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If anyone was watching the Super Bowl yesterday, I hope they were as shocked by the level of violence and cruelty in the ads as I was. At a time when children were certainly watching, we saw numerous people being hit, a preschooler slapping and threatening an adult, a man being strangled with a dog collar and an overall high level of sarcasm. How can we teach children not to hit each other when they watch this junk? What message are these ads - the most expensive ones sold -giving us about our society?

Hal,

You are just paying too much attention to what you see and hear (and I'm glad of that)! I think most people are desensitized to the obvious and inherent violence in the media and in their surroundings. It doesn't seem to register in their consciousness. They either ignore the suggested pain or think it's comic, even when an elderly person is knocked on their butt by a superior power figure. The ad people target the lowest common denominator and that means humilate or harm the weak and laugh all the way to the bank. Being aware of how we are being manipulated by ads is crucial to media literacy. I hope you can work a discussion of your and your students' observations of the Super Bowl ads into your syllabus. Please check out our activities if you need more ideas how.