Media Ideology and Critical Thinking.My media article is a music video by Sara Bareilles and the music video is called Brave. In this essay we will discuss media ideology and critical thinking. First I will define key terms such as ideology, media literacy and media literacy skills. After this discussion I will briefly explain the music video and what ideology the music video advertises. Third, I will talk about how I would use my media literacy skills to critically analyze the music video. Finally, in my conclusion, I will discuss the main point of my essay, which is as follows: You should use your media literacy skills to analyze the given item and I will conclude with a broad statement. To be able to analyze a media item you must first know what the key terms mean. First, according to vocabulary.com (nd), “An ideology is a set of opinions or beliefs of a group or individual…” Likewise, according to thefreedictionary.com (nd). the set of ideas that reflect the social needs and inspirations of a group, class or culture. Therefore, the Aspen Media Literacy Leadership Institute (1992) refers to media literacy as the ability to access, analyze, and create media in different forms. Subsequently, Monash University of South Africa published a Power Point presentation on moodle.vle.monash.edu explaining what media literacy skills are. According to Monash University of South Africa, it means thinking critically about a media message and not believing it, no matter how reliable your resources are. As we can see, ideology plays a key role in understanding a certain media element and we need to identify the type of ideology that the element is promoting. Living in the new age as a teenager is difficult, every day we try to adapt.... .. middle of paper ......w don't believe everything you read, hear or see in the media. We can make our own choices and believe what we want, we don't have to rely on the media to tell us what to believe and what not to believe. Always analyze a message, no matter how reliable its sources are. Works CitedMedialiteracycycolloquium blog. (2010). A study of media literacy. Available at: http://medialiteracycolloquium.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/the-importance-of-media-literacy/. [Accessed 24 April 14].Projects. 1992. Broadening the definition of literacy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/Projects/youth/literacies/media1.html. [Accessed 24 April 14].The free dictionary. (n.d.). Ideology. Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ideology. [Accessed 24 April 14].Vocabulary.com. (n.d.). Ideology. Available at: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ideology. [Accessed April 24 14].