ABSTRACT

The chapter examines how languaging shapes emotions and actions in two classes focused on critical media analysis, each taught by one of the chapter authors. Lewis describes instruction involving students’ responses to critical media analysis of gender and class as portrayed in professional wrestling. Bigelow describes Somali students’ conflicted responses to images portraying Somali refugee homes. The chapter shows how critical media pedagogies intended to position students as agentive interpreters of media texts can lead to feelings of shame, anger, or resentment when the language of critique unintentionally critiques students’ cultures, communities, and embodied experiences. The authors argue that researchers need to examine their own cultural presuppositions and consider the ethical dilemmas that arise when promoting a critical media literacy agenda.