The following key concepts are central principles of media literacy. All messages are constructions. Awareness of the choices involved in the making of media violence sensitizes viewers to the subtle shaping forces at work in the choice of hero, conflict, resolution, and consequences depicted. Each form of communication has unique characteristics. Violence on television news is different from violence described in newspapers, and the impact of violent music lyrics is different from the violence in popular film.
Individuals make unique interpretations of media messages.
A violent scene on television will mean different things to each individual, depending on the age, race, religion, ethnicity, personal experiences, attitudes and background of the viewer. Messages are representations of the world. Messages have economic purposes. The purpose of mass media is to sell audiences to advertisers, and violence is a predictable way to guarantee a large audience. In analyzing media messages, it is important to create a classroom climate where students are encouraged to carefully examine media messages and to take note of the language, images, and sequence of elements which were used in their construction.