Article critique and analysis methods

Media Literacy

Educators in the 21st century face a host of revolutionary challenges related to emerging technologies, to the overwhelming presence of multiple forms of media, and to demographic and social change. Information technologies including the Internet, coupled with increasing cultural diversity, are two factors especially transforming pedagogical realities in the United States. Therefore, Douglas Kellner's Educational Theory article entitled "Multiple Literacies and Critical Pedagogy in a Multicultural Society" is an indispensable reference for modern educational professionals. As public schools and universities integrate information technologies and new media into their classrooms, the need for media literacy grows. Kellner's article presents the author's own opinions regarding the best means of promoting media literacy, critical pedagogy, and multicultural awareness. The author also offers a rich reading list for further, more in-depth, information as well as specific curricula guides for educators hoping to develop more inclusive, more relevant course syllabi.

Kellner's primary arguments include the need for multiple literacies in meeting the needs of a multicultural society, and the need for new literacies to meet the specific challenges that new technologies introduce. By multiple literacies, Kellner means different ways of interpreting different forms of media. Different media like the World Wide Web, television, and film have unique symbolic and logistical lexicons. Therefore, we need to become literate in more than one form of media. The term multiple literacies refers to the multiplicity of decoding mechanisms students and teachers can use when approaching media. Above all, Kellner stresses the importance of becoming conscious, aware, and sensitive when approaching any form of media. Critical pedagogy and media literacy create an atmosphere of tolerance and true democracy.

Divided into three main sections, "Multiple Literacies" explores the following main issues: the importance of multiculturalism and media pedagogy in modern American education; the significance of media literacy and the challenges of contemporary education; and what Kellner calls the "new frontier," or the application of postmodern pedagogy on new technologies and on multiple literacies. Kellner is definitively media-positive and believes that new media and new technologies can vastly improve multicultural awareness and promote a more truly democratic society. However, the author issues a key caveat: pop culture should not be elevated above traditional texts in an attempt to pander to trends. Rather, new media and forms of entertainment should be analyzed in light of postmodern pedagogy.

In the first section of the article, entitled "Multiculturalism and Media Pedagogy," Kellner describes the ability of media literacy to empower all citizens to become more sensitive and responsive to the ways race, gender, class, ethnicity, and other demographical factors are presented in any form of media. By becoming more sensitive, citizens can critically examine whether media messages are constructive or not, and whether media portrayals of different groups of people promote prejudice or tolerance. The modern world is inundated with media, whether from television, music, or Internet, and young people in particular devour media imagery and media messages. Therefore, the media has a huge impact on the way young people perceive the world. It is the duty of educators to teach their students how to deconstruct what they read on the Web and what they watch on TV in order to eliminate the mental stupors that can too easily occur with an uncritical absorption of media information. Kellner observes that media literacy too often begins too late: at the university level. He notes that media literacy and multicultural awareness must begin at an early age if an attitude of critical thinking is to penetrate deep into the culture. To support his argument, Kellner refers to scholastic research that illustrates how the media can exacerbate cultural inequities and offers solutions such as the promotion of alternative media.

Throughout "Multiple Literacies," Kellner refers to reference books and articles that educational professionals can use to create a media literate, multicultural, critical pedagogy. For example, in the first section of the article the author mentions Diane Carson and Lester D. Friedman's book Shared Differences, a collection of syllabi suggestions to promote multiculturalism. According to Carson, multicultural awareness is "critical to America's social well-being," (3). Kellner refutes the assumption that multiculturalism threatens traditional educational paradigms. Acknowledging the "broader cultural wars between competing groups and ideologies fighting over the future of U.S. society and culture," Kellner stresses commonality over difference (3). The author believes that there is essentially no conflict between different viewpoints and that education can only be strengthened by a plurality of voices. Multiculturalism will not replace traditional paradigms, only enrich them, according to the author. Moreover, multicultural pedagogy shares much in common with traditional pedagogy. While Kellner's optimism offers hope for a less divisive educational community, his opinions are not shared by all educational professionals. Moreover, many educational professionals in administrative positions will be resistant to the types of curricula changes that scholars like Kellner calls for. Still, social change happens slowly. Multiculturalism and media pedagogy will slowly but surely edge their way into the fore of common education.

