt wisdom. My concerns are different. Far from filling the world with knowledge and wisdom; the new technologies seem to be creating a black hole that sucks the intelligence into it where it is instantly and utterly destroyed. I see this, hear it and read it every day, almost every time I turn a page or change a channel, or as e-mails inundate me with nonsensical responses to the great events of our time.
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Approach every political proclamation, every prognostication of a TV expert and, yes, every newspaper column with scepticism. Otherwise, whats left of the truth will be blown away on the 21st centurys electric winds, replaced with the clichs, the slogans, the platitudes, the nonsense that so many of us are willing, even desperate, to embrace. Read more widely, see more clearly, think more deeply. Challenge authorities on every issue. More importantly, challenge yourself.

3 Making Meaning From Texts

There are many language techniques to give meaning to texts. The definitions below and readings should help you understand techniques used to give texts meaning.

3.1 Techniques\Terms emotive language, bias, positioning the reader

Emotive Language: Language that targets the heart not the head elicits emotional response in the reader. Look for descriptive words and phrases (adjectives / adverbs). Bias: Not impartial. An unbalanced argument. Leaning to one/point of view. Subjective. The task of thinking clearly often requires that we identify the emotive words or biased words that people use. Such words do more than just convey information: they carry overtones of meaning that suggest that something is good and bad. It is important to be able to detect when people use words with overtones of approval and disapproval in their communication otherwise we may be influenced without being aware of it. From an early age emotive words are used to position the reader. This means the writer is trying to influence the reader towards a particular position or point of view. Below is an extract from the text of the well-known fairytale Cinderella. Once upon a time there was a young woman who was kind and good. She lived with her mother and father, but one day her mother died suddenly. Her father married a woman with two daughters of her own.
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A year passed, then the girls father also died. The poor girls stepmother preferred her own daughters who were jealous and spiteful of her sisters beauty. They made the girl do all the housework, and she spent her days cooking, cleaning and attending to her sisters needs. Because she often had to work among the cinders, tending the fireplace and the stove her cruel sisters called her Cinderella. Cinderella worked hard at her chores from morning until night. She sometimes hummed as she worked, and her mean hearted sisters gave her extra work. Cinderella, dont forget to mend my blue dress! snapped the older sister. And sew the lace collar onto my pink gown, demanded the other. Adapted from Van Gool (2000) Cinderella, Redwood Editions: Australia We feel sympathy for Cinderella and dislike the stepmother and stepsisters. In a childrens book the text would be accompanied by a picture of the beautiful but dusty Cinderella and the ugly, vain stepfamily. Read the descriptions below. The use of words presents two representations of the same person using bias words. Written Language and Representation Description One She has dark hair that she likes to wear neatly tied back. She is not overly tall and is an average build for her height. She is a creatively busy persons who loves to shop. Her room demonstrates her creative personality: full of books and wonders collected from around the world. She wears comfortable clothes and likes to listen to music that helps her let her hair down. She enjoys reading about politics, cooking and business. She prides herself on her work and doing the best job she can. She drives a masterpiece of an automobile. Description Two She has brown hair that is always worn the same way. She is rather short but a healthy weight. She is a messy person who spends too much money. Her room is a pig-sty scattered with old books and dust collecting items from poor countries. She wears daggy clothes and listens to loud screechy music. She always has her nose in boring books. She is a perfectionist who can never take second best. She drives an old bomb.
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The first description views the subject in a positive light while the second reading takes the same characteristics and uses uncomplimentary language to describe the person. Bias words can change the representation of people, places and events. Exercise 1 Sort the following columns of words into their correct pairs. In each case, circle the more emotive term. LIST ONE Food Overweight Predictable Lazy Flexible Derelict Unadventurous Having principles Drab Tidy Parsimony LIST TWO Compromising Work-shy Fastidious Careful Grub Stinginess Rigid Fat Reliable Homeless person Colourless

Below is a newspaper report about a State of Origin game. In which state do you think it was published? First Blood Blues miracle falls short 26 May 2005 It was a miracle comeback. But it just wasnt enough for the Blues. In an electrifying match in the State of Origin opener, NSW did the seemingly impossible to claw back to a 20-20 draw at full-time. But Queensland sealed victory with a try in extra time, nailing the game 24-20. NSW were down 13-0 at half-time and then 19-0 soon into the second half but they fought back to secure the most unlikely onepoint lead in the final 10 minutes at Suncorp Stadium. They scored four blazing tries to make it a 20-19 lead with less than 10 minutes to go. But with four minutes into extra time Matthew Bowen intercepted a Blues pass and ran 40 metres to steal victory from NSW. Questions: How would this news report be different if it was written from the perspective of supporters of the other team? Rewrite this report from the point of view of the other side.
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3.2 Visual Media and Representation

