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Media Literacy

• Media Construct our society• Media contain ideological and value messages• Individuals construct their own meanings from

media• The human brain processes moving images

different than text• Media is most powerful when it operates on an

emotional level

Limbic System

                        

                                                               

                      

                                                              

                       

SEX

A ministry has been set up to serve the bored, the stressed and the frustrated of Singapore; the Coca-Cola Ministry of Enjoyment.

The marketing is relentless and global.

Do the CEO’s

have any scruples?

Beverage Intake Among Adolescents Aged 11-18, 1965-1996

SOURCE: Cavadini C et al. Arch Dis Child 2000;83:18-24 (based on USDA surveys)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1965 1977 1989 1996

Per

cap

ita

gra

ms

con

sum

ed p

er d

ay

Boys Girls

(Soft drinks, diet soft drinks, and fruit drinks)

Second Step Lesson One

StatisticsInterpersonal violence is the

second leading cause of death for young people

ages 15-24

Second only to motor vehicles accidents

A large majority of victims are related to or acquainted

with their assailantAcqainted

85%

Stranger

15%

Crime ClockOne

VIOLENT CRIMEVIOLENT CRIME every 17 seconds

One AGGRAVATED AGGRAVATED

ASSAULTASSAULT every 28 seconds

OneROBBERYROBBERY

every 51 seconds

One RAPE RAPE

every 5 minutes

OneMURDERMURDER every 23 minutes

This ad appeared in magazines with high youth readership:

Hot Rod = 31%

Rolling Stone = 28%

Spin = 32%

Sports Illustrated = 23%

Vibe = 42%

This ad appeared in the following high youth readership magazines:

Rolling Stone 28%, Hot Rod 31%, Sports Illustrated 23%, TV guide 16%, Sporting News 30%.

Who is the target audience?

Figure 1Substance Appearance in Popular Movies and Songs

22%18%

89%

3%

93%

17%

98%

27%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Movies Popular Songs

Illicit drugs Tobacco Alcohol Any substance

Percentages reflect the number of movies (200 total) and songs (1,000 total) in which substances appeared, whether or not they were used.

Figure 2Percentage of Movies and Songs Associating Illicit Drug Use With:

15%

6%

30%

15%

21%

15%

52%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

20%

30%

20%

6%

2%

3%

81%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

MoviesPopular Songs

Wealth or luxury

Sexual activity

Crime or violence

Anti-use statement

Refusal to use

Pro-use statement or advocacy of use

No consequence to user

Wealth or luxury

Sexual activity

Crime or violence

Anti-use statement

Refusal to use

Pro-use statement or advocacy of use

No consequence to user

Based on the 33 movies and 156 songs that portrayed illicit drug use.

Figure 3Percentage of Movies and Songs Associating Alcohol Use With:

Based on the 183 movies and 149 songs that portrayed alcohol use.

34%

19%

37%

9%

14%

20%

57%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

24%

34%

13%

3%

5%

1%

91%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

MoviesPopular Songs

Wealth or luxury

Sexual activity

Crime or violence

Anti-use statement

Refusal to use

Pro-use statement or advocacy of use

No consequence to user

Wealth or luxury

Sexual activity

Crime or violence

Anti-use statement

Refusal to use

Pro-use statement or advocacy of use

No consequence to user

Figure 4Percentage of Songs and 5-Minute Movie Segments

with Substance Appearance

2%

18%

31%

17%24%

3%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Movies Popular Songs

Illicit Drugs Alcohol Tobacco

In order to measure the concentration of substance appearances within movies, each movie was divided into 5-minute segments, and each segment examined separately for substances. The height of the columns above represents the percentage of all 5-minute movie segments (4,372) or songs (1,000) that contained a substance appearance. The 2% above therefore means that illicit drugs appeared one or more times in the 4,372 movie segments. The percentages refer to the intervals, not the number of appearances.

Figure 5Substance Use in G or PG, PG-13, and R-Rated Movies

Percentages based on 38 G or PG, 65 PG-13, and 97 R-rated movies.

0%

17%20%

79%82%

92%

76%

97%94%

18%14%

18%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

G or PG PG-13 R

Illicit drugs Tobacco Alcohol Other legal drugs

Figure 6Substance Use in Movies by Genre

Percentages based on 60 Action Adventures, 69 Comedies, and 71 Dramas.

10%13%

18%

83%89% 89%88%

93% 93%

12%17%

20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Action Adventure Comedy Drama

Illicit drugs Tobacco Alcohol Other legal drugs

Figure 7Substance Use by Age of Major Characters

Percentages based on 79 major characters under 18 years, 473 characters between 18 and 39, and 196 characters 40 and older.

8% 6%2%

17%

26% 25%22%

57% 57%

4% 5% 5%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

under 18 years 18-39 years 40 years and older

Illicit drugs Tobacco Alcohol Other legal drugs

66%

78% 78%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

85%

45%

12%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

51%

2%

33%

12%12%12%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Figure 8Types of Illicit Drugs, Tobacco, and Alcohol in Movies

Mar

ijuan

a

Pow

der

coca

ine

Hal

luci

noge

ns

He r

o in

o r o

the r

op i

a te s

Mis

cella

neou

s ot

her

Cig

aret

tes

Cig

ars

Pip

es o

r ch

e win

g to

bac c

o

Bee

r

Percentage of movies with illicit drugs that show:

Percentage of movies with tobacco portrayals that show use of:

Cra

ck c

ocai

nePercentage of movies with alcohol portrayals that show use of:

Based on 43 movies in which illicit drugs appeared, 172 movies portraying tobacco use, and 183 movies portraying alcohol use. Percentages sum to more than 100% because multiple substances appeared in the same movie.

Win

e or

ch

ampa

gne

Ha r

d li q

u or/

m

ixe d

dr in

ks

Figure 9Percentage of Songs with Substance References by Genre

Based on 212 Rap songs, 211 Alternative Rock, 212 Hot-100, 211 Heavy Metal, and 212 Country-Western.

63%

11% 11% 9%

1%

47%

10% 12%

4%

13%

75%

20% 20%

12% 14%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Rap Alternative Hot-100 Heavy Metal Country-Western

Illicit drug references Alcohol references Either drugs or alcohol

Figure 10Types of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol in Songs

Percentage of songs with illicit drug portrayals that refer to:

Percentage of songs with alcohol portrayals that refer to:

Based on 182 songs with illicit drug references and 166 songs with alcohol references. This includes songs in which substances were mentioned but not used.

63%

15%

10%

4%

4%

4%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

22%

34%

36%

31%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Marijuana

Crack cocaine

Powder cocaine

Hallucinogens

Heroin or other opiates

Miscellaneous other (amphetamines, inhalants, etc.)

Beer or malt liquor

Wine or champagne

Hard liquor or mixed drinks

Generic terms--e.g., “booze”

The Target of all drugs