Project Media Literacy to teach young people on critiquing messages of the media

A housewife installs a Glade plug-in in her living room. A mob of young girls, entranced by the aroma of Axe body spray, chases a scruffy boy down the street.

These popular commercial images have significant effects on adolescents, and Project Media Literacy is a new student group that aims to teach middle school students about them.

The group was inspired by communication studies Professor Francis Steen’s class on decoding media strategies.

“Racial and gender profiling are usually covered up by humor or racy images, offering a skewed perception of reality,” said Nilufar Boloorchi, Project Media Literacy co-founder and fourth-year communication studies student.

The group focuses on teaching kids how to critique and analyze what media present them, because kids are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of media, said Michelle Casale, Project Media Literacy co-founder and third-year communication studies student.

With increasing advances in technology, information is now being constructed and read in whole new ways, whether consciously or subliminally, she said, citing the example of cleaning commercials gender profiling by solely featuring women in the household.

“We’re trying to start early and teach students at a young age to develop an awareness of these new media forums and their impact on self-identity in the context of their social world,” Casale said.

“The TV and Internet are essentially used to form identity. More and more, the TV ends up raising the kid,” Boloorchi added.

While college campuses attempt to restructure their curriculum to catch up with technology, middle and elementary schools lack the resources and funds.

Despite its pervasive influence, media representations of self and society are not conventionally discussed in an educational setting, Casale said.

“Middle schools and high schools do not generally teach their students about media literacy. Some parents and adults still passively engage with media. I started learning to consciously read and interpret media messages last year in the classroom. I probably could have used the training 10 years ago, though,” Casale said.

The group hopes to change the national curriculum to include teaching young students how to critically read various mass media.

The curriculum is scheduled to be taught twice a week at local Los Angeles middle schools. The group plans on implementing the curriculum during winter quarter in 2010 and is currently looking for UCLA student volunteers.

While Project Media Literacy offers an opportunity for education to catch up with technology at the adolescent level, it is also reshaping the idea of communication studies at UCLA.

The communication studies major doesn’t have many opportunities for community outreach, Casale said.

“There are a lot of great professional opportunities, but there are also a lot of different aspects of media, like literacy, that should be addressed,” Boloorchi added.

The group hopes to expand the interests of the communication studies student population to allow for more philanthropic projects. The group offers the opportunity for educational outreach, attracting more diversity within the major, Casale added.

Project Media Literacy offers the opportunity for young students to be active in their entertainment.

“We want to give people more control and awareness when it comes to reading mass media forums,” Boloorchi said.

Although critical of the media, Project Media Literacy does not seek to denounce mass media practices.

“We’re not anti-mass media at all. We’re here to teach a responsible knowing of how to interpret what you see,” Casale said.

An informational meeting for the group will be held Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. in front of the Bruin Bear.