Media Literacy

Community Contributed

By Alestra Menendez

Media is a means of communication. The exciting thing about media in the 21st century is that it is the hands of the beholder, as opposed to being transmitted by few to the masses, as is the case with traditional news, television and radio. This is especially important for today’s tech savvy youth, and on Molokai, the Molokai Art and Media Academy is guiding youth to analyze, evaluate and yes, create their own media.

From Oct. 1 to 5, the organization is holding a Media Literacy Academy for youth ages 13 to 18 during the fall school intersession. Participants will create YouTube and Maui Tube videos, post blogs, tweets, and photos. As with all education, it takes a village, and the Molokai Arts and Media Academy will join forces with Akaku Molokai Media Center as well as the Molokai Arts Center, to offer the five-day academy from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Through access to You Tube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or other social media, we can instantaneously broadcast our ideas through the written word, still images or video. Depending upon the individual, we may communicate with a few dozen friends or followers, or to an audience of millions.

Naom Chomsky said, “Public opinion can be influential, the media can be influential.” The public has a great deal of influence, and this is particularly true today when the public is media literate. A media literate person understands that media messages are constructed and economically, socially, politically and aesthetically contextualized. They also understand that the unique language of any media, be it a blog, tweet or video, serves to communicate to an audience. Ultimately, the representations of media serve to shape an understanding of our social reality. That’s the goal of the Molokai Art and Media Academy.

For more information on the fall academy, contact molokaiartandmediaacademy@gmail.com or call (808)646-0340.