Our Media Culture in our Classroom

Blog comment 8

Something I've been thinking about lately is entertainment and the media and the world and culture it glamorizes. While I was on tour with Young Ambassadors we took a break one morning and went bowling. In the bowling alley there was a large screen with music videos playing across it. One particular Katy Perry music video absolutely horrified me because of the explicit sexual content it was presenting as part of a "Teenage Dream" (the name of the song). Even the Beyonce and Will Smith videos, though not as explicit were glamorizing things like immodesty, immorality, and the "do whatever you want" kind of attitude.

After that we went to set up and run our show, and it was such a contrast compared to the music videos we saw exploited in the bowling alley. There were values presented about love, faithfulness, family and life after death. It wasn't "religious" necessarily, but it was so much more uplifting than those media clips in the bowling alley. I stopped taking my job for granted in that moment and as a result I was proud to be part of a group that stood for truth and worked to provide clean and wholesome entertainment in a society that is so bereft of it. 

The thirteenth article of faith came to mind which says,  "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."   There is a lot of trashy media out there in the world, and I believe that as teachers it is our job to find the lovely and the praiseworthy and the virtuous entertainment and media and help our students learn to use the media in their lives for good.

  I really liked what Kristen was talking about when she said, "It is our responsibility to use Media as a force for good and not evil.  Media provides students with tools to be able to express their differences and stand up for what they believe in.  As the educator it is our obligation to not discriminate against students and give them equal chances for success.  This notion requires that we are fair, not equal.  Students should be treated fairly and as individuals not as the exact same cookie cutter students.  They are each unique and have various learning styles and abilities, but they all have potential." 

It goes right along with what Hobbs was talking about when she said that we need to "take action." She gives all kinds of examples of incorporating the global news events into our curriculum and taking them as teaching opportunities. I especially liked the example of how the teacher used the BP oil spill to help his class understand the impact this has in the world, the economy, and in nature. I don't know that I'd spend all that time assigning journalism to my theatre students, but I think there are good principles that we can take from it, and apply to our specific art, like integrity, credibility, engaging the audience, etc. 

                 I also thought that Bordo's essay on the ever-skinnier body craze was particularly interesting and relevant, as we're trying to teach our students how to value media. Because, the skinner we get, the more sex appeal we have, and the more value we have as a person in society, or so the media tends to imply. This of course is not true, and we know that God loves each of us as individuals, but I think it is important to bring these issues up in our classrooms, so that are students can be aware of them and see the issues analytically rather than just consuming the media in front of them. She said, "what we are witnessing is a commercial war" (372). I would argue that we are not only witnessing it, but we and are students are thrust into it. We are at war, and not only do we have to fight it, but we need to help our students recognize the war for what it is, and give them the tools to fight it too.

So I definitely agree with Kristen and believe that we need to find what is good in the media, share it with our students, and help our students make sense of the war that is continuously bombarding them, so that they can find worth in themselseves, and a purpose and direction for their lives. Of course, this will not happen in a single class period, or even after a year-long course. But my hope is we can give them the tools to make good decisions for themselves, and they'll remember a little part of what we taught them, as they encounter the real-life situations, decisions, and global events that occur in their lives.