5. Young people from 15 to 18

Outline of catechetics programme

I. OBJECTIVE:

To arouse in young people the necessary critical capacity so that they can discover spiritual values in the mass media.

We believe that the mass media can be a vehicle for culture and spiritual values, provided our young people adopt an active and personal attitude towards them. The following suggestions are aimed at stimulating such an attitude. They should not be seen as other than a way of awakening in young people a capacity for critical evaluation enabling them not to be enslaved to the media while appreciating the good things they offer.

II. THEME

The theme we have chosen as an example is: HOW A MAN OR WOMAN SHOULD BE TODAY: THE ROLE MODELS THE MEDIA OFFER US.

Other subjects young people care about could equally well have been selected. Below is a short list of some suitable themes:

The teacher or the young people themselves should choose the theme or themes which are of genuine interest to the group on the educational level.

III. FIRST EXERCISE

The role-model in pictures and photographs

1. Starting point

On a display board pin up pictures (photos, postcards, etc.) of male and female rôle models as presented in magazines, posters, TV, films, etc., preferably provided by the young people themselves. Set up a straightforward exhibition of all these pictures, on the blackboard or any kind of panel.

2. Understanding the medium

The images of the mass media are a reflection of society itself. In other words, every society has the audio-visual media it deserves. It is important for young people to be critically aware of the mass media environment, including the press, that they are living in.

Following the exercises described below may help to achieve this goal:

Get each young person to pick out from the material displayed the picture of the person he or she sees most frequently in magazines, film posters, etc. They are not to choose the picture which impresses them most, but the person who is shown most often on the media.

Set out all their choices and find the one which they agree appears most frequently. Once this has been established, get them to describe what they think are the ambitions and life-style of the man or woman in the picture. This is a fundamental stage in analysing how the medium works. Each young person or group should write down the ambitions they think they see. These can be expressed with such phrases as:

1. I want to be a big success.
2. I couldn't care less about other people.
3. Money is the only thing that counts in life.
4. ...
5. ...

3. Christian analysis of the medium

Now the chosen picture must be evaluated from the Christian point of view.

What values or non-values do the young people see in the type of person depicted?

A marked contrast between the Gospel message and the message the image emits may emerge, one that will let us see just how Christian the values of the mass media are.

One can also look among the pictures on the display board for the one which most approaches the Christian mentality and study it in the same way.

4. Personal attitudes towards the mass media

Through the analysis of the picture the group should also examine their own usual attitude to what they see on the media. Do they normally analyse everything they see and evaluate it as they have done in this session?

What consequences derive from a personal and active appraisal of what is offered and what are the results of swallowing indiscriminately everything they are fed?

Undoubtedly they talk to their friends about what they see... How serious or otherwise are their comments?

What rôle-model is reflected in the pictures which our young people keep at home, in their schoolbags and in their books? Why have they chosen that type of person as their ideal?

The same method used here with still pictures could also be applied to screen images or to characters in certain books; they could judge the star of a movie or a soap, or the hero or heroine of a novel or a play...

IV. SECOND EXERCISE

The world of sound

This exercise may be more difficult than the preceding one. All the same, we think it may be constructive, as young people spend much of their lives with transistors, Walkmans, etc. To make it easier we have dispensed with a set theme, letting the trend emerge from the songs which are chosen.

1. Starting point

We could begin by listening to some songs, songs with various kinds of "atmosphere" - for example, a protest song, a song with superficial Iyrics and an easy tune, a poetic song...

2. Understanding the medium

Once the songs have been heard, they should be analysed. In a first exercise, for example, each young person could listen to a song of his or her choice. Then, as they wish, each group could set up a small panel of photos which tie in well with the song they have chosen, virtually transposing it into images.

The picture panels will give substance, visible form to the songs, greatly facilitating their analysis. With this translation before them, it will be a revelation to the young people when they realize how every song conjures up a world for our ears. Because it is also through hearing that we apprehend the world. The panels they have mounted will be proof of this.

Now the groups can listen to the songs again, looking at the illustrated versions they have created at the same time.

3. Christian analysis of the medium

Evaluate the world reflected by each song in the light of the Christian message. From the Christian point of view, what positive things are presented by each song, and what negative?

Which songs reflect a world, an environment, a life-style most consonant with the Christian message?

4. Personal attitudes towards the mass media

Do you like a particular kind of song? Is it because it really says something to you, or because it's the fashion?

Many young people just turn on the radio and listen to whatever is on. What do you think of this behaviour? What are its advantages and drawbacks?

When you listen to music, do you criticize it in any way?