The visual media can influence the viewers opinion in many ways. Through their representations the media may present a point of view to the viewing public which may not always be consistent with the truth. Irony: Use of language to convey an opposite or different meaning. Watch the Frontline episode Heroes and Villains Discuss these questions: How are the doctor and researcher portrayed in the Frontline program? What was the motivation of the program for developing these portrayals? Was it a fair representation? Why or why not? What is the irony of the shows personnel representing the researcher as a racist? What serious issues related to the medias power is this program raising? Suggest people in todays media who are portrayed as heroes or villains. Do you think these portrayals are fair?

3.3 Techniques/terms tone, pathos, anecdote, dominant position, assumptions, attitudes, beliefs underlying texts
Tone: indicates the writers attitudes and feelings towards their subject, audience and themselves. In oral work, tone is communicated through how things are said as well as what is said, where as in written texts, the tone is communicated through what is written and how it is constructed. A description of tone usually uses words to describe human emotions e.g. sad, jubilant, disgusted, annoyed. Pathos: the use of language to incite pity or sadness Anecdote: a short account of an entertaining or interesting event Values: ideals and ideas held within high esteem Attitudes: opinions Beliefs: assumptions about ways of knowing and understanding the world
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Assumption: the act of coming to an understanding based on cultural norms and normalized representations Read the speech Address to the reception for the Beaconsfield Community by John Howard. This speech was delivered to a reception at Parliament House for Todd Russell and Brant Webb and the rescuers who saved these two men after being trapped underground at the Beaconsfield mine in Tasmania. READING 2 This is an extract from the speech transcript. What we saw in the rescue of Brant and Todd was the Australian character at its very best. We saw all of the things that we pride ourselves on as distinctively Australian characteristics at work. We saw guts, we saw resilience, we saw courage, we saw strength and we saw enormous endurance. We can't of course on an occasion like this, do justice to the other real heroes of this event, and that is the men who rescued them. The way in which they risked their lives day after day, knowing all the peril and all the difficulty of a rescue in a mine, knowing the dangers of further falls and further explosions, knowing from their long history in the industry of what might occur, their courage was absolutely outstanding. And the responsibility they carried and the responsibility carried by the mine management and Matthew Gill who every day had to give a report knowing that he carried the ultimately responsibility for the rescue. Through all of it, they displayed a tremendous professional skill, but above all enormous courage, and it was a wonderful demonstration of Australian mateship. And I want, in that vein, to pay tribute to the fellow members of the miners of Brant and Todd, the members of the Australian Workers Union who were there in their numbers to give strength and support and solidarity to their mates and their fellow union members. And that was a very important part of the great community effort that was mounted. But not only was there great support given by the rescuers, by their fellow workers and their fellow mates, but the wonderful response of the community. I think that had as great an impact on your fellow Australians around the country as much as anything else. Because what we saw on display in that community was everything that was
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good about the Australia that we love and the Australia we want to preserve and the Australia we want to make better because these dramatic events reminded us of the basics of life. They reminded us of the importance of family. As I watched the video of Brant and Todd's interview on 60 Minutes after I got back from overseas, the many things they said, the comments that really hit home to me were the remarks they made about their families. As Todd spoke of writing messages to Carolyn on his overalls and on his arms, of how he wanted to communicate to his wife and children, his love for them, and how if it didn't go well he'd watch over his young boys...he played football and he made sure that he made a good job of playing his football. It was a reminder to me as a father that at the end of the day that no matter what else you do in life, having a close bond with your children and caring for them, is the most important thing. And in those simple words I think those two men resonated with the parents, and particularly the fathers of Australia, in a way that I don't think two men have ever quite been able to do. I think these events also reminded us of the tremendous importance of mateship, as is broadly defined in our community. We sometime fling it around rather carelessly. But on an occasion like this it was on full display. Everybody was working together, differences of occupation and background, religious and political belief were put aside. A whole community was united in its determination to achieve a result and they did it and did it magnificently. We're reminded of course of the strength of that local community and represented here today by Barry Easther, who gave tremendous leadership as the Mayor of West Tamar. And can I finally say in relation to the reminder of life basics that the event also reminded us of the importance of faith. Now we all varying degrees of faith, some do and some don't, some have it to varying degrees, but there was tremendous community leadership given by the churches of Beaconsfield on this occasion - great leadership - and I pay tribute to them and I know that so many of them are represented here today. So the whole event brought together, as a reminder, those basics of our life and how important all of them are to us. And in a way brought out what I've always seen as the great duality of the Australian character. We can be as tough as tungsten, and as durable as anybody, and nobody has been tougher, and nobody
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has been more durable than these two men. It is an amazing achievement. It is an achievement beyond the beliefs of so many of us so long ago, let's face that. I know there are many in this gathering that never gave up hope, and God bless them for not having given up that hope, and they have had their wonderful reward as a consequence. But it was an extraordinary act of bravery and strength and will and determination, the like of which this nation has not often seen and indeed something that preserves the honour that I hope is being transmitted by this gathering here today. But the event also brought out that other aspect of the Australian character, and that is our warmth and our softness and our compassion. We saw in the response of the community, we saw in the open candid remarks of Brant and Todd in their interview, that combined with their strength and their manliness and their toughness, is an enormous depth of compassion and softness towards those they love most and those who mean most to them in their lives. And they together summarise so much of what we believe about ourselves, about our character, about what the climate of this country means to us. Questions: What is the purpose of the text? What is the tone? Show examples to support your answer Find examples of emotive language, anecdote, pathos in the text What values and attitudes underlie this text? Give reasons for your answer Would you agree or disagree that the speech is underpinned by the dominant values and attitudes of modern-day Australia? What gaps, related to values of modern Australia, were in the speech?

