In the unit, we were taught about the types of bias and stereotypes that exist all around us in the form of commercials, news, videos, songs, really anywhere you can think of. To learn about what bias is, we were first told to use Checkology. The 4 modules on Checkology were all designed with a different purpose, talk about the types of bias, how bias spreads, the rights that allow people to be biased (as long as it’s not harmful to others), and how to detect bias. We also annotated some videos and articles that had either very strong bias or very little bias in order to get used to being aware of bias and stereotypes. During annotating and completing the modules on Checkology, I realized that bias occurs more often than I think, even in something that’s supposed to be neutral, like news. However, the bias is just hidden and not talked about because we don’t notice it, or we choose not to notice it. This summative is a reflection on all that we have learned about detecting bias and the purpose of bias. The first part consists of annotations on different types of media; news, print ads, commercials, songs, and shows. There are also annotations that go along with each of those forms of media in order to explain why I specifically noticed that part, or why I thought it was biased. The second part of the summative was to make a product to increase awareness of bias in society, so I made a comic. The comic shows a clear contrast between a society that pressures children into stereotypes and a society that just lets them be. It’s a reflection of gender bias that exists in the modern world even today and hopefully is able to show people that kids aren’t meant to be one way or another, pink or blue, there needs to be more colors because not everyone is going to fall into a stereotype.
News Annotation PDF:
Print Ad Annotation PDF:
Part One Annotation and Analysis:
Part Two Product (Click into Photo):
Product for Awareness Explanation: