What are the 5 steps in the critical process? Which of these is most important, and why?

This is question number 9 from the back of chapter 1 one of Media and Culture!

STEP ONE. DESCRIPTION: The 4 W’s and 1 H! Who, what, when, where, why, and how! This can be just as one would imagine- a super basic and observable description of the media.

STEP TWO. ANALYSIS: This one is alllll about the patterns we can observe throughout the piece of media! For example, some patterns could be the color scheme, the attitudes of the characters, repeated phrases, common themes, technical aspects that strive to make a statement, etc. etc. The possibilities are endless and specific to each piece of media!

STEP THREE. INTERPRETATION: This is where it gets FUN! As analyzers of the media, we get to ask “so what? why are these patterns important?” What message is the creator/author/actor/etc. trying to tell? How do the above patterns and elements work together to tell this message in an engaging way?

STEP FOUR. EVALUATION: Now, we arrive at a judgement! Was the media successful in portraying the message that we deciphered in step 3?

STEP FIVE. ENGAGEMENT: How did people receive this piece of media? Was there a positive or negative reaction? What actions were taken by the audience? Here, as the analyzer, you can also take steps to engage with and share the media as you see fit!

While all 5 steps are important to fully critically analyze a piece of media, I believe that the Interpretation aspect is the most important, in order to dive deep into the author’s purpose in creating the medium!