By: Suzanne La Barre

While many years ago, the majority of middle-aged North America exchanged its fringe and bell-bottom insurgence for a more latte-friendly subsistence, the spirit of 1960s activism is far from obsolete. Amongst the few, for whom social justice embodies a raison d'etre, UCLA lecturer and CSW scholar Rhonda Hammer attests to the continued importance of hegemonic dissidence.

With an updated agenda that focuses less on noisy sit-ins, and more on reframing oppression within a global infrastructure, Professor Hammer stresses pairing theoretical critique with proactive media production. This marriage has led not only to an alternative epistemology permeating Hammer's productions and publications, but also to a new educational approach. Such is the fuel for her brainchild course Ed/ WS/ CM 178/278: "Critical Media Literacy and the Politics of Gender: Theory and Production." The general theme? "To learn basic media skills and apply them, within a media literacy perspective," Hammer says, and (more importantly for her students), "to break with the dominant code that school is not fun."

The course, now in its second year, is unlike anything else offered at UCLA. It incorporates a variety of pedagogical approaches, including videos, media production workshops, and guest lectures. Media literacy advocate Jeff Share, for example, provided a power point presentation on the importance of mass media awareness. One slide depicted the alphabet with each letter formed from a well-known product, such as the curly "A" used on "All" laundry detergent bottles. Share asked the students to recite the
specific brand name accompanying each letter, in order to depict the grandiose nature of media immersion. Amongst a group of twenty-some (self-declared nonconformist!) students, not one letter was missed. Is "immersion" too slight of a word?

Another portion of the course required basic mastery of technological resources; a tough feat for the many luddites and neophytes gracing the classroom. But its importance cannot be overstated, since the technological revolution has often been accredited to men, and has worked to the exclusion of women. “Critical Media Literacy” provided a safe space for women and men to learn these fundamental technologies.

The resources were accompanied by a complete if, upon first glance, daunting course reader, delving into the theory behind the practice; drawing from feminist dialogue, semiotics, and film and media critique. Amidst engaging discussions, and ensuing practical experience (i.e. weekly production techniques instruction at the IMPL), Professor Hammer's students experienced a new sort of immersion: the empowering kind.

The last stretch of the course, requires the students to apply their experience and knowledge to a group project, making use of video or web technology. One group parodied the paranoid nature of news broadcasts by satirically drawing a parallel between interracial couples and infectious diseases. Another group looked at women's sexuality, beyond the confines of mainstream media representations. Still another provided an analysis of California's latest political intrigue: the election of Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For those of us unfamiliar with the bureaucratic bedlam that characterizes our University with such pleasurable pain, it goes a little something like this: because of financial constraints, on-campus technological equipment is of limited availability. Professor Hammer worked closely with Dwayne Washington, the manager of the Instructional Media Production Lab (IMPL), to maximize “Critical Media Literacy” access to various cameras, web technologies, and lab time. This manifested itself in several months over a span of three years worth of coordinating between various departments and services, which amounted to countless phone calls, and many tedious hours spent composing letters.

Why expend the energy?

"I really believe that students have to become media literate." Hammer says. So the grander question turns into: how or why did this become so important in the first place?

Time and space travel to 1960s, Toronto, Canada: "I grew up in a neighborhood that had a very high percentage of Holocaust survivors, who could be easily identified by the numbers tattooed on their arms," Hammer says, "and you just knew something wasn't right." Add this to the general insurgence of 1960s North America, and a pursuit of social justice was born. Append the Ecole Polytech massacre in Montreal, in which 14 women were murdered by a disgruntled male student who opened fire while yelling, "You're all a bunch of feminists!" and Hammer's feminist tendencies were further imprinted.

Having received her education in Canada with a Masters degree in Communications from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Sociology from York University, she made an early connection between theory and practice. This was abetted by the diverse positions she held in grassroots production teams, as a television assistant, a video-production educator for senior citizens and university students, as well as her numerous positions in co-producing documentaries and educational aides.

In recent years, Hammer has taken a break from production to focus on theoretical writing. Her current research focuses on the global nature of oppression, emphasizing a patriarchal construct, as manifest in family terrorism, partner abuse, and feminist backlash. Her publications include "Antifeminism and Family Terrorism: A Critical Feminist Perspective," (2002) as well as "Rethinking Media Literacy: A Critical Pedagogy of Representation" (1995), which she co-authored with Peter McLaren, David Sholle, and Susan Reilly.

With experience both in production and critical analysis, as well as a vehement enthusiasm for alternative education, it is no wonder that Critical Media Literacy was a natural progression for Rhonda Hammer. This is fortunate for the many students at UCLA who are dissatisfied with current educational practices, and with the status quo at large, and who may draw on Professor Hammer's dedication to activism, as evident in her conception of this course. Her message is both inspiring and conscientious: dissidence is as important now as ever before, and armed with critical thinking skills and technological savoir-faire, it can facilitate the sort of change our Levis-clad parents only dreamed of.


Suzanne La Barre graduated with a major in Women's Studies in Spring 2004