Stepping on the train at Expo and Crenshaw I had a slight unease about what this program would have in store for me. I was excited for the weeks to come like one would be excited to ride a new ride at Six Flags, which is to say I had no idea what would be in store for me. This Monday, I had a general interest in communication and journalism with little experience and little knowledge of how that would influence my life. Once I entered the room for the first time I was struck by a feeling of belonging. I looked around and saw other students who, like me, were fascinated by communication and journalism. Later that day, Megan Tellis asked the group, “What are you passionate about?” My classmates’ answers varied, ranging from becoming a journalist to pursuing a career in film to even just talking and that is when I learned my first lesson of this program. Communication is not just found in one form of media. Instead, it is the foundation that is intrinsically woven into every piece of media we choose to create, consume, and engage with. That is why it’s so important for me to be here.
I, along with many others who are reading this post, consume media every day. These pieces of media, from my favorite new book to the latest show I am binging, or even an ad that plays during a commercial break, all have the ability to influence my beliefs through the messages that they communicate. According to “Communication Mosaics: An Introduction to the Field of Communication” by Wood, J.T., as children, our first introduction to our identity is through being told what we are by others. This is illustrated in the link between children who are deprived of interaction with others and their lack of identity as a result. This means that from a young age, we base our identity on what is communicated to us by others. While growing up, we are able to have more agency on our own identities, we are still constantly being communicated to by others, and those messages can shape our inner thinking.
When I was younger, my favorite show was “Doc McStuffins”. While I didn’t realize it at the time, my love for the show did not just stem from the bright colors and exciting adventures, but also the fact that I saw myself represented on the screen by a smart, young, imaginative black girl. As a consumer, I think it is easy to fail to recognize how the representation we see plays a role in shaping our opinions, but thinking back on past experiences I can confidently say that representation matters. According to “Representation and Missed Representation” by Jimmetka Anderson, representation is the relationship between language and how it’s used to portray people, places, and things. It can reinforce harmful stereotypes about marginalized groups or represent those same groups in a way that shines light on and celebrates those people.
As a creator, I will use these ideas as pillars to ensure that I am creating ethical media. Through my first week at AYA and taking this class with Prof. Rogelio I have learned to always stay critical of the media that you consume as well as create. As a creator, I will be intentional about the messages that I am conveying and how they may be decoded. I will ensure that the values embedded in my media are clear and respectful. I will represent groups in a way that is true to them and without stereotypes so that my media will be liberating. Most importantly, I will work to embed my media with representation so that little girls out there will feel like I did when I would begin an episode of Doc McStuffins.
After this week, I can confidently say that I am enjoying my studies of communication and civic engagement and while I’m still not entirely sure what it all means and what my purpose is, I am that much closer to finding it.
Communicating Change 