Critical Literacy

Critical Literacy

Writing on this matter, Richard Hoggart reminds us how advertisers try to cajole the whole population into buying various goods. All of us are subject to the cooing and the wooing, the selectively suggestive, even the deceptive and the corner cutting so that more goods should be sold and yesterday's goods discarded in favour of today's.

The marketing people, the advertisers, the public relations people concentrate very much on persuasion to buy what is in someone else`s financial interest to encourage us to buy than in objectively pointing us towards information and knowledge which would be useful for personal or social life. According to Richard Hoggart, they manipulate language and emotions so as to further the profits or increase the influence of those who employ them.

The need above all is for critical literacy, literacy which is critically aware, not easily taken in, able to "read" the tricks of tone, selectivities, and all the rest.

Hoggart speaks of all of these assaults by television, radio, the mail-shots and hoardings; all that phoney language and distorted emotionalising.

The simple conception of "literacy" so much promoted today is inadequate.

Profit-driven societies need a majority just literate enough to be hooked by every form of communication.

Critical literacy provides us with ways of thinking that uncover social inequalities and injustices.

Richard Hoggart says that a society must give all its members the opportunity to open their minds to the best kinds of creativity, to the best works of the intellect and imagination