Critical Media Literacy and

Transformative Learning

Journal of Transformative
Education
Volume 6 Number 1
January 2008 48-67
2008 Sage Publications
10.1177/1541344608318970
http://jted.sagepub.com
hosted at
http://online.sagepub.com

Drawing on Pop Culture and

Entertainment Media in Teaching
for Diversity in Adult Higher Education
Elizabeth J. Tisdell
Penn State UniversityHarrisburg

The media has a powerful influence on all of us, and has been discussed by critical media
literacy scholars largely in K-12 settings. This article explores how, and to what extent,
adult educators can draw on popular culture and entertainment media to develop critical
media literacy and to facilitate transformative learning around diversity and equity issues,
primarily in adult higher education classroom-based settings. It presents a cross-case
analysis of the findings related to critical media literacy and transformative learning of
three research studies of adult learners and the role of media in higher education around:
the notion of pleasure, finding alternative narratives, expanded thinking about marginalized Others and hegemonic processes, and new insights through facilitated discussion.
Keywords: critical media literacy; transformative learning; diversity and equity;
popular culture; critical pedagogy

he media and popular culture have an enormous influence on all of us. More
people voted for the 2006 winner of American Idol than the winner of any
presidential election (Leib, 2006). The average person in the United States watches
4 hours of television per day (Herr, 2001) and watching movies is a source of much
entertainment worldwide. Indeed, entertainment media (as well as news and advertisement media) have an enormous effect, both consciously and unconsciously, on
what we think and how we thinkabout ourselves and others, and about personal and social issues. As media education scholars have argued (Alvermann &

Authors Note: The author has done various presentations on Critical Media Literacy and Adult
Education in the past few years, including at the Adult Education Research Conferences (AERC) in 2005,
2006, and 2007; she has never done any specifically about its relationship to transformative learning,
though she did a beginning consideration of this article in October 2007 in Albuquerque, NM at the
Transformative Learning Conference. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Elizabeth J. Tisdell, EdD, Associate Professor of Adult Education, Penn State UniversityHarrisburg,
W331 Olmsted, 777 W. Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057; e-mail: ejt11@psu.edu.

48

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

49

Hagood, 2000; Buckingham, 2003; Giroux, 2002; Yosso, 2002), media have the
power both to educate, when people critically reflect on the messages they are getting through the media, and to miseducate, when viewers are passive consumers
who dont think much about the images and messages that they are receiving. An
important means of both education and miseducation, not only of children but also
of adults, the media are a significant arena for adult learning that has been given only
limited attention in both the adult education and critical media literacy literature
(Dennis, 2004) until very recently (Guy, 2007; Tisdell & Thompson, 2007a, 2007b).
One need not think very hard to consider both the positive and negative effects of
media in the lives of adults. On one hand, stick-thin actresses make many women
question their body image; advertisements about Botox and plastic surgery that
promise a renewed youthful appearance might undermine the idea and ability of many
of us to age with grace. The portrayal of people of color so often as drug addicts or
criminals in entertainment media reinforces a dangerous stereotype thats all too
prevalent in the minds of many. On the other hand, fictional films such as Crash and
Brokeback Mountain have generated important conversations on controversial topics
about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, which can help us look at social relations
in new ways. Furthermore, critical documentary box office releases such as Al Gores
An Inconvenient Truth, and Michael Moores recent film, Sicko, are helping raise
awareness of global warming and the pitfalls of the American health care system. To
be sure, the media are a mixed bag, and its fruitless for educators to argue the evils
of media consumption; whats far more important is to teach critical media literacy
to teach people to critically analyze the media they are exposed to on a daily basis
(Galician, 2004). Particularly in the case of the visual media of movies and television,
where the multiple senses of sight and hearing work together to create a specific emotion or message, the more people are aware of how it works, the less likely they will
be co-opted by its multiple messages (Natharius, 2004).
Thus far, there has been much discussion of the role of media and popular culture
in education among critical media literacy scholars in the K-12 arena; however, there
has been relatively little among adult education scholars. This is beginning to
change, and theres been more consideration of popular culture and media in adult
education in recent publications and at conferences (Armstrong, 2005; Guy, 2004,
2007; Jarvis, 2005; Sandlin, 2005, 2007; Tisdell & Thompson, 2007a, 2007b;
Wright, 2007); however, the field still lags behind both the K-12 arena and critical
media literacy efforts of other countries (Considine, 2002). Theres also been relatively little discussion of the role of the media in the transformative learning literature. OSullivan (1999) does offer a critique of the media for the way that it
reinforces and propagates the ideology of the dominant culture and the mythic
structure of capitalism (p. 126). He goes on to note that a critical pedagogy of transformative learning is needed that seeks to challenge this myth and that such a critical pedagogy cannot ignore [the medias] elements of attraction (p. 126). Although
OSullivan might pave the way for such a critical pedagogy in noting that it is needed

50

Journal of Transformative Education

among those interested in transformative learning, he doesnt draw on the critical

