What's In It For Me?

            “We must prepare young people for living in a world of powerful images, words, and sounds.” – UNESCO, 1982

            This particular statement from the syllabus struck a cord with me. We live in a world that is indeed ruled with images, words, and sounds. I find myself sometimes feeling overwhelmed and unsure what to make of them, leaving me feeling inadequate and unprepared for a career in the field of communications. From this class I hope to leave with a greater knowledge of media studies and become what I would consider to be more media literate.  

             In the first six chapters of the book we learn about the basics of navigating media and popular culture and how to analyze and understand it. In chapter two of "Cultural Theory and Popular Culture," we learn that mass culture threatens to "land us in irreparable chaos." The book states that to combat this chaos, we must be trained to properly interpret the flow of information. The third chapter teaches about "Culturalism," a word meaning used to "indicate the presence of a body of theoretical concerns connecting the work of three theorists." The fourth chapter focuses on Marxist theories, which state that "texts and practices must be analyzed in relation to historical conditions." The fifth chapter handles the subject of the Freudian psychoanalysis and the sixth on structuralism and post-structuralism.

             I would like to learn more about each of the subjects covered in the book as well as the different aspects of media literacy as broken down in the syllabus (power, analysis, asthetics and interpretation.) At this point in time, I’m afraid that I feel unprepared for working in this world full of powerful images, words, and sounds. I hope to leave this class with a better understanding of these subjects and apply these ideas and concepts to my future career in the field of communications.