Book of the Day: Post-Election

Stare, see, take in, grasp
Comprehend, assimilate, behold your reflection

Its framing – gold plated lies
The canvas – hurting souls caught and weaved
The artist – the human dream
Incinerated, devoured, deceived

-Meshuggah, “Combustion” from Obzen

I was once convinced the band Meshuggah were afraid of robots (Cylons specifically), but I think what they’re really afraid of is the idea that people ingest what they hear and become complacent or accepting of it without questioning the source.  This election has engrossed me, and I’ve always been cognisant of the fact that I’ve watched it primarily on MSNBC.  Sometimes, I tuned into Fox, and occasionally, Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer (what a name!) would join me from CNN.

Why? Because like Meshuggah, I have to remind myself that everything I see is tinted by a point of view.  That processing what the media gives me means understanding the filters my information has been put through.  Today’s book, Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages applies to news, advertisements, print, electronic, online, on television: everything.  This book by Art Silverblatt examines the weight and influence leveraged by what we are shown, what we aren’t, and how it is presented to us. The book gives media students and enthusiasts a framework for analysis as well as a guide for specific media outlets and how to properly scrutinize sources of information.

…This doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about Cylons…