media literacy literature or really discuss the specifics of how to challenge media
messages with a transformative learning lens. Rather, he argues that an integral
approach to transformative learning is needed in general, which emphasizes not only
survival and critique, but creativity as well (OSullivan, 2002). OSullivan is not,
however, specific in his attention to media.
There are of course some references to the use of media in teaching in the transformative learning literature, particularly more recently. For example, both DassBrailsford (2007) and Grand (2006) refer to using films in counseling classes to teach
cultural competence, and Goulah (2007a, 2007b) discusses using film in foreign language education, drawing on OSullivans (1999) transformative learning lens. In one
article in particular, Goulah (2007b) specifically discusses a study theoretically
grounded both in OSullivans philosophy of transformative learning as well as aspects
of the critical media literacy literature. This study of adolescent Japanese language
learners focused on how he drew on film and digital video production as a tool of both
foreign language learning and for understanding the geopolitics of environmental concerns. In a similar theoretical vein, Hanley (2007) draws on both the critical media literacy and the transformative learning literature in discussing how she uses hip-hop in
teacher education as a tool for transformative learning, not only by having students
experience it, but in some instances, by having them create it as well. In this sense,
both Goulah and Hanley have developed an integral approach to transformative learning that moves beyond critique to creativity of which OSullivan speaks.
In spite of these examples, there is limited work uniting both critical media literacy/popular
culture literature and transformative learning theory to examine how the media can be
used as a tool for transformative teaching. Thus, at this juncture, its important to consider the role of critical media literacy and its relationship to transformative learning
more thoroughly, particularly in regard to teaching for transformation around diversity
and equity issues. Hence, the primary purpose of this article is to explore theoretically
and practically (based on the findings of three studies conducted by the author and
coresearchers) how, and to what extent, adult educators can draw on popular culture and
entertainment media to facilitate transformative learning around diversity and equity
issues, primarily in adult higher education classroom-based settings. The purposes of
these studies were not specifically to facilitate or to understand transformative learning per se; rather, they were to understand how people make meaning of media portrayals of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation (in the first two studies) and then
to consider what happens when these portrayals are directly discussed in a critical
media literacy higher education class (in the third study). The purpose of this article,
however, is to examine what the implications are of these studies for transformative
learning about diversity and equity issues. In this sense, transformative learning refers
both to the way that Mezirow (1998) describes transformative learning, with his
emphasis on the importance of critical reflection on assumptions of individuals
(Cranton, 2006; Mezirow & Associates, 2000; Taylor, 2000), as well as the way that

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

51

critical, feminist, and antiracist adult educators more specifically concerned with social
transformation discuss challenging power relations based on race, gender, class, and
sexual orientation (Brookfield, 2005; Johnson-Bailey & Alfred, 2006; Guy, 1999,
2007; OSullivan, 1999, 2002; Sheared & Sissel, 2001).

Background Literature and Theoretical Framework

The general focus of what is now a large body of critical media literacy literature
is on helping people learn to read the world as well as to learn to read the word
(Freire, 1971). Because my colleagues and I have discussed much of this elsewhere
(Tisdell & Thompson, 2007a, 2007b; Tisdell, Thompson, & Stuckey, 2007), only a
brief explanation of the critical media literacy literature that is most relevant to transformative learning in dealing with diversity and equity issues will be provided here.

Critical Media Literacy for Transformative Learning

Other than OSullivans (1999) contention that its important to develop a critical
pedagogy of transformative learning that specifically challenges the dominant ideology and the studies cited above that draw on media in transformative learning, there is
a paucity of literature that discusses critical media literacy specifically in relation to
transformative learning. Nevertheless, theres clearly a connection because the point of
critical media literacy is to raise peoples consciousness around the visual messages
they are getting through the media (Natharius, 2004). In essence, the point is to raise
consciousness and then to critically reflect on assumptions, which Mezirow (1998)
suggests is the heart of transformative learning, though OSullivan (2002) contends
that there must be an emphasis not only on critique but also on creativity. There are different and overlapping theoretical strands of critical media literacy that are variously
informed by cultural studies, media studies, critical theory, feminist theory, postmodernism, and emancipatory educational studies. What all these discourses have in common is that they all focus on power relations based on race, gender, class, sexual
orientation in society and in the educational system, and/or how various types of media
relate to learning (Alvermann & Hagood, 2000; Buckingham, 2003; Gee, 2004;
Holtzman, 2004). Different authors often focus on the analysis of more specific types
of media in light of their interest, such as fictional entertainment media including film
and televisionthe primary focus herenews media, advertising, popular music,
video games, or information communication technology. Furthermore, some scholars
focus more on audience analysis, and others consider how to teach media production.
Nearly all critical media literacy scholars focus to some extent on peoples appropriation of media messages, either as active consumers of media, when one specifically
chooses to play a video game (Gee, 2004) or watch a movie, or the more passive consumption that happens by unavoidable interactions with the media just by living in the

52

Journal of Transformative Education

world, such as in passing by billboards or having the radio on in the car or hearing the
television someone else in the house is watching.
All theoretical strands recognize that people who are active consumers of entertainment media engage in it primarily for pleasure. Nevertheless, as noted above
people are educated and miseducated even by the entertainment media and form
opinions about themselves and others through portrayals of characters and issues.
Entertainment media can also sometimes affect debate about social issues not just in
subtle ways, but also in very obvious ways. For example, in 1992, George H. W. Bush
noted he hoped that the nations families would be more like The Waltons and less like
The Simpsons. In a similar vein, around the same time, Dan Quayle critiqued the
single motherhood of the fictional lead character of Murphy Brown in arguing for his
family values agenda. These families and characters are fictional, yet they become
real in our own individual and collective experience of them through the processes of
popular culture. This blurring of the real with the fictional is what media scholar
Arthur Berger (1998) discusses as the postmodern presence, referring to the real
presence of these fictional (or unreal) characters in our lives, and of what they stand
for in relation to our constructions of our own and others identity. Not only do media
reflect whats happening in our culture, it also has a role in shaping it as it raises viewers consciousness about issues (Alvermann & Hagood, 2000). It can also affect our
beliefs about ourselves and about others from different race, class, gender, and sexual
orientation groups, as well as our beliefs about social issues. For example, some
might become more accepting of gay relationships because they have seen the fictional movie Brokeback Mountain. Although the effects of the ever-controversial
Michael Moore and his recent box office documentary Sicko remain to be seen, there
is no doubt that the film raises serious questions about the American health care system
among the populace, an issue of growing prominence in the 2008 presidential election debates. In essence, this is the point of critical media literacy, as well as of transformative learningto raise questions and awareness, and to help people think about
issues and assumptions in new and creative ways.

