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Reading/Being:
As Such & Otherwise
We
are what we read, or rather, what we take in, and what we are
able to digest in full or in part. We are, beyond what is read,
the extent to which we read the world. Our self depends
almost entirely on our ability to make sense of information we
encounter in the course of our existence. We are the extent to
which we achieve a reading of the world that works and
fosters new beauty and new readings.
Media
literacy is implied not only by the medium itself, but by the
nature of the function of communications media in general. It
can be said that a pre-eminent expectation of journalists, editors,
producers and directors requires of viewers, readers, and consumers
a certain amount of cultural and political savvy. The extent to
which we know the truth may depend entirely upon our ability to
fulfill this expectation.
The
important question, then, is: to what extent does this implied
prerequisite dampen or modify the adaptation of truth that is
presented to us? Isn't a certain degree of media literacy required
in order to maintain an open and liberated society of individuals?
In sum, does the nature of the service provided by media imply
a service relationship where the served have an obligation to
redefine, in broad terms, the mandate for service, in essence:
to secure the proper dissemination of truth among all citizens
so that all may remain free and capable?
The
question also arises: to what extent does the dissemination of
information embody the struggle for power between official representatives
of a power structure and the People whom that structure is meant
to serve?
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