According to Kellner, educators also need to incorporate the media from multiple cultures in order to provide a truly multicultural education. The author emphasizes that too often we tend to lump all media under the same umbrella, when in reality each type of media has its own biases, its own demands, its own unique discourse. To critically examine media in light of multiculturalism, students need to be exposed to as wide a range of media from a wide array of social and cultural groups as is possible within the parameters of the educational system.

Part Two of "Multiple Literacies," entitled "Media Literacy and the Challenges of Contemporary Education," the author more clearly defines media literacy as an understanding of "how media work, how they construct meanings, how they serve as a form of cultural pedagogy, and how they function in everyday life," (5). Included within the framework of media literacy is also a more thorough computer literacy, which Kellner delves into more in depth in the third section of the article. In section two, the author underscores the overwhelming power of the media, which imparts all sorts of knowledge: of geography, of politics, of science, of the economy, and of our own personal health. In order for American culture to become more critically aware, media literacy must be taught from an early age.

Kellner does not ignore the relevance or significance of entertainment media: he does not simply focus on news media. Because youth culture is generally enamored by media entertainment in the form of video games, movies, music, and television shows, constructing a new media pedagogy becomes ever more essential. Gender roles, morals, and class-related stereotypes are only a few of the messages that entertainment media can broadcast. Modern American socialization occurs largely through the media, and youth are as influenced by entertainment media as they are by their parents, teachers, and peers. Thus, Kellner's message regarding the imperative of media literacy arrives at a crucial moment in our cultural history. Once again, Kellner evaluates scholarly resources and sources such as Len Masterman's Teaching the Media. The author notes that Masterman's book, while relevant to the formation of media pedagogy in general, is overly broad in scope and does not differentiate between different types of media or the different age groups they target. Moreover, Masterman's book is geared toward a British audience and might not be as relevant for an American one. Also included in his discussion of the creation of media literacy, Kellner mentions scholars influenced by postculturalist theory such as Allan Luke and Carmen Luke. Kellner mentions that such scholars fall short of stressing the need for more media literacy in early education. Too much focus is on the university and graduate school level, but more literature is needed to address the needs of educators of younger populations. However, Kellner himself writes for a sophisticated audience and does not offer any concrete solutions aimed at young learners. The author does, however, offer readers a firm foundation for the study of media literacy, explaining how media literacy can help all students become conscious of what is already seeping into their unconscious minds.

One of the most important points that Kellner makes in "Multiple Literacies" is his distinction between the "protectionist" approach and the new media literacy approach that he advocates. The protectionist approach, advocated by such authors as Neil Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death and Technopolis), is generally disparaging of new media, shunning it in favor of classical print texts. The problem with such an approach, as Kellner notes, is that it can foster elitism and does not necessarily promote multiculturalism in the classroom. In fact, too much emphasis on printed texts eliminates a considerable portion of the human population, for many cultures have not relied on print documentation. If the whole idea of multicultural pedagogy is to increase sensitivity and awareness of invisible peoples, then we clearly need to move away from the protectionist approach. Moreover, the protectionist approach reeks of elitism, although Kellner does not go so far as to make that accusation.

As an alternative to the protectionist approach, Kellner advocates a media literacy that demonstrates the potential of new media and technology to empower students. Media can be used as strong avenues of self-expression and social activism (7). We should use media as a tool, and cease viewing the media as the enemy to educated civilization, as a pedestrian form of social expression. Protectionists fail to recognize the positive power of all media by overemphasizing the relevance of print. On the other hand, Kellner notes that educators must "avoid an uncritical media populism," in which we pander to the lowest common denominator in popular culture (8). Kellner's message is on balance and critical thinking. What modern educators need is a blend between the glorification of pop culture imagery and censorship. When technology is adapted for the use of education, it can be an immensely powerful tool. For example, students who are encouraged to create their own websites can learn about how media affects the ways they are perceived by others.