Critical Media Literacy and Diversity and Equity Issues

Much of the critical media literacy literature focuses in one way or another on
dealing with diversity and equity issues, in that many scholars deal with questions of
social consciousness. There are those who are quite strident in their critique of media
from both conservative and liberal ends of the spectrum (Dolby, 2003). Whereas
conservatives primarily decry portrayals of sexuality and violence, Dimitriades and
McCarthy (2000) note that many liberals and leftists argue that the media serves the
interests of the dominant culture, and tends to reproduce gender, race, and class relations. Most who lean to the left are concerned with the ways in which the media reinforces the processes of hegemony in largely unconscious ways. To some extent, such
scholars are grounded in the thinking and writing of the late critical theorist Theodor

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

53

Adorno (1991), who discussed the medias role in the process of hegemony and why
it needed to be studied and critiqued. Virtually all critical media literacy scholars
would see the tendency of the media to reproduce structural power relations based
on race, gender, class, and sexual orientation; they also argue that some media challenge such power relations. Furthermore, those informed by the critical, feminist,
and cultural studies traditions would argue that its important to study pop culture
to be aware of its role in both shaping and challenging power relations in society and
education (Alvermann & Hagood, 2000; Buckingham, 2003; Giroux, 2002; Luke,
1999). Given that entertainment media are a source of pleasure, its unrealistic to
expect people not to be involved with media (Gee, 2004; Hamston, 2005).
There are many discourses on teaching for diversity, and recently theres been a
number specifically on teaching for diversity in transformative learning, which try to
transform systems of oppression based on gender, race, class, or sexual orientation
(Curry-Stevens, 2007; Johnson-Bailey & Alfred, 2006; Tisdell & Tolliver, 2003). Just
as many critical media literacy scholars dont use the language of transformative learning, many also dont use the language of teaching for diversity as much as they discuss challenging the processes of hegemony. Although most discuss it in relation to
teaching in the K-12 arena, there are some who specifically discuss the role of critical
media literacy in teaching for diversity in adult education settings (Guy, 2007; Hooks,
1994; Holtzman, 2004; Tisdell & Thompson, 2007a, 2007b; Yosso, 2002). In general,
such authors focus on how media work in relation to systems of hegemony; how educators can help adult learners become more conscious of how media relate to power
relations of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation; and how they attempt to teach
critical media literacy. There are also a few empirical studies of the effects of using
media and popular culture in higher education, such as Pauleys (2003) study of preservice elementary teachers, Yossos (2002) study of Latino community college
students in the United States, and Ekens (2002) study of how analysis of popular film
in a Turkish university affects students critical thinking skills. However, few studies
deal with critical media literacy in higher education related to teaching for diversity.
This has been the focus of my own recent research. The remainder of this article
focuses on what this research suggests for transformative teaching for diversity and
critical media literacy.

Theoretical Framework
I have been the primary investigator on three different research studies (that build
on each other) of critical media literacy in teaching for diversity in the past 3 years.
The theoretical framework of each of these studies is grounded largely in the insights
of the critical media literacy scholars cited above: that media is a source of pleasure
that affects learning, that the media can both reinforce and resist the ideology of the
dominant culture, and that its important to teach critical media literacy (Alvermann
& Hagood, 2000). Yosso (2002) summarizes the assumptions that critical media

54

Journal of Transformative Education

scholars make about media in teaching critical media literacy that (a) the media are
controlled and driven by money; (b) media images are constructionsboth of directors, actors, and other media makers; (c) media makers bring their own experience
with them in their construction of characters, including their perceptions of race,
gender, class, and so on; (d) consumers of media construct their own meaning of
media portrayals in light of their own background experience and gender, race, class,
or sexual orientation; (e) unlike print media, entertainment media, such as movies
and television, are a combination of moving visuals, sounds, and words that combine
in facilitating meaning; and (f) it is possible to acquire multiple literacies in becoming media literate. In sum, critical media education scholars are coming from a social
constructionist perspective in analyzing entertainment media, in the belief that viewers are constructing further meaning in light of their past experience and in dialogue
with the images they see on the screen. Further, critical media scholars argue that
one can easily draw on media to teach about diversity and equity. It is the literature
on sociocultural perspectives of transformative learning, along with the assumptions
outlined by Yosso (2002) about critical media literacy, which serves as the theoretical framework for the remainder of this analysis.

Purposes and Methodologies of the Studies

The methodology of all three studies was informed by a social constructivist paradigm of research in that it is grounded in the assumption that human beings do not
find knowledge, but rather construct it (Schwandt, 1998). The participants in these
studies were all either higher education faculty or graduate students, who were also
educators themselves, and ranged in age from late 20s to early 60s, with most being
in their 30s and 40s. The first study was a large mixed methods study focusing on
what types of entertainment media adult educators view, why they do so, and what
meaning they make of portrayal of characters, particularly in regard to gender, race,
class, and sexual orientation. The quantitative component included a Likert-type
scale survey of 215 U.S. adult educators (faculty and graduate students). In-depth
qualitative interviews were also conducted with 15 of the survey participants who
indicated on the survey both their willingness to be interviewed and in-depth thinking about diversity issues. The interview participants included 11 women and 4 men;
5 people of color, 9 White; 5 participants were gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
The second study was a follow up to the first, and focused more specifically on
peoples thinking about the movie Crash, and included individual interviews with
some of the same participants and two focus groups (one made up of six faculty, the
other made up of four graduate students who had seen the movie Crash and wanted
to discuss it). Online conversations about the film from two graduate-level classes
made up of 17 and 18 students, respectively, were also primary sources of data.

