Overview

Mass media—television, radio, print advertising, newspapers, movies, music, and the Internet—can greatly influence people's behaviors and beliefs. Some forms of media have positive influences, enabling you to learn new skills or to explore new ideas and opportunities. However, some forms of media can mislead, confuse, or even endanger you. The best solution is to learn how to evaluate and analyze the media messages you see and hear.

Before you can successfully analyze media messages, you should become familiar with the techniques used to carefully create these distinct messages. For example, artists, photographers, cartoonists, and designers use elements of visual design (line, shape, and color) and composition (the arrangement of visual elements) to influence and manipulate your reactions. In a similar manner, filmmakers edit and employ camera angles and shots, lighting, special effects, and music to elicit desired responses. Political cartoonists use exaggeration, irony, or satire to send their visual messages. Exaggeration is defined as "drawing something bigger or greater than it would normally be, causing it to have larger-than-life effects on other objects or people." When irony is employed, an unexpected or unusual outcome is provided. Satire—poking fun at a person, event, or situation—is the most common humorous element in political cartoon.

Advertisements and commercials are produced using unique techniques to persuade audiences to buy a product, use a service, or agree with a particular point of view. For example, the "bandwagon" technique uses visual images or carefully chosen words to show that "all popular, attractive, well-liked people" use this product; celebrity endorsements show a popular television or movie star, athlete, or musician using a certain product.

Once you understand the techniques utilized by media message producers, you can begin to analyze these messages, drawing on your own knowledge and asking a few common-sense questions: What do I already know about this subject? What techniques are used to persuade the audience, Is this message fair or unfair? Is it based on reality or fantasy? Is the message based on facts or opinions? What additional sources might I use to find other viewpoints that I can trust on this subject?

Another way to increase your understanding of media messages is to produce your own media messages. To create a political cartoon, brainstorm, identify your purpose and message, identify your audience, decide whether to use words, make layout sketches, make you final copy, and publish your cartoon. Or try creating a scene from a television drama: build a production team (director, source advisor, scriptwriter, organizer and layout expert, set and props captain, actors, lighting expert, video operator, and music arranger), find your source (for example, a short story), work cooperatively to plan the scene, rehearse, shoot, and present your scene.