Justice grew up in the predominantly Caribbean neighborhood of East Flatbush. He noticed an overwhelming sense of homophobia in his community and journeyed out to find the reason why.
What do you like about the digital story?
I enjoyed the personal involvement in the story being told. He introduced the segment by telling us why he wanted to research this subject. He started by telling a short story about talking to a friend and a comment he made. “Why did I associate being stupid with being gay? I realized it was because of my surroundings.” He stated that he lived a Caribbean neighborhood and that he was taught that it was bad to be gay. He wanted to know if the rest of the people in his hometown felt this way and why the stereotype was so excluded in his culture. He went to regular everyday places such as the side of the street and the barber shop to get the information he was looking for. The barber made this comment when answering the question on how he feels about homophobia, ”You are mentally not there, there is something missing up stairs.” Through the different opinions of his interviewers he came up with the idea that the homophobic attitude came from their religion. The Caribbean community is closely associated with the Catholic religion, which is mostly against the idea of homosexuality, therefore creating the base for homophobia in their community. The curiosity and the drive to formulate an answer is one of the reasons why I like this story the best.
What did you learn from the digital story?
I learned that by putting a personal touch to your topic people will relate more easily and identify more directly to your feelings and opinions. The idea of going to everyday places and asking common people for their opinions really helped everyone relate to the subject of the story.
How can digital storytelling promote critical media literacy? I encourage you to Google digital storytelling and critical media literacy to answer this question.
According to the Alliance for a Media Literate America, “media literacy is seen to consist of a series of communication competencies, including the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, and COMMUNICATE.” By creating digital stories, you are more aware of the concept of how simple it is to change media to fit your certain situation. When one creates their own digital story they can promote items however they feel. If they are to use the competencies stated above then they should be able to promote critical media literacy for all to understand.
Site visited:
http://ucla.academia.edu/JeffShare/Papers/124672/Critical_Media_Literacy_is_Not_an_Option
I just love these video! They are excellent models of what students are capable of when they are engaged in a medium they are familiar with and given an opportunity to explore their identity!
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