A Media Literacy Musical?

Idealistic Chester Smith, editor of the Verity Press, doesn't know he's being manipulated

How do we build peace in a society where people of good will are generally persuaded that their neighbours are their enemies? How do we connect with each other when we can’t even broach certain subjects at family dinner? What can be done to restore hope and a willingness to listen to each other’s stories in order to connect and problem-solve together? 

Let’s try a musical!

And maybe also a workshop. I’m going to start by writing a little about the workshop, but please bear in mind that a musical is where this is leading.

The workshop is on navigating modern media, because media has long been one of the forces that’s contributed to the polarization of our society. Lately, as we’ve retreated into information silos, it’s gotten worse. This is broadly understood. And it is also generally believed that it’s our neighbour’s media, not our own, that’s the problem. They’re the ones being manipulated, even brainwashed, by distorted information that has made engaging with them almost futile. It’s impossible to agree on even the most basic facts about what’s happening and why, because they’ve been fed a stream of lies. So we retreat instead. 

But what if that’s not an accurate reflection of reality? What if our media is also less than trustworthy? How would we know? 

Slide-deck from the Eyes Wide Open workshop

I created the workshop to answer that question and to equip people with tools for sifting through information and getting a balanced picture of the issues that tend to divide us. I’m also aiming to imbue them with hope and reasons for reaching across the divide while holding fast to our principles. 

It consists of 8 modules, covering bias vs fairness; confirmation bias and how to verify information; polarization and propaganda techniques; the importance of nuance; the motivating factors that drive manipulative media; characteristics of an unsupported conspiracy theory; and a process for evaluating conspiracy claims. I ran it last fall with Braver Angels. It was a powerful experience for all of us, especially because we were learning and connecting across our differences. There were so many requests for a repeat, as well as for a version that could be run independently in communities or schools, that I’m running it again with a new group now, and recording it for future use. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn7ZMhgDf7Q

The original concept song for the Eyes Wide Open musical

Here’s the fun part. As I was putting the workshop together last fall, I realized that my song Anger could have been written for it. So I used it to start the course. Then, I remembered that Anger came to me as a concept song for a musical. And every module lends itself to another song, all belonging to the same musical. So this time around, I’m writing a new song every week. It’s for the workshop, but even more so for the musical Eyes Wide Open, that encapsulates the course’s key concepts, while placing them into the story of apprentice villain Ruby Ravenswood, who tries to tear a 1950’s Bible college apart, only to discover that the scapegoat of her plot is the one person she least wants to hurt. 

Last week, I didn’t have time to add music to the lyrics. Normally, I’d sing a melody into Suno AI, give some style prompts, and have it produce a demo version. But last week’s song was a duet between rival editors Chester Smith and Mabel Hunter (who also have a romantic history). Suno doesn’t follow instructions very well on who is supposed to sing what for a duet. So I wound up just having to read the lyrics in the workshop. 

Mabel Hunter of The Real Scoop, wishes Chester wasn't so baised

I rediscovered while doing so that there is a power in live performance. There’s something magical and connective about sharing your work in person, in your own voice, even when it’s less than polished. Here are those lyrics. 

Bias

CHESTER

Join us at the Verity 

Where we report the facts

Unvarnished, no agenda, and clear. 

MABEL

Better join the Real Scoop

The Verity is owned

The principal decides the tone, I hear. 

CHESTER

Don’t look now, your bias is showing.

MABEL

And you deny there’s an official line you’re toeing? 

(instrumental build to Chorus while CHESTER reacts)

Biased (Biased, biased, biased)

He claims he isn’t biased (biased, biased)

But he can’t report the facts without a moral squint.

CHESTER

Biased (biased, biased, biased)

She claims she isn’t biased (biased, biased)

And what she cannot prove she’s gonna darkly hint. 

MABEL

He says he seeks the truth

But what he really wants is proof

That the world is exactly how he sees it.

CHESTER

She’ll ignore a dozen stories

That would bring our school glory

But one whisper of dissent and she will seize it. 

BOTH

Because s/he’s biased (Biased, Biased)

Just biased. 

MABEL

Is there a line you have to tow?

CHESTER

Yes. I have to tell the facts

In language that’s professional and clear.

MABEL

And nothing about faith?

CHESTER

Look… you don’t have a case.

Christianity is why the school is here. 

MABEL

Don’t look now, your bias is showing

You’re blind to the abuses and they’re growing. 

CHESTER

Biased (biased, biased, biased)

She claims she isn’t biased (biased, biased)

She doesn’t have an ounce of proof but oh, she’s gonna hint. 

MABEL

Biased (Biased, biased, biased)

He claims he isn’t biased (biased, biased)

But he can’t even see the facts because he’s got that squint.

CHESTER

She says she seeks the truth

While she roots around for proof

That the world is exactly how she sees it.

MABEL

He’ll ignore the silenced story

Cause it hints of something gory

If he weren’t afraid of truth, then he would seize it. 

BOTH

Because s/he’s biased (Biased, Biased)

Just biased. 

We’ve always seen the world in different colours

But there were basic facts on which we both agreed

Used to be that s/he’d engage with logic

But nowadays, s/he doesn’t seem to see the need 

CHESTER

Because she’s

Biased (biased, biased, biased)

She claims she isn’t biased (biased, biased)

She doesn’t have an ounce of proof but oh, she’s gonna hint. 

MABEL

Biased (Biased, biased, biased)

He claims he isn’t biased (biased, biased)

I’ve tried but I can’t get him past that squint.

CHESTER       MABEL

She says she seeks the truth He says he seeks the truth

While she roots around for proof But what he really wants is proof

That the world is That the world is

exactly how she sees it. exactly how he sees it.

She’ll ignore a dozen stories He’ll ignore the silenced story

That would bring our school glory Cause it hints of something gory

But one whisper of dissent If he weren’t afraid of truth,

And she will seize it. Then he would seize it. 

Because she’s biased Because he’s biased

Just biased Just biased

BOTH

Bias is how YOU lean. 

Ira Ivonavich, the arch villain of Eyes Wide Open

This week, the song is by Ira Ivonavich, a Russian operative who traveled back from 2016 to the 1950s to undermine an enemy nation in its past. Here is "Confirmation Bias" with instructions to her apprentice in villainy, the beautiful Ruby Ravenswood.

Stay tuned for more of this. Who’d have thought my passions for information media and for musical theatre could be united on the same project? The possibilities for what we can do with this just keep growing and getting more exciting. 

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