Should I put it on a button? MySpace maybe?
Here's a thought...
I was speaking with one of my bosses earlier this week, telling him about this wee project. Over the course of the conversation he made two points that stuck with me:
1. I really should read Manufacturing Consent (Chomsky and Herman), which I have now started doing.
2. This sort of project would be of great interest to those in media, but there are very few people beyond that who would be interested in "media literacy."
He is right on both counts. I should read Manufacturing Consent, not only because it's a good read and relevent to what I'm doing, but it shows that the opportunity to become highly media literate already exists. This book has been debated and responded-to with other works of (presumably) equal academic vigour. The discussion is taking place... among those who benefit from it the least.
I knew that one of the challenges of my project would be to make it palatable to "the people," those who consume media (i.e. everyone). I knew this, but never really realized how important this aspect would be.
I know I want the documentary project to be episodic. The success of The Corporation shows that breaking things down into segments makes them easier to digest and more flexible when it comes to spreading the word across various media platforms.
What else should I be thinking? How else can one make media literacy seem important and worth your time? Comments welcome (both real and amusing).
2 comments:
Just spit-balling, but it that The Corporation, An Inconvenient Truth, Bowling for Columbine, etc. all did two things very well.
First, as you noted about The Corporation, they broke things down a LOT. For example, there's almost no jargon, and when there is, it's clearly defined in a fun way.
Second, they make the subject matter relevant to regular people. Why is it important that regular people become more media literate? If you can answer that in a way that will make a non-media person sit up and take notice, I think you'll find the key to your project.
That's just my two cents though.
Whoops. The first sentence should read: "Just spit-balling, but it SEEMS that..."
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