Mindful of Media PDF Print E-mail
Written by Paul Baines   
Saturday, 19 June 2010 11:48
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With a mind-full-of-media, how can we take stock of it all and in the process take a look at ourselves? Media<>Mindful is a term I use to mix media awareness with self awareness.

Media awareness, media literacy, or media education are all terms used to get people asking questions about the role of media texts (movies, music, television, newspapers, etc...) in society.

This type of literacy asks:

.....what is popular and why ?
.....what are the costs and who pays for what we see, read, and listen to ?
.....what is cool, important, sexy, scary, or funny ?
.....whose point of view are we getting ?
.....whose point of view are we missing ?
.....how is this media product made ?
.....what technical or textual form is it in ?
.....who is the intended audience ?
.....what is the intended message ?
.....what are its parts and what whole is it a part of ?

I combine this type of literacy with Media<>Mindful in my writings for MascMag.

Media<>Mindful takes the tools of media education to ask questions about how the self (the media consumer or maker) is also made or constructed.  We too have a performance and an audience.  We too live within larger frameworks and act out cultural codes and personal biases.  We too have a point of view and project meaning through our lived experiences.

The subject here is the self, not just the media.  The media are mediums between us and the world – that is the message.

Media issues don’t exist in a test-tube (or text-tube).  Sexism, censorship, commercialism, violence, diversity, racism, monopolies and public access are important issues because they affect people’s human rights and the ecology.  Understanding or changing the media is inseparable from the daily work and commitment to seeing and naming our world.

Debating the levels of violence on television is integrated into asking questions about the roots of violence in society and in ourselves.  Advocating for a diversity of critical voices in the media and for community access are grounded and linked to the struggle for a functioning democracy, an active citizenry, and a respect for difference.

Understanding the media can help us understand and mediate our experience not just of reality television, but our experience of reality.  When we pay attention long enough and stop changing the channels (or clicking the pages) of distraction, we can hear the internal commentary speaking to us about our past and present and about our thoughts and feelings.

Media<>Mindful questions media texts by asking:

.....what is your point of view ?
.....how many other points of view might exist ?
.....how much time and money do you spend on this ?
.....what did you get out of this or what do you think or feel about it ?
.....how does it connect to your experience ?
.....what part do you want to remember or share with someone else ?
.....how would you change or celebrate it ?
.....does it make you want to do something ?.....what position do you make sense from and how did you get there ?.....what parts of your identity are in process ?.....how do you navigate your media environment and what kinds of 'maps' or 'tools' do you use ?.....

Media<>Mindful shifts and balances the areas of interest.  Rather than looking at the media as the subject of awareness, we can look to the self and society as the core sources and courses of study and reflection. Being mindful of who and where we are helps us respond to what is and moreover, create what can be.
Last Updated on Friday, 16 July 2010 16:54
 
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