Mack's Teaching Philosophy

I think that the biggest thing that we need to teach is that we have a choice. Media are like windows. Although we cannot chose what happens on the other side of that window we can chose the windows that we look through. But how do we know what windows to look through? 

In our day and age simple ratings are good start but we can now check kidsinmind or IMDb parental guides to gain a better understanding of what we are getting ourselves into. I was able to avoid a PG-13 movie that had content that I did not want to see. I should have told my parents because they saw it and were appalled that a movie would have something like that in it. These moments or disgust and immorality can be completely avoided with these media tools.

Many people seem to thing that the most recently and closest made windows are the only ones to chose from. This maybe because older movies and foreign movies are either not known about or hard to get a hold of. But these movies that are either older or foreign can be such a wonderful contribution to our media diet.

Speaking of diet, I have two analogies that will help make clear my idea of media literacy. We need a well balanced diet in order to be physically healthy. In similar likeness we need a taste of all different kinds of films in order to be emotionally healthy and fulfilled. It seems to make sense that we need dramas and tragedies as well as comedies and family movies. It is even possible that we need horror films and action films? It is up to us what our diet will be but it can't be good if all we consume is romantic comedies. And our diets may lack if we don't watch romantic comedies.

The other analogy which I have is the soda analogy. I strongly believe that movies are awesome and good. But to me what makes them good is if we watch them like treats. Blew is an excerpt from my letter that I wrote to apply for the film program. What I really hope that you get out of it is that I think that media far too often becomes this indulgence rather then a treat.  

I watch movies like I drink soda. I love vintage sodas, Virgil’s, Boylan, and even collect some of the more rare glass bottles. I love waiting all week to pop off the small metal cap and watch as the fog rises out of my perfectly chilled glass bottle. Always accompanying these fizzy potions with a delicious meal to ensure that the right taste is in my mouth, I carefully sip and savor every drop. Just as I don’t like drinking a warm diet coke out of the vending machine while working at the factory, I don’t like throwing in a movie in the middle of the day on a small TV with people chatting and walking in and out. I love anticipating the movie, planning on it days before, and then when the night comes, we make sure the lights are dimmed and people in are in their places. We make sure the sound is turned up and the image is not stretched or distorted. Movies should be sipped and savored, not gulped and guzzled whenever there is nothing else to do.

Movies are a way of entertainment and do not need to be watched all the time. Not only will it loose it's magic, but it can make us media fat. No wonder some people think that all media is bad; they consume all media, including the garbage. If we slow down and take the time to find the gourmet sodas and leave the nasty Shasta by the way side, we can enjoy the good soda that we have and not become drunk with nonsense.

I know that this semester we talked a lot about creating our own media. I think for someone like me that sounds exciting but to the average person that task can seem overwhelming. I think that creation is important, but I think that a person does not have to create to be media literate. I know we talked about reading is kind of like watching and writing is kind of like making. I suggest that it can be easier and more simple than that. Reading is like choosing and watching, and writing can be discussion. You don't have to make a youtube video if you don't agree with something, you can simply tell your family and your friends. I think it is a marvelous idea to recommend good movies, and discourage people from seeing bad movies. I know we talked before in class about how we don't really have a choice, that all media is produced by "the man" according to [I will double check who]. But I truely believe that the best way to defeat porn movies is to have everyone in the world stop buying them. Supply and demand is real. Anyone want to take a guess at how many tape players they made this year? Most likely zero, and that is because years ago we all stopped buying them. It does not happen right away, and yes we do need everyone's help. But I believe that it is possible.