Wk 6 Reading: Critical Questions and Close Reading

Why critical questions and what is exactly a critical question, the root definition for critical (expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work) coupled with the basic (who what when why and maybe how?). Does this mean that the answer to questions are not on the surface like the material you get when you only skim or scan a text for obvious answers. All of this led me back to the idea of underlying meaning and motives, which leads right in to my quote from the reading. Henry Jenkins named it the "Transparency problem," when talking about how the "media are actively involved in processes of constructing or representing 'reality' rather than simply transmitting or reflecting it." I found this to be essence of why we need to think critically and teach critical thinking skills. The basic beginning of the scientific process starts with curiosity to explore a question deeper. Teachers should be guiding students in this approach about all the subjects (even life), meaning that there is always more than meets the eye to be discovered. This led me to a blast from the past Milli Vanilli a duo that pulled off one of the greatest spoofs ever and even won a Grammy. They fooled everyone even some of the greatest so-called experts serving on the judging panel that hand out the music industry's most prestigious awards, the Grammy's not to mention selling millions of records.
This elaborate scheme to fool the world plays right into the "Five Critical Questions" from various angles. The true singers were not the true authors of the scandal, the lip syncing duo Milli Vanilli were not the true authors, so searching for the true author and the purpose or motivation becomes a vital question to know the answer to.
The creativity was pure genius and captured the attention of the world. The different messages and mixed reactions were not fully known until the duo became the scandal of the decade. This led to audience's questioning a lot of other groups and their potential for not performing live or actually performing as themselves.
The lifestyles and values are the ideas of what some people may be willing to risk in order to gain notoriety and fortune (because the true motive behind this scheme was money).
The Omission beyond the obvious was the turmoil and destruction the scandal left the two front men for the group lives. While it's true they willingly participated in the scandal, I'm not sure they were prepared for the fallout if their deception was discovered.


The truth
The True Milli Vanilli





 Citations:

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Published on Feb 14, 2014

Music video by Milli Vanilli performing Girl You Know It's True. (C) 1994 BMG Berlin Musik GmbH