The Hashtag Bowl: Media Literacy Opportunities (Pt 2)

Jan. 30, 2015 Whether it’s using hit movies like Frozen as an icebreaker to talk about social shunning, bullying, social emotional tough stuff or Super Bowl ads as learning tools to ferret out what’s REALLY being said, sold, packaged, and presented at every age and stage, Shaping Youth is all about leveraging pop culture touch points as ‘teachable moments’ to instill critical … [Read more...]

Homework? Super Bowl Ads and Media Literacy

January 27, 2015 After updating prior Super Bowl posts about the persuasion, impact, influence, and latest trends in Super Bowl Ads, (including this new NFL PSA against domestic violence) it's imperative to also call out the "repeat offenders"...corporations that consistently produce toxic imagery and narratives in spite of criticism to elicit brand change.Two standouts are … [Read more...]

Love Is Respect: Teen Texting Tools Aim To Dial Down Dating Abuse

Feb. 2, 2015 Update February marks the beginning of "Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month" and given the powerful PSA from "No More" on domestic violence in the Super Bowl yesterday that I wrote about extensively, I thought I'd add my own 'PSA reminder' that roots to unhealthy relationships can seed themselves early on, and diff forms of abuse definitely happen to TEENS.Please … [Read more...]

The Bro Code: Media, Masculinity & Misogynistic Misfires

Update Sept 3, 2015 From the maker of The Bro Code and Generation M, Thomas Keith announces his newest film trailer via Media Education Foundation titled, "The Empathy Gap: Masculinity and the Courage to Change." Looks like MEF now has streaming options for screening too...Would love to see this topic get some traction. Sept. 29, 2011 Last night, watching a tender adolescent … [Read more...]

Vamp Tramp Toys: A Monster Problem

Mar. 16, 2011 Show and tell time on this  Wordless Wednesday. Not going to give them the pleasure of naming names here to add to their search engine buzz, since  research has shown that one of mega-marketer's favorite ploys is now baiting parents for "outrage" ...(yes, there are even strategic microsites like "your mom hates this" to serve as catnip for older kids, sigh, … [Read more...]