Media Studies is a touchy subject. When I sat in a movie theatre once to watch a free preview of The Prince of Egypt, just being there produced discom­fort. From youth, I had learned that a theatre is not the place to be. Who knows what other wickedness was shown on that screen at other hours? If seen, was I sending a message that it was OK to be there, that movies were OK as a medium, and that their message could be accepted along with the medium? Seeking to still my discomfort, I asked someone who appeared knowledgeable what the movie's message was. None, he said; it's just en­tertainment. I was not convinced; vaguely, perhaps, be­cause of Marshall McLuhan's notion that "the medium is the message." Wikipedia explains this as meaning "that the form of a medium (an animation) embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived." Thus, the animation influenced my understanding of the Book of Exodus, rather than letting Scripture interpret Scripture. I was in trouble, but soothed my conscience thinking that 1) I had a free ticket, 2) I knew the Bible, and 3) I would write an article recommending people not to go and see it. Despite my ad­vice (and probably because I just missed Clarion's dead­line), the movie did well: It grossed nearly $220 million worldwide in theatres. Media Studies in school explores (and, in many contexts, celebrates) challenges (and op­portunities) in this area.

Definitions and Issues⤒🔗

Media Studies or Media Literacy is an integral part of the Ontario curriculum. The Ministry of Education Language document speaks of students learning to con­struct meaning through the media languages of images, sounds, graphics, and words; exploring the impact and influence of mass media and popular culture by examin­ing media texts such as films, songs, video games, action figures, advertisements, CD covers, clothing, billboards, television shows, magazines, newspapers, photographs, and websites; differentiating between fact and opinion; evaluating the credibility of sources and recognizing bias; and being attuned to discriminatory portrayals of specific individuals and groups (such as women and min­orities). Gasp. That's quite a mouthful.

It's not without issues, either. Are students con­structing meaning? To help wrap their brain around part of reality would be OK, but might they also need a norm to distinguish between that reality's wisdom and folly? If schools are to explore the impact and influence of mass media and popular culture in a host of media texts, how much time would that take, is that the school's task, and aren't there better things for the equipping Hebrews 13:20-22 speaks of? It reads:

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

We can embrace the notion of developing abilities in differentiating and evaluating bias, as 1 John 4:1 en­courages us to test the spirits, but whence the politically correct attunement to specific discriminatory portray­als of women and minorities? Media Studies also wants students to develop skills through opportunities to view, analyze, and discuss a wide variety, and opportunities to create different types of media texts. It is not only a mouthful and without issues, but a tall order as well.

Jane Tallim, Co-Executive Director of Media Aware­ness Network presents a simpler definition of Media Lit­eracy. To her, it is "the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. It is the ability to bring critical thinking skills to bear on all media." It seems to cover the same ground, as it implies making sense of reality (constructing meaning), developing skills, and discernment (critical thinking).

Issues remain, however. In her Media Edu­cation: Make it Happen (www.mediaeducation-week.ca/en/101_download.htm), she gives a glimpse of the critical thinking she has in mind. Among others, she advises to keep things positive ("Playing on negative themes will be counterproductive to helping students develop critical thinking") and not to moralize ("Kids will reject messages if they are being preached to instead of being empowered to reach their own conclusions"). However, sometimes things aren't positive, and sometimes moral norms must be stated.

The same elements of developing skills, critical thinking, and constructing meaning are present in other approaches to Media Literacy, such as in the postmodern Media Triangle of Eddie Dick of the Scottish Film Coun­cil. It intends to guide the deconstruction and analysis of media texts through three aspects: The text, the audi­ence, and the producer. Each of these three aspects holds or reflects beliefs, values, rules, or assumptions about reality, and the three aspects together generate mean­ing. This particular application shows questions that may help junior students discuss and analyze a media text (say, The Prince of Egypt, or a cereal box) for its values, beliefs, rules, and assumptions and then try to find use­ful meaning in it for themselves. Our postmodern context holds that beliefs, values, and meanings can legitimately vary, and that there is no absolute standard: Something may be valid or true for you, but it is up for discussion to see whether it is also true for me. However, submit­ting the construction of meaning to the moral standard of Scripture is to acknowledge that this is God's world, which may generate tension with Tallim's advice to keep it positive and not to moralize. With this addition, the triangle can help develop a discerning Christian attitude, and a search for godly actions or decisions.

