One of the suggested topics for Part 2 of the Language A: Language and Literature guide is the 'role of editing.' For this topic we examine how information is often filtered by editors and people known as "gatekeepers." Editors often use tools, such as Adobe Photoshop, or video editing equipment to create a view of the world.
Lessons related to this topic look at how our sense of reality is shaped by mass media. We will ask ourselves, for example, how our perception of beauty is created by the mass media Is this perception of realistic, if it is manipulated by airbrushing? Such questions make us more aware of the influence of the media in shaping public ideology. We will show ways in which the mass media use and edit language to persuade, entertain and inform.
How can editing be used to influence an audience's perception of something?
If the media edit everything, is our perception of the world realistic?
How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers?
How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?
Which social groups are marginalized, excluded or silenced within a text?