Mind over Matter: Modern Media Literacy

According to an established and oft-quoted definition from the Aspen Institute Report of the National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy in 1989, media literacy is "the ability to access, analyze, communicate and produce media in a variety of forms." Even more comprehensive definitions have arisen since, such as this from the New Mexico Media Literacy Project, highlighting the production aspect: "the ability to create media, including understanding the 'text' (surface content) and 'subtext' (hidden meanings) in messages received from: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, signs, packaging, marketing materials, video games, recorded music, the Internet, and other media." While definitions have changed, media literacy scholars, researchers, educators, and activists agree on the import of such endeavors, whether it be for the purposes of enhancing critical thinking skills, raising consciousness, creating more active and prepared civic participants or some combination of these and other practical and ideological intents. After an initial period focused on a protectionist stance (and a recent resurgence of interest in its tenets due to the advent and pervasive growth of the internet), the field of media literacy has seen numerous more balanced and personal approaches to addressing the issue of media effects on youth and the general citizenry gain precedence. The majority of contemporary-scholars are aligned with the movement that rejects protectionist theories and the efforts to "inoculate" media consumers (especially youth) against the disease of mainstream media. They decry the limiting protectionist practices, countering a dogma that asserts that the media is a harmful entity from which people need to be protected; instead, they work from the assumption that much media production offers positive effects and that an informed practice of critical literacy may enhance enjoyment of this media.