Media And Society Technology, Democracy And Capitalism

Media in Society (2013) is a cutting-edge media studies textbook written by a group of media scholars: Richard Campbell, Miami University of Ohio; Joli Jenson, University of Tulsa; Douglass Gomery, University of Maryland; Bettina Fabos, University of Northern Iowa and Julie Frechette, Worcester State University. It serves as an analysis of the perpetual relationship between media and society through three key concepts: technology, democracy and capitalism. These themes are connected throughout the entire book, but more than anything, Media in Society focuses on storytelling. As it targets a diverse audience, it does an excellent job exploring different stories the mass media tells and the stories we tell about the media. Through a wide†¦show more content†¦Evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical assessment resulting from the first three stages. 5. Engagement: taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as â€Å"global citizens† in order to question media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment. Repeated use of this process throughout the entire book stresses the importance of understanding what we’re consuming and what it means to be media literate. Media in Society takes teaching media literacy a step further in its fifth stage of the critical process — Engagement. â€Å"To be fully media literate, we must actively work to create a media world that represents broad interests and tastes.† (Media in Society, pg. 11) This book offers suggestions and practices regarding media literacy that many others fail to do. That is, what do you do now that you understand cultural, political, societal and economic influence of the media? Media in Society reveals how you can use your media literacy skills to influence or create media in which our world is accurately represented. For example, in the study of reality TV, the authors suggest organizing and inviting reality TV producers to a conference that critiques and offers suggestions regarding better storytelling practices (Media in Society, pg. 11). Using narrativist, reflectionistShow MoreRelated Democracy and Capitalism Essay1719 Words   |  7 PagesDemocracy and Capitalism Those who live in America enjoy freedom because America is a democratic nation in which the people hold the power. Is this statement truly a reality? One must consider the fact the United States is also a capitalist society and this has changed the face of democracy. Can we honestly say that the citizens of the United States hold the power when we consider the actual state of the political system? 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