Are you a media illiterate?

According to Jane Tallim of Media Education in Canada, “media literacy is the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. It's the ability to bring critical thinking skills to bear on all media”
That question leads me to question, am I a media illiterate? Most of the time, I do not take the time consciously to dissect the information presented to me daily by the media. But since beginning classes at The University of Guelph-Humber, I believe I’ve begun the journey to becoming media literate.

Every single second of everyday we subconsciously decode messages presented to us by magazines, billboards, television and print. We are bombarded by these messages beginning in childhood on what’s cool to play with, eat and wear as we age these voices appear to become louder and louder. And we usually blindly follow like lost sheep.

According to Chuck Klosterman in Sex, drugs and Cocoa Puffs, most of the messages are to influence the consumer (us) to spend our hard earned money on something we don’t need because we believe that it will make us feel better about ourselves.
On October 6th 2009 we discussed in class the similarities between Toy Story and Manchester United. Although seemingly different at first glances they both share the same fundamental principal, money. Both of these corporations main interest is to get the consumer to spend their money.

It is essential to learn how to navigate and decode the messages we are bombarded with in order to better understand media and ourselves

Works Cited
Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. New York: Scribner, 2004