Mindful Media

Media messes with our minds! For years, your brain has been trained by the media (magazines, television, music videos, youtube, radio, newspaper, etc.)to have certain ideas about what is "right" and what is "wrong", about how society "should" be. 

As we end the 20^th century, young people (and older) are taught- largely through media repetitions of social myths, misconceptions, stupidity, and outright bigotry- to view people as types locked into certain stereotypical, inalterable (and inaccurate) modes

(Dennis & Pease, 1994). 

The media, in other words, help to create a divide amongst people and shamelessly give those labels we all unfortunately have: stereotypes. Media have a huge impact on our perceptions of the world, whether we like it or not.

Every day we are bombarded with biased non-fiction, with fictional stories perpetuating played-out stereotypes, and with distorted images of the world and how it should be. For example, check out this youtube video, "Gender Stereotypes in Media" that compiles clips from different commercials, movies, and TV shows throughout the years that have OBVIOUS gender stereotypes. Each clip tells us  how a man/woman "should" be. 

Unfortunately, the media create certain standards for different races, as well. These we can see instilled in our minds even from a young age, through media you would never expect, like cartoons. We can see several examples in "Racial Stereotypes in Children's Entertainment" of how kids can sublty form misconceptions about different races. These youtube media compliations are only 2 examples, you can find thousands more on TV, in movies, and on the internet.

In our "Mindful Media" project, it was your responsibility to be a critical viewer and make your own judgments about the media, then stand up against the stereotypes you see. You had the power, through your words, to CREATE new media that is free of bias and stereotypes.

This blog is for you to share your work from your "Mindful Media" project, as well as any additional discoveries you may have made since then. Please post the link(s) to the media you analyzed, and a brief summary of your analysis of that media. (Note: If you selected an entire movie, you may want to provide a link to the trailer of the movie, the part of the movie that most impacted you, or the website for the movie). Also, if you would like to upload your new, unbiased media and share with us, that would be great! (Please provide the link as well).

Do not feel limited to comment on your project only. Feel free to share a thought, question, or conclusion your may have come to from other projects, or simply from something you saw in the media that you feel the need to speak out against. Don't let the media mess with your mind anymore!