The Untold Story

My father was a master storyteller. He had a knack for seeing people. Inside and out. Like an x-ray he seemed to be able to see what was hidden beneath the surface. His imitations and caricatures always left you with vivid pictures of the people, places and things that populated his stories. I

loved to watch his face light up as he spun colorful tales of the people and places he’d encounter. I remember how his eyes would twinkle and the way he’d lift his eyebrow

just before the punch line and how his cheeks would round into a smile.

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I was fascinated by storytelling and when I was little I decided that I would grow up to be a writer like my father, a hard hitting investigative reporter like the ones I saw on TV and a movie star. I’d often watch the news with my father and listen to the reporters tell their

stories. Microphone in hand, wind blowing through their hair. They were smart, they were pretty and their stories seemed so important.

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I devoured Nancy Drew Mysteries, kept a journal of all the wrong things my brother did, and watched the weekly mystery shows on TV. The melodramatic stories of Fantasy Island were one

of my favorites. Because on the island nothing was exactly as it seemed and I had to figure it out.

Sequence # 4Narration:I used to poke around and eavesdrop while the grownups were talking. I didn’t always understand their stories, or all of the words they used but it was the stories that I didn’t understand that intrigued me the most. I closely watched their faces, looking at their eyes, their bodies for any clues. Trying to make sense of it all. Who were they talking about? Were they telling secrets? Where did it happen? Was it the truth? Who was telling a lie and why? I became a master detective, a super sleuth, a professional people watcher. A secret story decoder.

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My father used to joke that I’d make a great spy, because I was always snooping around, listening, watching, asking questions and collecting information.

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I did not know it at the time but what I was doing as a child was critically reading the stories that I heard in my home, or read in books and watched on TV. I didn’t have a lot of answers back then but I did

have many questions.

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As I got older my curiosity to know the truth or the meaning of stories continued to grow. It planted a seed for what was to become my introduction to media literacy. I discovered that there was a whole vocabulary for the things I had been trying to do as a child. The questioning, listening, watching, and collecting information became analyzing, evaluating and deconstructing the messages that I was seeing and hearing in the media all around me.

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What is media literacy?

It is the ability to analyze, evaluate and even create media messages. Media

literacy is looking beyond the frame of a TV

commercial, news story or website in order to examine

the context.

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We often use the word “text” to mean written words. But in media literacy, text is what you see and hear. It can be written or spoken words, pictures, moving images or sounds. It’s

what we see on the surface.

Sequence # 10Narration:The subtext is your interpretation of a piece of media. It is not seen or heard. It is the meaning we create from the text in our minds. It is depends on the person. Which means that people can see or hear the same message and interpret it differently.

Sequence # 11Narration:Media is powerful. Today’s communication technologies only make it more powerful. We are constantly connected to information and to each other. Our environment is saturated with media and we are constantly bombarded by messages. However, “being media savvy does not mean you are media literate.” – Frank W. Baker

Sequence # 12Narration:It is essential that you train your mind to ask questions about the media you consume. It is critical to know that mindless entertainment does not exist.

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Ads sell more than products. They sell values, images, concepts of love, beauty, sexuality and success.

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Key questions to ask when you interact with media are:

• Who created this message? Why?

• Who is the target audience?• What is the text of this

message?• What is the subtext?• What techniques of persuasion

are being used to make me believe or do something?

• What part of the story is not being told?

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The good thing is media literacy is a set of skills that anyone can learn. Essential skills that help us decipher complex media messages with a critical eye. Children, teens and adults

can all learn how to become super sleuths and secret story decoders.

Media literacy empowers you to think about your relationship with media and:• Understand how media messages create meaning• Recognize what media makers want us to believe or

do• Name the tools of persuasion used• Recognize bias, spin, misinformation and lies• Evaluate media messages based on our own

experiences, beliefs and values• Create our own media messages• Become advocates for change in our media system

Sequence # 16Narration:Media messages can be decoded. By deconstructing media you can figure out who created the message and why. You’ll discover what parts of the story are not being told. Whether interacting with TV, movies, video games, websites, magazines or music developing media literacy skills will help you stop and think about the deeper meaning. The untold story.