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3.4 Techniques/terms simile, metaphor, sarcasm, rhetoric, stereotype, rhetorical question

Simile: The comparison of two things using words like, as to show they are similar in a significant way helps the reader form an understanding of what the writer is describing based on familiarity e.g. he groaned like a tiger. Positive as graceful as a gazelle as strong as a lion Negative - as cranky as a bag of tomcats as mad as a bull Metaphor: The comparison in which one thing is identified with another effect similar to similes e.g. a dead calm. Positive - a jewel of an idea a man of steel Negative a train wreck about to happen a dogs breakfast Sarcasm: an extreme use of irony to deliver a scathing remark, sometimes used in humour Rhetoric: clever, creative use of language that is designed to persuade or impress Stereotype: (verb) attribute characteristics based on a fixed or standardized representation (e.g. all footballers are boofheads) Rhetorical question: a question that is asked not to illicit information or an answer but for effect (the reader will know the answer e.g: Q: Who cares? A: No-one! Personification: attributing human attributes to inanimate things e.g. the sea groaned like a sleeping dog. Pun: humorous use of a word to suggest different meanings

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READING 3 Read the article on celebrity by Phillip Adams Are our lives so meaningless that we have to waste our time, money and neurons on this human trash? Questions: What is the bias of this text? Do you think the attitudes of the author reflect the dominant position in Australian society? Explain your response. Find examples of the above techniques. Choose three of these techniques and show how their use has been used to position the reader. Whose view has been silenced in the text?

3.5 Techniques clich, slang/colloquialisms, generalisation, hyperbole

Clich: Stereotyped expression Slang / Colloquialisms: use of Australian idiom; establishes a friendly / informal relationship with the reader can create the atmosphere of the writer speaking with the reader. Alliteration: repetition of consonant sound at the beginning of words (Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper Generalisation: (verb) to attribute a general character; not specific (across the board statements) generalisation (noun) Hyperbole: Is the use of deliberate exaggeration in order to emphasise something it is used to emphasise to make more dramatic or vivid; it is not intended to deceive

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READING 4 Precious athletes wasting out tax dollars How is it that a country apparently obsessed with sport, we managed to send so many duds to Athens? Why do so many of our top athletes break down, over medicate, trip over, sink, collapse within a sniff of finishing line or simply have hissy fits when theyre (so often) beaten? A more serious question is why should the Aussie taxpayer be expected to foot the bills for their lives of luxury and ego-stroking, as well as the inevitable big bucks theyll make out of endorsements? Thorpe or Pittman can do but one thing better than me: I, on the other hand can do numerous things far better than either. who is the more deserving of the accolades? Its about time we took a look at ourselves. Its about time these precious pampered pets are made more accountable to the Australian public. OZGeoff Melbourne QUESTIONS What is the point of view of the writer? Whose position has been silenced in this text? Is the text fair? Why or why not? Find examples of clichs, colloquialisms, generalisation, hyperbole, alliteration Choose one of these techniques and explain how its use has been used to position the reader.

Critical Literacy Workbook 1 24 December 2011