More Oscar, less grouch

Will the recession depreciate Oscar gold? Promises of a leaner, more entertaining Academy Awards ceremony have come to be as reliable as the first robin of Spring, but viewership continues to fall. Each year something new is tried to shake things up, in this case giving the actor Hugh Jackman the hosting duties. This is a role traditionally given to comedians, with the idea that there would be no conflict of interest as they were unlikely to be nominated for any awards. (Long-time host Bob Hope made a joke of this, saying that at his house they referred to the award ceremony as “Passover”; more recently the role has often been given to talk-show hosts such as Jon Stewart or Ellen DeGeneres.) The decision to give the job to Jackman was no doubt made in hopes of luring back female viewers, who have always been the event's core audience.

Bending air, race and gender

What colour is an Airbender? If this question is not at the top of your mind, it's because you haven't been following the controversy surrounding the casting of the film The Last Airbender, set to premiere in early July. The question of ethnicity in the film's casting casts a valuable light on many of Hollywood's decisions when it comes to race and gender – and the attitudes and assumptions that underlie them.

The Privacy Dilemma: Balancing Privacy and Online Life

It's been widely said that attention is the currency of the 21st Century. In an age where media occupy an increasingly central role in our lives, the need to have that media focused on you becomes intense. For no-one is this more true than for children and teens, who now expect to be connected twenty-four hours a day and for whom the Internet and cell phones are essential parts of their social lives. An interesting Facebook page, amusing Tweets, outrageous YouTube videos, even shocking photos sent by cell phone -- most of us are aware of the ways that young people seek their peers' attention. In today's media environment, is it still possible to teach young people the value of privacy? What, indeed, does the idea of privacy even mean to today's children and teens?

Marketing and Consumerism - Special Issues for Tweens and Teens

One of the most important recent developments in advertising to kids has been the defining of a "tween" market (ages 8 to 12).

CIRA partners with MediaSmarts on new research into the digital lives of Canadian youth

OTTAWA, April 10, 2019 – The partnership supports pioneering research into the digital lives of Canadian families

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is pledging its support for the next phase of a unique, multi-year research project that investigates the online behaviours of Canadian youth. This platinum sponsorship of $82,600 is CIRA’s latest in support of national not-for-profit organization MediaSmarts, Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy.

Young Canadians Pushing Back Against Hate Online

MediaSmarts conducted a survey of 1,000 youth ages 12 to 16 years old to better understand their attitudes and experiences with casual prejudice online; specifically, the motivations and external factors that influence their decisions whether or not to intervene. Study results uncover that youth experiences with online casual prejudice are common yet many youth do not respond because they don’t know what to do to make a difference. This research is a call for more effective interventions that will prepare, engage, and empower youth to push back against hate online.

Young Canadians Pushing Back Against Hate Online

MediaSmarts conducted a survey of 1,000 youth ages 12 to 16 years old to better understand their attitudes and experiences with casual prejudice online; specifically, the motivations and external factors that influence their decisions whether or not to intervene. Study results uncover that youth experiences with online casual prejudice are common yet many youth do not respond because they don’t know what to do to make a difference. This research is a call for more effective interventions that will prepare, engage, and empower youth to push back against hate online.

Expression and storytelling in comics

Unlike film or photography, which "intrinsically claim to be accurate documents," comics invite the reader to experience “the visual aspect of a story as it’s transformed through the cartoonist’s perception.” With rare occasions, such as photo-comics, a comic is a "particular, personal version of its artist’s vision – not what the artist’s eye sees, but the way the artist’s mind interprets sight."