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

55

The third study was a qualitative action research study (Kemmis & McTaggart,
1988) of critical media literacy teaching for diversity of fictional entertainment media
(movies and television) in my own graduate class of 18 entitled Popular Culture as
Pedagogy: Teaching for Critical Consciousness and Critical Media Literacy. I team
taught the class with two advanced doctoral students. The curriculum was partly negotiated with the class, both in terms of assignments and in choosing which movies and
television shows to view and analyze. Some of the movies chosen were Crash,
Brokeback Mountain, Whale Rider, and The Hours. Data from this study included seven
online conversations about movies, television shows, and course readings, and three sets
of student papersone analyzing a movie, another outlining a practical project relating
critical media literacy to students own educational practices, and a final course paper.
The survey data were analyzed using the SPSS software (Version 15.0); the qualitative data (interviews, online conversations, and student papers) were analyzed
according to the constant comparative method (Merriam, 1998), and member checks
were conducted with several of the participants to enhance dependability and trustworthiness of the findings. My intent here is not to discuss the findings from any one
of the studies in depth as theyve been discussed elsewhere (Tisdell & Thompson,
2007b) but rather to provide a summary of the findings across the three studies in
relation to transformative learning.

Cross-Study Findings With Implications

for Transformative Learning
Important aspects of the findings discussed here relating to critical media literacy
and transformative learning are as follows: the notion of pleasure, the role of the media
in finding alternative narratives, expanded thinking about marginalized Others and
hegemonic processes, and the importance of facilitated discussion and analysis.

Pleasure as Both Facilitator and

Deterrent of Critical Media Literacy
People generally watch TV or movies for pleasure. As Beverly explained in discussing her own pleasure through movies and television, I believe my pleasure
comes from the emotional connection media make to my own experiences. I find
comfort in watching T.V. and movies, it is a companion, and it takes me away from
problems I have to deal with in the real world. Given the pleasure element, its generally easy to engage discussion about movies and television shows people enjoy.
Although pleasure can potentially be a facilitator of critical media literacy and transformative learning, it can also be a deterrent. Kelly, a doctoral student in the critical
medial literacy class found being required to analyze one of her favorite movies that

56

Journal of Transformative Education

she had generally watched for pleasure served to facilitate her critical media
literacy awareness. She ultimately was the coauthor of an article about it and wrote:
Until I took this class, I rarely questioned motivations or other agendas that may have
influenced what I was watching. This course encouraged me to look beyond the surface
to examine the social, political or financial implications that impact what is shared on
the screen. (Kring, in Stuckey & Kring, 2007, p. 28)

Kelly did an excellent job of analyzing The Way We Were in light of particular
guidelines laid out for the article, and explained that in her prior viewing, she
focused only on the love story, but in light of the assignment, she researched the historical context of the McCarthy era. She learned that in the pilot viewing, the audience was more into the love story than the political context of the era. She wrote that
Barbra Streisand, fought strongly to keep the political scenes in the movie, but ultimately the studio had decide the final version (p. 28). Given that one of the points
of the class was to analyze issues of power and privilege, she learned by doing her
own research on the making of the film just how large a part that money, power, and
politics play in how a message is ultimately portrayed. She noted, Analyzing all
these things helped me to develop my own critical media awareness (p. 28). This
was a way of building on that sense of pleasure that can stimulate critical reflection
on assumptions, which is part of transformative learning.
Kellys analysis of The Way We Were is one example of how the teaching team in
the third study drew on students sense of pleasure to build critical media literacy and
led to transformative learning. Sometimes, however, students sense of pleasure, or
the fact that they relate very strongly to a film or television show, seems to interfere
with the ability to critically analyze it beyond a certain point. For example, one Black
male student did an analysis of the movie Coach Carter, and he did quite a good job
of analyzing this film as a positive portrayal of African Americans in the media, but
he did not note that it also played on many racialized stereotypes of urban life.
Another student, a White nurse, in doing an analysis of how nurses were portrayed on
various medical shows was able to do a good analysis of portrayals of nurses and critique the relations between differential power status between doctors and nurses, but
she didnt do as much of an analysis particularly around gender, race, and class to the
same degree. Requiring students to think more critically, however, does enable them
to see some of the stereotypes of media. Anna, in analyzing one of her favorite movies
and seeing the stereotypes in new ways, noted, It made me think, how many other
movies, TV shows, and so on have stereotypes that Ive missed because of the fact
that I was watching them for pleasure. Thus, pleasure can serve as a two-edged
sword: both as a facilitator of and a barrier to critical analysis and transformative
learning.

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

57

Finding Alternative Narratives

Nearly all the participants discussed the role of media that they choose to watch
as helping them see alternative narratives in their own lives or about others, some of
which were more transformative than others. Some talked about the idea of living
through characters for fantasy or adventure. For example, Todd explained that he
liked seeing adventure movies with an obvious hero because its fun to imagine
being the hero. Tina, who is from a very conservative, rural area, explained why she
watches some shows:
I didnt date till I was 18, and I think Sex in the City and Desperate Housewives is [sic]
my rebellious teen years coming out through media exposure I didnt get to experience
when I was a teenager. So its just kind of that fun to see the TV side of life that I never
had a chance to explore.

Some participants specifically discussed the effect that some entertainment media
has had in helping them see or make new choices that were more transformative for
their lives. Hannah, a White professor in her early 40s, discussed relating to the lead
character in the movie Iris, which is based on the life of British novelist and university
professor Iris Murdoch, and how this particular movie led to a transforming life decision in her involvement with a man who became her life partner. In a similar vein, lesbian and bisexual women in the study discussed particularly relating to the show The L
Word, a television drama on Showtime about a lesbian community. Barbara discussed
relating to a particular character and also noted how the show brings up issues that she
discusses with her partner and other lesbian friends so they explore new choices.
Several participants in discussing the issue of representation of people of color
suggested that, although they are often portrayed negatively as criminals and drug
dealers, theres also more portrayals of professional Black characters in positive
roles in both comedy and drama, which creates potential role models that can change
peoples consciousness in smaller or in incremental ways. Elaine, an African
American woman, specifically referred to the positive roles of some of the African
Americans on the drama series, CSI. The single show that was mentioned most often
by the 36 African American participants who filled out the survey as among their
favorites was The Cosby Show. Three of the African American participants interviewed also specifically discussed The Cosby Show. Janice contrasted the difference
between Cosby in the 1980s and earlier comedy programs:
Finally somebody has some money and they werent mad at White people all the time
and they actually get along with other races and other people. They were comfortable
with who they are. So thats what Cosby was for me. Good Times was funny and yes I
watched it regularly; I laughed. But at some point it registered that they never were
going to be allowed to get out of the project. Every time they got close something

58

Journal of Transformative Education

would happen. Im not comfortable with that. . . . So if you are going to put an image
out there, it might as well be something good and hopeful.

