In an age when most Americans get most of their information from television not textbooks, pictures not print, we need a wider definition of what it means to be literate (including the use of 'literary devices'.

Today's technologies represent a startling fusion of sight and sound that frequently make it difficult for us to discern illusion from reality, fact from fiction. Special effects like those seen in movies like "JFK" and "Forrest Gump" merge the past with the present, color with black and white, the dead with the living, fact with fiction in such a way that the real truth can often be confused with the reel truth.

Media literacy is about more than just consuming information or being entertained. People tend to blow off racist codes a bit too much and then complain when there is no progress. The racism and propaganda in 300 is far from hidden or subtle. It makes it hard for a media literate person to sit back and enjoy the show.