http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1167993/Australian-library-workers-uncover-original-Schindlers-list.html
Think about any war movie you watched as a kid, how REAL did it feel? Did you feel bad for the soldiers or the innocent bystanders dying? I remember as a kid, watching Schindler's List. I did not know that Liam Neeson was an actor, I did not know that all of the people in this movie were actors, I honestly thought it was real. I believed it was true, therefore it was, but it was REEL truth. The movie seems so real and I did not have enough knowledge built up or a handle for time, therefore that movie was just as real as my first day of 3rd grade where one of my classmates yacked up a bunch of cherries in class because she was nervous.
http://zeroslashj.blogspot.com/2011/02/spyro-endorsing-bastard-children-since.html
I was not media literate yet, I don't think I was media literate until late highschool to early college really. I still would watch things and have to think back and say, "this is not real life". This can pertain to video games in the same way it would a movie. Children, for instance, can play a video game and then ask a parent while dinner one night, "Can I go see Spyro after dinner?", the parents will say yes and the child will continue to think that Spyro is real.
There are however 5 concepts of Media Literacy.
1. All messages are constructions. They all have a reason for being. The creators of movies and video games want us to be engrossed in the film or game because it makes it more real and more able to relate.
2. Media messages have own creative languages and rules. Different behaviors are portrayed differently in different mediums. A newspaper will show a different light of violence than a movie will.
3. Individuals may experience the same messages differently. It's all interpretation. Different scenes in a game can mean different things to different players, even within the same raid group. This can vary among different races, genders, religions, ages, personal experiences, and even the background of the player.
4. Media have embedded values and points of view into the messages. They may project a societal view that you mimic because of Cultivation Theory. They can change the perspective on how we should act, feel or behave by changing the values in the video game characters. They can make us hate someone in the game, by skewing the messages in that way.
http://batnight768.deviantart.com/art/Mortal-Kombat-Female-Ninjas-402937557
5. Most media messages are desired to maximize profit or power. The mass media, especially the game industry, creates messages in games that will sell. Games like Mortal Kombat are created, and sequels have come out, because audiences and players like the violence and the hypersexuality involved in these types of games. Players like games like Halo and Call of Duty because it can make them feel like they are doing good, even though there are actually people in the world doing that same thing and could be shot at any moment in time of war.
To become Media Literate there are a few things you should ask yourself. So, for instance, I am playing World of Warcraft (as I often do) and I feel that I am being sucked into the REEL reality, thinking that what I am doing is for GOOD, not just to play a game.
I need to ask myself who created these messages? "Battle.net Game Developers, duh".
What techniques were used to get my attention? "Definitely graphics, the customized character to resemble me, the fact that I get to pick the kinds of professions, clothing, and weaponry that I want".
How many different people interpret this same message? "I don't think anyone interprets the same message, but definitely a message like it. I don't think people interpret it correctly, though".
http://azeroth.metblogs.com/2009/06/17/upcoming-mount-changes-and-you/
I know he doesn't seem like much, but man can he swim!
What lifestyles or points of views are featured or omitted from this message? "Sleep is definitely a huge one, there isn't much talking about how much money one has but definitely about how many mounts one has it may cause one to think they have a higher status. You see I have a handful of rare mounts that I have collected. I have played for a good year and a half now and I still have two more rare mounts (one is the turtle mount above) than my boyfriend, who has been playing for 7 years, does".
Last, but not least, why was this message sent? "To entertain. Simply to make it so that I log back in tomorrow and farm some more Motes of Harmony. Really they want more money in 6 months when I pay, so that's why they have to keep me entertained. Which for an MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) is a big job!"
So really, it takes time and practice to be truly media literate. I still find myself trapped by the "shinies" and feel like I am part of that virtual world that only lasts as long as my computer is on. But next, let's talk about the rating system of video games, ESRB ratings.
Vorderer, P., & Bryant, J. (2006). Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Group.
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