Elaine also discussed the significance of Cosby as the portrayal of a professional

family and its positive influence.
The plus was that it gave to us visibility . . . it showed that Blacks had families and
issues that were very similar to issues that everyone faced. It was an opportunity for
people to see a side of Black life that wasnt always the pimps and prostitutes.

Although neither of these women discussed this as transformative learning per se,
they implied that positive portrayals of people of color can have an incremental
effect in changing peoples consciousness.

Expanded Thinking About Marginalized

Others and Hegemonic Processes
Many of the participants discussed the role of television or film in helping them
expand their understanding of marginalized Others in new ways and/or increase their
understanding of how hegemonic processes work both in media and in society at large.
Some discussed how the media that are specifically intended to resist the dominant culture in relation to some issue have affected their views on a personal level. Todd, for
example, discussed the power of seeing the movie Philadelphia in effecting a change
in attitude about sexual orientation issues. Others discussed the role of the media, not
so much in completely changing their view of issues surrounding a marginalized group
in society, but rather in understanding the complexity of what living as a marginalized
Other is like. Greg, for example, considers himself quite liberal on race, gender, and
sexual orientation issues, but discussed the role the HBO show Six Feet Under, which
is about the layered lives of the adult family members who own a funeral home, played
in his understanding of the complexity of issues that gay or lesbian people face and
noted, It makes me think about things from a different angle.
Some participants described how the movie Crash, directed by Paul Haggis,
affected them and made them a bit uncomfortable, in that it called them to look
inward at themselves and see their own pain and/or prejudices. This helped them
understand both themselves and the marginalized other in new ways. Some of the
people of color identified with what happened to one character or another and had
had similar painful experiences. In online discussions of the movie and in written
comments, all talked about racism but most spoke of racism of people in general. But
some used slightly more personal we language. For example, Leslie, a White
woman wrote, Obviously, this film is about race. Talking about race and national
origin is difficult to do. We must look inward and question the person we perceive

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

59

ourselves to be. Another example is a comment by Natalie, an African American

woman, who noted in a focus group that a significant aspect of the movie was that
prejudice is universal and comes in so many different shapes and sizes that at times
its hard to recognize, especially in ourselves.
A couple of the participants, however, did speak more personally about seeing
their own prejudice. Rae Ann, a White woman, noted,
I know I did not sleep well after I watched it. It brought so many issues that I probably
do not recognize to the forefront that I almost fought against the reality in my mind at
the start of the movie. It disturbs me that people treat others like this and it caused me
to take a deeper look at myself and my prejudices.

Similarly, Anna, another White woman, shared this sense of being disturbed by
the film in dealing with her own prejudices and wrote:
There were so many times in this movie when I would gasp because I couldnt believe
they said something so racial, although I probably have thought it at least once in my
life. It also made me think of all the times Ive nonverbally stereotyped a different culture or race, all the while believing that I was being politically correct.

It was these more personal comments that indicated both a depth of emotion and
a depth of thought that probably indicate a greater potential for transformative learning than those less personal or less emotional.
Certainly, many of the participants indicated a greater awareness of how the hegemonic processes of society work, not only from watching television and movies, but
also through critically analyzing it. For example, Hannah discussed this in relation to
watching the comedy-drama hit, Desperate Housewives. She spoke of the roles that
women are taught to want that would make them happy, such as the dominant cultures prescription to get married and have babies. Hannah suggested that the show,
through comedy, deconstructs this prescription to some degree, and notes, I mean
it shows it in a way that I think almost every woman can understand. Gee on the outside it looks like I have everything and this is all the stuff I was supposed to want and
now I have it and Im miserable. She also went on to note that the show also reinforces existing social relations in that it doesnt particularly deal with class issues.
This sense of developing greater awareness of both the marginalized other and
the role of the media in both reinforcing and resisting the images in the dominant culture was particularly evident in the critical media literacy class, which of course was
the whole point of the class. It became particularly apparent in the online discussion
of Brokeback Mountain where the participants explored their own reactions to the
movie, as well as what discussions with friends and colleagues were like in terms of
societys reactions to it. They also reported on different religious groups statements
about it and examined how the film was dealt with on talk shows/news shows such as

60

Journal of Transformative Education

Oprah, Jay Leno, and The Today Show, both through serious conversation about the
movie and jokes about it on the air. One woman asked online what meaning Others
made in regard to the jokes about it on The Today Show. Another responded showing
a growing thought about the audience, and how the media can serve to challenge the
dominant culture in movies such as this and noted:
The time of the show and the audience it draws is an interesting one when I think about
the discussion of this topic. Possibly this was an attempt to ease them into this topic.
Maybe Katie [Couric], Al [Roker], and Matt [Lauer] are using this film to encourage
older generations to examine their emotions and understanding of the topic.

Although this student insinuated that older generations might be less open about
homosexuality than younger people, which might not necessarily be the case, she
does indicate a greater sense of how media can both challenge the dominant culture
on ideas related to sexual orientation, as well as a sense overall of how hegemonic
processes work.

