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Media Literacy Activity: Blaming Media
Introduction
Activity Objective
In this activity, you will apply the critical process to reflect on a piece written by a psychology professor who studies the effects of violent digital games.
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Reviewing the Critical Process
Developing a media-literate critical perspective involves mastering five overlapping stages that build on one another. Let’s review the critical process you’ll be using below:
Stage 1. Description: paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study
Stage 2. Analysis: discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage
Stage 3. Interpretation: asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings
Stage 4. Evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages
Stage 5. Engagement: taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment
Description
Read “Analysis: Why It’s Time to Stop Blaming Video Games for Real-world Violence” by Dr. Christopher Ferguson, professor of psychology at Stetson University in Florida. Ferguson wrote this piece, which appears on the PBS NewsHour site, after the initial response to the August 3, 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas that resulted in the deaths of twenty-two people and injuries to dozens more. The piece was published on August 5, 2019, and is available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/analysis-why-its-time-to-stop-blaming-video-games-for-real-world-violence (or you can access it using the search terms “Christopher Ferguson PBS NewsHour video games”).
Once you’ve read Ferguson’s piece, conduct an online search for “El Paso shooting and video games” and read three to five additional articles from about these events.
Use the text boxes provided to answer the following questions.
Question 1
Question 2
Analysis
Now, identify patterns in the coverage of the El Paso shooting.
Use the text boxes provided to answer the following questions.
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Interpretation
Next, let’s dig deeper into the patterns you identified to interpret your findings.
Use the text boxes provided to answer the following questions.
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Evaluation
Through the following questions, express your views as you assess the role of media coverage in our culture and society.
Use the text boxes provided to answer the following questions.
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Engagement
Let’s take action! Millions of people play digital games, including those with violent narratives. Why are the voices of game players not usually included by the news media in the reporting on this issue?
Use the text box provided to answer the following question.