ABSTRACT

The ad industry now identifies four key human emotions: happy, sad, afraid/surprised, and angry/disgusted. In the 2004 race for the White House, the New York Times showed examples from both the Democrats and the Republicans to demonstrate how emotion was being used in their ads. In many presidential campaign ads, fear has been used as a powerful persuasive technique. One cannot overestimate the role music plays in media productions. Movie-makers, for example, carefully choose a musical collaborator, someone who can create the right music for the right mood or scene. Those who study music know, for example, that major chords and notes can connote happiness, while minor notes/chords can promote stressful or sad feelings. Media literacy education is more important than ever. Engaging students in a close reading analysis and deconstruction of media texts (ads, TV, film) is just one more way to demonstrate that educators value popular culture and recognize its role in creating 21st-century critical thinkers and learners.