The Importance of Facilitation and Interaction for Deeper Analysis

Virtually all of the participants discussed the way the media stimulated interaction, both in their personal lives and in their workplaces or teaching practices, but it
was the teaching practices of developing critical media literacy, where individuals
challenge each other to analyze media in new ways, which were seen as the most
effective in helping learners to explore diversity issues. We see some evidence of
this, for example, in the above comments on the movie Crash where students examined some of their own internalized racism as a result of the discussion. But it is the
interaction about such issues provoked initially by entertainment media that can
potentially facilitate the process of transformative learning and deeper analysis about
critical media literacy and diversity issues. This is a point highlighted by DassBrailsford (2007) in her discussion of the use of both critical documentary and popular film in teaching for understanding of racial identity.
Elaine described an incident in a social issues class, where three White women
and an African American man participated in an online discussion of Hotel Rwanda
that helped them understand a global context and the forces of hegemony in new
ways. The White women initially discussed how the movie led to a greater understanding of the situation between the Hutus and the Tutsis. But then Elaine explained
that their discussion took a deeper turn when the African American man brought up
the issue of politics, race, civil war, and how there was a lot more going on there than
genocide in the sense of one race trying to eliminate another. She emphasized that it
is the discussion of issues raised in movies that can lead to greater understanding. It
wasnt simply the movie; it was the movie and the discussion of it that lead to greater
understanding, and potentially to transformative learning.

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

61

In thinking about critical media literacy and transformative learning, it is important to keep in mind that for any of us, it is only possible to take in so much on one
initial viewing of a movie or television show. Many of the movies discussed in the
Popular Culture as Pedagogy class were specifically intended to help viewers
examine their thinking about a particular issuerace and ethnic relations in Crash,
sexual orientation issues in Brokeback Mountain, and gender in The Hours. But even
in discussing such obvious issues in the film, participants can avoid thinking about
other issues less obvious in the film, such as gender issues in Brokeback Mountain
or sexual orientation in Crash or the issue of class in all of these films. This is the
role of the facilitator: to ask questions and to point out the fact that every movie or
television show ALWAYS portrays race, gender, class, or sexual orientation; even if
a movie or show features only members of the dominant culture, it is still a portrayal.
Deena discussed this in her final paper, in considering some of the ways she began
to see with new eyes:
When a person says there is no sexual orientation represented in a film, they mean that
there is no other representation other than the one represented by the dominant culture
. . . Why dont we always assume a person is bisexual instead of always assuming heterosexual? Because we are taught that heterosexual is normal by the dominant culture.

Her understanding of this is indicative of the fact that she had to begun to understand how the process of hegemony works. So often the media portray only the dominant culture, which is then seen as normal; whereas those not of the dominant
culture are often seen as Other.
A way of potentially facilitating transformative learning through greater interaction is by encouraging students to develop a critical media literacy activity for use
with others. This was particularly key to the learning in the Popular Culture as
Pedagogy class because all the participants were both graduate students and educators themselves. Such an activity encourages learners to engage with the text (movie
or television show) and often with others in such a way as to facilitate their own critical media literacy development. Nora, for example, used the film Places in the
Heart in a church setting for this activity and chose it specifically because of its multiple aspects of race, gender, and disability. In analyzing how doing the activity
affected her thinking, she wrote:
As I considered using this film for my practical project I anticipated that my awareness
of situations and issues that are embedded in this film would be heightened. While this
proved true, I know that prior to viewing the film a few weeks ago I had no idea how
differently I would approach both my viewing of the film and the use of the film in a
faith-based setting. Several concrete examples are my consciousness of the gender
roles in the film, the entire concept of how characters in the film gained power and
access to social institutions, awareness of Edna Spauldings agency, the portrayal of
race and racial issues, considerations of class in the film, and the powerful symbolic

62

Journal of Transformative Education

use of music. . . . In short, my entire approach to discussion deepened and broadened

as a result of this course and this assignmentI cannot approach this learning activity
hoping only that others understanding and awareness of healing and wholeness would
change. Rather, I approach this activity equipped with a toolbox filled with skills in
critical media literacy that I eagerly anticipate utilizing with participants.

In short, it was because of having to think how she was going to deal with the
movie in educating others, which forced her to engage with the text more deeply
herself, and so she further developed her own critical media literacy awareness.
Many others also reported that having to develop such an activity forced them to get
underneath what was obvious in a film or television show, thus clearly leading to
their greater critical media literacy. Potentially, this is, or what leads to, transformative learning.

Conclusions: Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

Some of the implications for transformative learning, particularly related to educating adults in higher education settings, have been considered in the discussion of
the cross-case analysis of findings above. Yet, some concluding comments are in
order here in light of the theoretical framework of this discussion and the results of
these studies.
First, as noted at the outset, its important to remember that the purposes of the studies that are highlighted here were not specifically to understand transformative learning
per se at the time they were conducted, but rather to understand how people make meaning of media portrayals of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. Nevertheless, there
are implications of these studies for transformative learning, in light of the theoretical
frameworks both of transformative learning and critical media literacy. These implications begin to offer some specifics to a critical pedagogy of transformative learning that
challenges what OSullivan (1999) referred to as the mythic structure of capitalism
(p. 126) and other forms of hegemony that are propagated in the media.
There is no question that the media have the power to challenge ones assumptions
about structural power relations, both through informal learning, as when one sees a
movie or television show for entertainment, as well as through formal learning in a
critical media literacy class, particularly in those instances where what a movie or
television show is trying to do is related to a particular issue. We see evidence of the
former in Todds seeing Philadelphia on his own. But it is likely far easier to do in a
higher education class or some other organized adult-learning setting where the purpose is discussion and analysis of a movie or television show. Clearly, seeing Crash
or Brokeback Mountain has helped many people think of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation in different ways to some degree and has likely served as a facilitator of
transformative learning; this is evident in some of the comments highlighted above in

