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Week 3 Representations & Resistance: Challenging Representations / Post-Colonial Theory Making

One aspect of this week’s class and readings discussed how mainstream media can often depict false, stereotypical or one-sided representations of people or communities. It is important to create democratic spaces for the public and youth to question, discuss and critique the messages these mediums of communication are producing. It is also vital to question the reasoning behind these representations and narratives and to resist them by creating new and more truthful messages.

In the article titled Popular Media, Education and Resistance, Stack and Kelly state that “Children and youth spend more time with media than any other institution, including schools” (6). Therefore the media can be compared to a kind of educator, portraying or teaching sometimes negative or positive subject matter (6). Consequently, children and youth are at risk of being exposed to damaging and often sexist, racist, or stereotypical representations of people if left unquestioned. For example, the documentary the Real Injun demonstrated how Western film portrayed Indigenous communities and individuals most often in a damaging, one dimensional way for decades and still to this day. Currently, Indigenous film makers and activists are resisting this and creating more authentic and diverse examples of who they are and how they live. Many Western genre films, especially after “Stage Coach”, which many films were modeled after portrayed Cowboy and Indian stories. The “Indian” was depicted as the antagonist and an uncivilized savage and the white cowboy as the brave hero. Looking at the film from a post- colonial lens, Indigenous communities and individuals have been grouped into one category through modes of media such as film. This is a form of colonisation itself. Our class discussion and the documentary confirmed that this grouping is robbing these communities of their unique and diverse culture by portraying them one way.

Kelly and Stack assert that “Democracy and education is in danger, because of the fact that the widespread media is pervasive and is owned by only a few people and thus it is hard to hold people accountable for the public good and to promote democracy and wide informed views (as meaningful participation in meaning making)” (9). The media is more pervasive, and accessible then ever, and because only a small number of corporations and elite have control of these institutions and what is expressed, often for the sake of profit, there needs to be more opportunities for discussion, critique and public participation in the media. This is essential so that diverse communities that exist today are represented fairly and are active participants in their lives and popular media and culture today.

Stack, M., & Kelley, D.M. (2006). Popular media, education, and resistance. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(1), 5-26.

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