In short, Media Studies activities include watching, listening, reflecting, writing, organizing ideas, express­ing opinions, engaging socially and politically, and de­veloping critical thinking in the context of media. The latter should include an evaluation for wisdom or folly with a firm moral yardstick.

Merits←⤒🔗

Developing critical thinking is central to Media Literacy. This also lies at the core of the unity of purpose between home, church, and school: We strive to develop the talents of the students so that they acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for a life of responsible Christian stewardship. Such stewardship requires discernment and action. Solomon prayed for a discerning heart (1 Kings 3:9) and connected sound judgement and discernment to life (Proverbs 3:21-22); the Psalmist sought discernment to understand God's stat­utes (Psalm 119:125); Paul spoke of spiritual discernment and having the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:13-15), of be­ing filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:9-11), and of seeking and practicing whatever is excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8-9). The consideration of what Media Studies may entail in this light helps to more consciously develop such discern­ment, mindset, basis, and encouragement for action and students may also be better equipped to make godly choices for media consumption.

Elsewhere, Jane Tallim offers Ten Good Reasons for Teaching Media Education. Some of these are valid and have merit, with or without some modification. It encour­ages young people to question, evaluate, understand, and appreciate their multimedia culture, teaching them to become active, discriminating media consumers and users; it prepares students for a workforce that increas­ingly demands the use of sophisticated means of com­munication; it helps young people to see themselves as active citizens and potential contributors to public debate (ARPA..., ks); and it helps children critique media rep­resentation, teaching them to distinguish between real­ity and fantasy, and between media and real-life roles and expectations (and between wisdom and folly, ks). Finally, in the area of information technology, it assists children in developing critical thinking skills, strategies for optimizing Internet searches, evaluating and authen­ticating information, and examining issues of plagiarism and copyright.

Demerits?←⤒🔗

On some elements, Tallim's merits should at least be questioned. She celebrates that Media Studies is good bringing the world into the classroom as a perfect bridge for subject integration because of its "immediacy and rel­evance to traditional subjects." However, teachers should not do so willy-nilly; they should conscientiously screen any media for suitability before sharing them with the class. It is great that Media Studies supports Multiple In­telligences and promotes analysis and management of in­formation, but what if notions of current pedagogy and student-centred learning become the justifying context of the choices the teacher would make? The fact that some­thing can be done does not by itself justify that it is done; and while it is sound to start teaching kids where they are at, this cannot by itself justify indiscriminately bringing current youth culture into the classroom. Minimally, we should apply the brakes here.

The direction in the Ontario Ministry's curricula for Media Studies should make us raise questions as well. It has defined the parental role as that of "important part­ners" in education, and increasingly tends to present itself as the primary partner. Our schools have a limited and serving role to help the parents in their primary role as educators. Government expectations could upset the prop­er balance between home and school, and even undermine the unity of purpose between home, church, and school – for instance if the school fails to guard the media it intro­duces, to define sin as the root cause of discrimination, or to acknowledge that parents make different choices about when children must turn the TV off, choose what music to listen to or what movie to watch, and what Internet sites (not) to go to. Aside from principle-setting Sunday preach­ing, it may be better for the school to identify the issues to the parents and facilitate a forum (like a PTA meeting) in which this can be explored together.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

In conclusion, several of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes Media Studies presents can be taught as inci­dental and purposeful aspects of lessons across the cur­riculum. Some schools may choose to put Media Studies as a separate subject on the curriculum, while others will keep it integrated in other subject areas. Either way, the development of Christian discernment can be facilitated. This can be done by consciously discussing media texts with reference to the Media Triangle or other models – as long as the moral check with Scripture is fully integrated. The school should not take a lead role in telling parents what to do or what standards to set for their children's media exposure, either directly or through their children – but it is clear that our communities do well to give this some careful thought. Are we and our children sufficient­ly armed with the armour of God to handle the message of the media – as McLuhan suggested elsewhere?