Blog Post Week 2: #1 Media Literacy

Criminal Minds Wednesday 29^th June (was previously recorded) A&E HD “All that Remains” Season 8

 

Completing an AP equivalent of media studies in the past has allowed me to evaluate TV using media literacy. If there is a program that requires Media literacy it has to be Criminal Minds. As a fan of thrilling crime dramas, I have watched Criminal Minds for many years and it has without a doubt changed the way I observe and interpret dramas. I used to watch it without any awareness of the possibilities that may occur. Adapting to the way the drama is structured it has opened another avenue of the way I watch TV in general. Every episode follows Todorov’s narrative structure, the equilibrium is where the crime occurs, disequilibrium is where the team aims to solve the crime and the resolution is when the culprit is arrested or quite frequently shot. In the newer episodes they follow on from each other similarly to the thrilling series ‘24’ inviting the audience to watch the whole series. The episode I watched was from season 8, it followed the Todorov narrative rather than a continuous one. 

The pace of Criminal Minds fluctuates; it is often slow and could become fast at random moments. So it is important to keep track of what is going on because if you miss an important quote from the intellectual Spencer Reid, you may end up feeling lost as the episode moves on. Sometimes media literacy doesn’t come useful, that was exposed when I watched this particular episode of Criminal Minds. A man’s two daughters disappeared with one dead and the other missing. He was accused of the committing the crime, we then find out that it was actually one of the missing daughters who killed her sister in an effort to jail her father. Plot twist? Yes. Boredom? No way! It shows how excellent Criminal Minds is written by the executive producer, Mark Gordon. I had the knowledge of media literacy and created many theories in my mind as to who the killer was. Yet, I was wrong and was surprised by the final outcome. This adds more excitement to the show than it has already. What impresses me is the innovation of Criminal Minds, every episode is different and to be unique for ten straight years is nothing short of remarkable.