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

63

participant quotations. Yet, given that human beings can only attend to so many things
at a time, it is often not as easy to attend to the subtext of a movie, such as how gender or sexual orientation are dealt with in a movie that tends to more obviously focus
on race. If a movie or television show does not obviously deal with any of these issues
directly, the analysis of portrayals of social relations by simply viewing a film or television show is likely lost on most people, which is why as Adorno (1991) argued
years ago most media serves to reinforce the dominant culture.
This is precisely why it is important to give people the tools of critical analysis
about the media. There is no easier place to do this than in higher education settings,
because part of the purpose of higher education is to help people become critical
thinkers. Why not do that by drawing on what is ubiquitous and shapes their consciousness every day? Indeed, drawing on the media in such settings has the potential to lead to transformative learning if media are used as a gateway for critique.
This can be applied not only in examining portrayals of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation in the media but also in considering the power of entertainment media
to educate and miseducate. The fact that this unfolded for many people in the critical media class is obvious in the examples provided; of course, this was precisely the
purpose of the class. Although not many of us are going to teach a class specifically
about critical media literacy, all of us who teach can draw on the power of the entertainment media to engage learners and to facilitate critical media literacy when the
opportunity presents itself. Dirkx (2006) discusses the power of emotionally laden
images and how they can be used in transformative teaching. What more powerful
way of drawing on emotionally laden images than those evoked by visual media?
Doing so just may lead to transformative learning, both about personal issues, but
also about sociocultural issues as well.
Taylor (2000) notes in his overview of research on transformative learning that
often, transformative learning is incremental. It is important to keep in mind that,
although the pleasure aspect of entertainment media can easily engage people in discussions of it in higher education, pleasure can also at times undermine ones ability
to be critical, which is why continually asking and reinforcing the importance of analysis is crucial for the development of critical media literacy. Indeed, it is incremental. It
was through the ongoing and reinforced asking of critical questions about portrayals
that many of the participants became aware of the specific assumptions of critical
medial literacy that Yosso (2002) discusses. For example, Kellys background research
on The Way We Were for her first paper helped her understand the power of both the
director and of money in determining what was kept in and what was cut from the
movie (Stuckey & Kring, 2007). At the outset of the class, participants easily saw that
they constructed their own meaning of media; yet, they were not consciously aware of
symbols and portrayals until they were discussed. Becoming aware of these things
takes practice and happens over time. It is likely because of the constant asking of these
critical questions that Deena and others came to see that there are always portrayals of
social relations in movies and television. But, so often, such portrayals represent our

64

Journal of Transformative Education

hegemonic understandings of social relations. In essence, critical media literacy begins

to make what is so often invisible, more visible; and this happens incrementally.
OSullivan (1999) called for a critical pedagogy of transformative learning that
challenges the hegemonic assumptions about capitalism and other social relations
that are propagated by the media. He also argues that an integrative model of transformative education is needed that facilitates survival, critique, and creativity
(OSullivan, 2002). It is relatively easy to draw on popular culture and entertainment
media in the classroom as a tool for critiquing the way hegemony, as Adorno (1991)
observed, is often reinforced by the media. It is also possible to examine how some
media makers have used their own creativity to challenge aspects of the hegemonic
culture. Many educators might not have the ability to engage students in creating
hip-hop as Hanley (2007) has done or engage students in digital video production as
Goulah (2007b) was able to do in his foreign language class. Nevertheless, most educators can engage students in some aspects of creativity, such as considering how
they might change a film for it to create a message of greater equity, or considering
the creative ways with which directors might challenge the social forces of money
and power that limited their creativity. This begins to help students not only to critique but also to move beyond critique to creativity as OSullivan (2002) suggests.
In conclusion, it is clear that entertainment media can be used both to educate and
to miseducate and that it can be used to facilitate transformative thinking about
diversity issues. It is generally not entertainment media themselves, but the engagement and discussion of social issues highlighted in movies and television shows,
which have the power to raise consciousness leading to transformative learning. There
is probably no easier place to create such a forum for critical analysis while drawing
on emotion and affect, as well as creativity, than in higher education settings.
Although more research is needed, this article offers a beginning look at how educators might draw on the pleasure and the possibility of entertainment media to engage
in a critical pedagogy of transformative learning. Such a pedagogy might not only
help alter thinking about social issues. More importantly, such a pedagogy might help
alter behavior in the world that leads to greater creativity and sustainability.

References
Adorno, T. W. (1991). The culture industry: Selected essays on mass culture (J. M. Bernstein, Trans.).
London: Routledge. (Original work published 1947)
Alvermann, D., & Hagood, M. (2000). Critical media literacy: Research, theory, and practice in new
times. Journal of Educational Research, 93, 193-205.
Armstrong, P. (2005). The Simpsons and democracy: Political apathy, popular culture, and lifelong learning as satire. In R. Hill & R. Kiely (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th Annual Adult Education Research
Conference (pp. 7-12). Athens: University of Georgia.
Berger, A. (1998). The postmodern presence. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Brookfield, S. (2005). The power of critical theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Buckingham, D. (2003). Media education: Literacy, learning, and contemporary culture. Cambridge,
UK: Polity.

