Undermining a Powerful Medium

 “Literacy leads to logical, analytical, critical, and rational thinking, general and abstract uses of language, skeptical and questioning attitudes…”[Gee 50]. Those seeking to maintain control will always interfere in with literacy to avoid the outcomes Gee mentions above. A great example of this is the introduction of the term “conspiracy theorist”. Invented by the CIA after the Kennedy assassination to discredit anyone that questioned the official story.  Subtle manipulations like this have only be emboldened by the increase in connective technology. The mediums of radio and television allow messages to spread across the globe instantaneously, and to millions of people at once. This makes the content of any message spread powerful. One might think that with this power we would spread knowledge and love. Unfortunately this power is used to spread terror and hate.

In the modern world simple literacy is freely given, so that propaganda can be effectively used. “The effects of technology do not occur at the level of opinions or concepts, but alter sense ratios or patterns of perception steadily and  without  any  resistance.  The  serious artist  is  the  only  person  able  to  encounter technology  with  impunity,  just  because he is an expert aware of the changes in sense perception.”[McCluhan 9]. By this principle the message is not loud and clear, but subtly reinforced at every opportunity. Our perceptions are molded, so that we believe that what our nation does is good, and that evil is constantly at our door step. 

As we see in this CNN article the medium is focused on the joys brought to the girl by the western world, there is no attempt to address that there is still an ongoing issue of literacy and education for girls in developing nations. Mala fights the medium that tries to propagandize her, by always being on message whenever there is a camera on her. In its own way this is a form of literacy practice demonstrating that she has excellent critical literacy that allows her to undermine the medium and promote here message