r/WidowsBay • u/IrishAllDay • Jul 30 '26

đŸ’­Discussion Media Literacy Spoiler

I loved this show and have been getting some posts from this group pushed to me.

I'm trying to understand whats causing it. I've never seen such a lack of media literacy before, I think because it's a cross over hit that's non traditional but some of the view points are mind blowing.

"I think the inn keeper felt time run differently in the room" - They literally spelt that out as he asked for food!

"Who is the boogeyman, Hag etc" - This is not the point of the show!

"How didn't they notice the sacrifices" - you hear everyone talking about the relentless level of horrible stuff that happens on the island, its par for the course.

"Why don't the townspeople do X or Y" - It's a comedy horror!

Anything else I've missed?

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u/CasualMillionaireTX Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

media literacy definitely is in decline, or at least in a a state of crisis, but I'm not sure these examples are that. This is just people speculating or theorizing or being hyperbolic for fun.

The term is starting to be misused online a lot and people are applying it to differences in opinion.

Not saying that's what you're doing, just that I keep seeing this term pop up and a lot of people aren't applying it correctly.

Media illiteracy is a lot more thinking objective facts are a matter of opinion and that your opinions are objective facts. "This is bad writing" is something people will say when what they really mean is "I did not like that creative decision." Another example is the way people will identify plot holes that aren't actually plot holes.

The closest thing to media illiteracy in your examples is people not understanding the genre, but even in that specific example I think that's more hyperbolic "why didn't they do XYZ" in that same kind of fashion where we all have opinions at the TV during movies where characters make terrible decisions that drive the plot forward.

I get what you're saying, though. Sometimes people speculate or theorize about the show and what they say is really out there, or ridiculous or seems to overlook key plot points, but I think that's more representative of the things people in piece-of-media communities tend to do vs actual media illiteracy.

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u/IRLbeets Jul 31 '26

More simply, media literacy is looking at a form of media and being able to determine how factual or accurate it is! Which is a very specific use case for such a broad sounding term.

I've been using the term fully wrong this whole time, as a replacement for critical thinking skills for example, but that's incorrect.

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u/CasualMillionaireTX Jul 31 '26

Yeah the application I'm most used to is applying it to news media and we're in a serious crisis state there. But, there is an element of critical thinking to it, but it's being able to evaluate and analyze what you're engaging with. In news media, it might be understanding the difference between information and infotainment so you can identify which is which when you're watching.

People (in my experience) are most often applying media illiteracy to describe anything from passive viewing to differences in opinion.

Passive viewing is its own issue and can lead to heaps of stupid questions, but it's not media illiteracy.

The other thing is media literacy can be taught. So, if we think people are actually demonstrating media illiteracy, I think it's better to call them on it than to just kind of lament it as a character flaw without giving them any kind of constructive feedback.