<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ve been wondering\u2013what makes media literacy such a powerful and tricky practice?\n<\/p>\n
\nThat\u2019s when I realized that being media literate involves a whole lot of nothing. Literally, no thing. I don\u2019t mean in a Buddhist \u201cEverything is no thing\u201d kind of way. (I wouldn\u2019t go from zero to zen on our first blog trip together.) It\u2019s that reading media messages requires noticing what\u2019s not the thing we\u2019re supposed to be noticing. What are you not seeing, hearing, reading? Who\u2019s been left out? Or at least pushed to the sidelines? It\u2019s much like the concept of negative space in art which… [is] \u201cthe area around the primary objects in a work of art is known…, while the space occupied by the primary objects is known as positive space\u201d [Getty Museum].\n<\/p>\n
\nIn this iconic 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson presidential campaign commercial, the camera is trained on a little girl counting the petals of a daisy she\u2019s plucking. The negative space here is the sky around her head, possibly also the trees and flowers. Since the girl takes up much of the positive space, she\u2019s more important than anything else in the frame. Now if we go a step further in identifying the negative space, we could say it includes adults, the city, all that isn\u2019t children or nature. Take that one step further and consider what children and nature mean: purity, innocence, goodness, that which we want to protect.\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/littlegirl.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\nStill from the 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign ‘daisy ad,’ created by Tony Schwartz<\/small>
\n<\/center>\n<\/p>\n
\nSo what is not in the picture increases the importance, and the value, of what is in the picture. Once she\u2019s counted to ten (not exactly in order, but she\u2019s multi-tasking so we\u2019ll cut her some slack), a male voice begins an eerily familiar countdown. The camera zooms into the girl\u2019s eye and dissolves into the harrowing silhouette of a mushroom cloud. While the explosion is the primary object in that frame, it\u2019s contrasted with the primary object first established\u2013the simple sweetness of a little girl in a field of daisies, the picture of innocence, peace, hope. Even without the soundbites of Lyndon B. Johnson and narration giving the political context, the message is clear. Daisy girl, and those who prioritize her: good; atom bomb, and the threat of nuclear war: way bad.\n<\/p>\n
\nIn a mass media universe, the primary objects tend to be the people, ideas and practices that align with the dominant culture. In this case, a little white girl picking daisies illustrates purity and innocence. Now, what if this little girl was black? Or in a wheelchair? Would we only think \u201cinnocent\u201d or would we also think \u201cpoor\u201d or \u201chelpless?\u201d And how might that influence the impact of the message?\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd whereas in artistic terms, the \u201cnegative\u201d in \u201cnegative space\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean derogatory, in a mass media context, by repeatedly making someone or something missing or secondary, we convey that the person or thing is less valuable, less desirable, or just doesn\u2019t belong.\n<\/p>\n
\nUntil we acknowledge what\u2019s missing in the messages and images we encounter every day, those people, ideas and practices will remain invisible and less than. The result? Those who are unrepresented must work harder to become empowered to take up space in their own lives and communities….\n<\/p>\n
\nSo perhaps the first step is in our imaginations, and in our willingness to put on media-literate goggles and ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s the primary object here? Why should that occupy the \u2018positive\u2019 as opposed to the \u2018negative\u2019 space? What makes it more important than what\u2019s left out or secondary?\u201d It\u2019s when we start asking these questions that we liberate our minds. By questioning what\u2019s given, considering whether we agree or disagree, deciding whether these values support the world we desire, or help us wake up to what\u2019s important, we can imagine alternatives that don\u2019t yet exist. We can find the inspiration and the courage to take action in some way: to voice dissent, demand different versions of our world than what we see in the media, become more empowered members in our communities.\n<\/p>\n
\nAngela Martenez is a non-fiction writer, documentary maker and community mediator. Follow her on Twitter: @AngelaMartenez<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWhether we look at pre-war photos of Jews deported to Auschwitz, or photos of others who need help, it is important to \u2018see\u2019 not only what is being highlighted, but also what is not being shown. In the work of EYES FROM THE ASHES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, and in my seminars, exhibitions and speeches, I\u2019ve tried to give the most human view of this most inhuman of histories. It is with this perspective of imagining and working toward a different, and more just, world, that we help others — especially those who reside in the absences, in the \u2018negative unseen spaces\u2019– to become more visible, more empowered, more seen, as we together create a world where justice prevails.\n<\/p>\n
\nHere\u2019s to good things in your life, and to hope of creating more,\n<\/p>\n
\nAnn Weiss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I want to introduce you to an article that, on the surface, may seem an odd choice to highlight here. However, before excerpting these few paragraphs, let me explain: The media giant whose famous \u201964 Daisy ad is cited as a primary example–Tony Schwartz–was my mentor in grad school. And it was from him that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fromann","category-previous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1726,"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions\/1726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelastalbum.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}