Seeping Through the Medium

Literacy has always been used to divide people. As literary technology has changed over time the way in which it divides people has changed. Initially it was the denial of literacy that made people ignorant. Now literacy is used to increase ignorance. All of this requires us as literary participants to think critically about all of the media we consume. Not only the message, but also the character of the media. The more simply, and critical literacy are spread the more we will grow as a global community.

Malala’s work is proof that literacy narratives can change the world. Spreading both simple and critical literacy still has a long way to go. As technology has interconnected the globe, literacy practices have interconnected with the technology. This has opened up vast new platforms on which both simple and critical literacy can be spread.

However this has also allowed those that wish to suppress literacy to simply crank out more filth. a stream of content on a medium with no message, or worse a message meant to deceive. As literary practitioners we must not be discouraged by the misuse of powerful mediums. Instead we must endeavor to create literacy narratives that permeate the powerful mediums by the power of their message, much in the same way Malala has demonstrated.