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

65

Considine, D. (2002). Media literacy: National developments and international origins. Journal of
Popular Film and Television, 30, 7-15.
Cranton, P. (2006). Understanding and promoting transformative learning (2nd ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Curry-Stevens, A. (2007). New forms of transformative education: Pedagogy for the privileged. Journal
of Transformative Education, 5, 33-58.
Dass-Brailsford, P. (2007). Racial identity change among white graduate students. Journal of
Transformative Education, 5, 59-78.
Dennis, E. (2004). Out of sight and out of mind: The media literacy needs of grown-ups. American
Behavioral Scientist, 48, 202-211.
Dimitriades, G., & McCarthy, C. (2000). Stranger in the village: James Baldwin, popular culture, and the
ties that bind. Qualitative Inquiry, 6, 171-187.
Dirkx, J. (2006). Engaging emotions in adult learning: A Jungian perspective on emotion and transformative learning. In E. Taylor (Ed.), Teaching for change: Fostering transformative learning in the classroom (New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 109, pp. 5-26). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Dolby, N. (2003). Popular culture and democratic practice. Harvard Educational Review, 73, 258-273.
Eken, A. N. (2002). The third eye. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46, 220-229.
Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder.
Galician, M. (2004). Introduction: High time for dis-illusioning ourselves and our media: Media literacy
in the 21st century, Part II: Strategies for the general public. American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 143-151.
Gee, J. (2004). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Giroux, H. (2002). Breaking into the movies. New York: Blackwell.
Goulah, J. (2007a). Toward pax terra-humana: Cultural transformative learning and a planetary literacy in
the foreign language classroom. Journal of Transformative Education, 5, 163-176.
Goulah, J. (2007b). Village voices, global visions: Digital video as a transformative foreign language
learning tool. Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 62-78.
Grand, I. (2006). Ascending to the concrete: Teaching complexity in a counseling psychology program.
Journal of Transformative Education, 4, 157-174.
Guy, T. (1999). Culture as context for adult education: The need for culturally relevant education. In
T. Guy (Ed.), Providing culturally relevant adult education (New Directions for Adult and Continuing
Education No. 82, pp. 5-18). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Guy, T. (2004). Gangsta rap and adult education. In L. Martin & E. Rogers (Eds.), Adult education in an
urban context (New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 101, pp. 43-57). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Guy, T. (2007). Learning who we (and they) are: Popular culture as pedagogy. In E. Tisdell &
P. Thompson (Eds.), Popular culture and entertainment media in adult education (New Directions for
Adult and Continuing Education No. 115, pp. 15-23). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hamston, J. (2005). Pleasurable texts: Popular culture in the classroom. Screen Education, 37, 107-112.
Hanley, M. S. (2007). Old school crossings: Hip Hop in teacher education and beyond. In E. Tisdell &
P. Thompson (Eds.), Popular culture and entertainment media in adult education (New Directions for
Adult and Continuing Education No. 115, pp. 35-44). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Herr, N. (2001). The sourcebook for teaching science. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from http://www.csun
.edu/~vceed002/health/docs/tv&health.html
Holtzman, L. (2004). Mining the invisible: Teaching and learning media and diversity. American
Behavioral Scientist, 48, 108-118.
Hooks, B. (1994). Outlaw culture: Resisting representation. New York: Routledge.
Jarvis, C. (2005). Real stakeholder education? Lifelong learning in the Buffyverse. Journal of Studies in
the Education of Adults, 37, 31-36.

66

Journal of Transformative Education

Johnson-Bailey, J., & Alfred, M. (2006). Transformative teaching and the practices of black women adult
educators. In E. Taylor (Ed.) Teaching for change: Fostering transformative learning in the classroom
(New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 109, pp. 49-58). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (1988). The action research planner. Geelong, Australia: Deakin
University Press.
Leib, E. (2006, May 28). Why not dial in democracy too. Washington Post, p. B2.
Luke, C. (1999). Media and cultural studies in Australia. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 42,
622-626.
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (2nd ed.). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow, J. (1998). On critical reflection. Adult Education Quarterly, 48, 185-198.
Mezirow, J., & Associates (Ed.). (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in
progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Natharius, D. (2004). The more we know, the more we see: The role of visuality in media literacy.
American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 238-247.
OSullivan, E. (1999). Transformative learning: Educational vision for the 21st century. New York: Zed
Books.
OSullivan, E. (2002). The project and vision of transformative education: Integral transformative learning. In E. OSullivan, A. Morrell, & M. A. OConnor (Eds.), Expanding the boundaries of transformative learning (pp. 1-12). New York: Palgrave.
Pauley, N. (2003). Interpreting visual culture as cultural narratives in teacher education. Studies in Art
Education, 44, 264-284.
Sandlin, J. (2005). Culture, consumption, and adult education: Refashioning consumer education for
adults as a political site using a cultural studies framework. Adult Education Quarterly, 55, 165-181.
Sandlin, J. (2007). Popular culture, cultural resistance, and anticonsumption activism: An exploration of
culture jamming as critical adult education. In E. Tisdell & P. Thompson (Eds.), Popular culture and
entertainment media in adult education (New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No.
115, pp. 73-82). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schwandt, T. A. (1998). Constructivist, interpretist approaches to human inquiry. In N. K. Denzin, &
Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 221-259).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sheared, V., & Sissel, P. (Eds.). (2001). Making space. Merging theory and practice in adult education.
Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Stuckey, H., & Kring, K. (2007). Critical media literacy and popular film: Personal experiences of teaching and learning in a graduate class. In E. Tisdell & P. Thompson (Eds.), Popular culture and entertainment media in adult education (New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 115,
pp. 25-33). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Taylor, E. (2000). Analyzing research on transformative learning theory. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Learning as
transformation (pp. 285-328). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tisdell, E., & Thompson, P. (Eds.). (2007a). Popular culture and entertainment media in adult education
(New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 115). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tisdell, E., & Thompson, P. (2007b). Seeing from a different angle: The role of pop culture in teaching
for diversity and critical media literacy in adult education. International Journal of Lifelong
Education, 26, 651-673.
Tisdell, E., Thompson, P., & Stuckey, H. (2007). The role of pop culture and entertainment media in adult
education practice. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Adult Education Research Conference. Halifax,
Canada: College of Mount St. Vincent.
Tisdell, E., & Tolliver, D. (2003). Claiming a sacred face: The role of spirituality and cultural identity in
transformative adult higher education. Journal of Transformative Education, 1, 368-392.

Tisdell / Critical Media Literacy and Transformative Learning

67

Wright, R. (2007). The Avengers, public pedagogy and the development of British womens consciousness.
In E. Tisdell & P. Thompson (Eds.), Popular culture and entertainment media in adult education (New
Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 115, pp. 63-72). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Yosso, T. (2002). Critical race media literacy: Challenging deficit discourses about Chicanos/as. Journal
of Popular Film, 30, 52-62.
Elizabeth J. Tisdell, EdD, is an associate professor and the program coordinator of the Adult Education
Doctoral Program at Penn State University, Harrisburg. Her most recent research has been in the areas of
the connection of spirituality and culture in adult and higher education, critical media literacy and adult
learning, and medical education as adult education.