Grace's Interview

Ethnography is defined in The Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the study of human races and cultures.” Upon completing the Media Literacy: Concepts & Controversies graduate course at Sacred Heart University, I am starting to understand the importance of this term. I am recognizing the importance of receiving real information from people, rather than placing our own beliefs on them. It seems contradictory to form opinions about the thoughts of others without knowing how people truly think. With that being said, I interviewed a nineteen year old undergraduate student named Grace. I asked her questions about topics such as the importance of media in her life, why she engages with media, how she believes media affects her, and if she believes that media is political in nature. Although I found Grace’s responses to my questions intriguing, I am now curious about interviewing a large group of people in the future and pioneering my own ethnography. As an art teacher in a K-8 public school, I can see myself interviewing my seventh graders about media in the near future, especially because the school is termed ‘International’ which means there is an extremely diverse group of children.

The first question I asked Grace was, “How important is media in your life?” She explained that media is very important to her and that on a scale of 1-5 she would say around 4. She uses numerous forms of media including video games, Youtube, Netflix, Xbox, Tumblr, and Google, as well as her iPhone and her MacBook computer. She believes media is good for us and this reveals that Grace clearly feels strongly about media. The point here is not to subtly suggest that media is bad, but to point out that Grace is what I would consider, a heavy user and viewer of media.

One topic I would like to talk about is “The Economics of the Media Industry,” which is also the title of an article by David P. Croteau, William D. Hoynes, and Stefania Milan. First of all, when I asked Grace “How many corporations do you think own mass media in The United States?” She replied, “I would guess a few hundred.” The article reveals, “five global firms dominate the mass media industry in The United States, operating like a cartel” (28). It goes on to reveal “This gives each of the five corporations and their leaders more communication power than was exercised by any despot or dictatorship in history” (Bagdikian 2004:3) (28). I don’t think Grace is strange for thinking that several hundred corporations own the mass media in our country because it seems unimaginable for there to only be five. The question here is, how many people would stop working for these corporations, by consuming mainstream media, if they knew that only five corporations were in charge?

This reality of conglomeration means that large corporations are consuming media companies, even though they own companies in separate business operations as well (30). So, what is the motive behind this conglomeration? The answer is less competition, which means more profit. How do we limit the conglomerations from being too powerful? Whether this is possible or not, how do we limit the affects on society? Media literacy is commonly defined as “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication” (NAMLE). Clearly, media literacy education, which I am learning about through my graduate program, is seemingly the only way to help the citizens of our youth to understand the enormity of these issues. I say this because it is the first time I have ever thought about it, just like my nineteen year old interviewee, Grace.

Another important topic I am going to discuss is “The Age of Hyper-commercialism,” which is also the title of Robert W. McChesney’s article about the rise of advertising and its implications in the media industry. “Although advertising is nearly synonymous with contemporary media, it developed as a particular response to a specific economic problem: how to allocate goods and services effectively in a profit-driven economy typified by oligopolistic markets” (139). Here McChesney is recognizing that profit is the only reason advertising was invented. When I asked Grace “Do you think you are affected by advertising? Why or why not?” Her response was, “Yes. It alerts me to whatever they’re advertising and if I think it’s a good product I’ll buy it.” Although this is only one person’s thoughts, it exemplifies the simple yet complex affects advertising has on us. I know I have been affected by advertising and so have many people in my life. It takes merely seconds to view an ad and a lifetime to accumulate some of the possessions that are shown to us on a daily basis. So, why does advertising have such an affect on us?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines aesthetics as “appreciative of, responsive to, or zealous about the beautiful.” Herbert Zettl’s “Contextual Media Aesthetics as the Basis for Media Literacy” outlines many ways media literacy is connected to aesthetics. One factor I want to discuss is about aesthetics and ‘how we perceive them and how they affect us’ (81). Zettl says, “Whatever we perceive, we perceive in some environment and make perceptual judgments by comparing one thing to another” (86). With that being said, “Because light, color, and sound have a tendency to bypass our rational faculties and penetrate directly to our emotional sphere, they play a big role in setting associate context” (86). When I asked my interviewee Grace “Do you ever use media as an escape from reality?” Referring to video games, she responded, “I do. It feels like an escape from reality because when you’re in a world that seems fantastical and different and not real, you can pretend its real for a second and it makes you feel empowered and invisible because it makes you feel a part of that dream world. There aren’t really any heavy consequences and you can always re-start. Its exciting to live a different life in a way.” I was surprised to find out Grace is a heavy video gamer because I know her as a highly education-oriented undergraduate student, but that goes to show that everyone is affected by aesthetics and their allure. Zettl explains this idea well by saying, “Going against the established context is almost as hard as nodding your head affirmatively while uttering no, or shaking you head sideways while saying yes” (88). So, how do we combat these effects and limit excess consumption in society?

After interviewing someone under the age of twenty one, it is obvious that even one person can represent the way we are all affected by different forms of media as a society. In order to limit medias affects on us, it is important to understand key issues such as economics, advertising, and aesthetics. Through understanding, we can strive to promote ethical media usage. I think that in order for this change to happen, there has to be a culture shift instead of the consistent making of an idea. This culture shift can’t happen until society is informed about how media is affecting our lives. Perhaps one day media scholars and students of media literacy can work together to raise enough awareness to cause this shift. In the meantime, lets continue learning about these topics so we know how to recognize right from wrong starting with ourselves.

Croteau, David P., and Stefania Milan. “The Economics of The Media Industry.”Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences (2011). , pp. 28–38.

McChesney, Robert W. “The Age of Hyper-Commercialism.” The Rise of Advertising, pp. 138–174.

Zettl, Herbert. “Contextual Media Aesthetics as the Basis for Media Literacy.” Journal of Communication, vol. 48, no. 1, Jan. 1998, pp. 81–95., doi:10.1093/joc/48.1.81.

Morgenthaler, Ph.D. Deirdre J., et al. “National Association for Media Literacy Education.”National Association for Media Literacy Education, namle.net/.