Critical thinking and media literacy

Believing what you see?

Developing a critical eye through media literacy

First, some key terms…

Media are the channels through which humankind communicates. Media conveys meaning through different mediums such as television broadcasts, newspapers or films. Media includes radio, videos, recorded music, magazines, junk mail, comic books, computer software, the internet, video games, and advertisements. The word mass refers to a large number of elements, so mass media is a means of communicating to numerous audiences. All media present a message in a text. In the context of media analysis, a text is not only as something that is written. A text is anything that communicates a message. Some examples of non-conventional texts are: commercials, webpages, songs, billboards, advertisements, or even illustrations.

One cognitive skill that is essential in approaching media texts is critical thinking. You, most certainly, know the meaning of the words critical and thinking separately. But combined critical thinking has a special meaning. It is a term applied to the analysis of data or ideas by using observation, experience, reasoning and logic in order to arrive at a conclusion. When we think critically, we try to go beyond understanding just the superficial elements of a text, idea or problem and we try to decipher the implicit intentions or arguments behind them and question these.

Through critical thinking, we can analyze messages to which we are exposed in the media. Critical thinking aims to help us understand the messages that might be implicit, hidden, or subliminal. Let’s take a look at a specific type of critical thinking and analysis that is used particularly in the context of media analysis: media literacy.

What is media literacy?

Media literacy is all about taking a second look at media texts. This basically means that when we hear or look at media, we can miss elements that are not obvious or explicit. Media literacy is about learning to “read” media in order to find those underlying meanings in a text. By listening or looking twice we will be able to catch information that may contain important clues to these messages. This kind of double-checking can be intentional or accidental. For example, you might have been listening to an artist for many years before you notice that there is a deeper message in the songs. Or, you may intentionally analyze an advertisement to understand the strategies used by the marketer to sell the product.

So why should we develop media literacy?

You cannot always believe what you see. Though some media is based on real events, people, and places, media nowadays have millions of ways of making things that are not real appear so. Special effects, stunt people, camera tricks, editing software and great acting construct images, texts and scenes that appear real but are actually only simulations. Simulating reality can trick viewers into believing that what they are seeing is the truth, and this is most often the objective of the creators, making you believe what you see. Every word, image, sound, and color has a purpose in constructing a strategy to convey a message. Things are not there, or are not omitted, on accident. Media literacy is important because it helps you avoid being manipulated by these strategies.