its meanings are mediated by audiences, and even figures like Beavis
and Butt-Head--or even a Rambo or a rapper--become contested ter-
rain in which different groups inflect meanings in different ways.

The Beavis and Butt-Head effects that I have just discussed crystallize
the experiences and feelings of alienation and hopelessness produced
by a disintegrating society and shape these experiences into identifica-
tion with slackers, heavy metal rock music, and nihilistic violence. Pop-
ular media texts tap into and articulate feelings and experiences of their
audiences and in turn circulate material effects that shape thought and
behavior. Thus, rather than condemn shows like Beavis and Butt-Head
out of hand, one could view them as a wake-up call, as signs of a disinte-
grating social order, as signs of the need for education and opportunities
for undereducated working-class youth, and as signs that parents
should pay more attention to their children and their children's culture.

Yet one should also carefully and critically review Beavis and Butt-
Head, for the texts of media culture have very powerful and distinctive
effects that should be subject to critique and debate. How, then, should
parents, educators, and concerned citizens respond to the Beavis and
Butt-Head phenomenon? One response by parents and educators has
been to attempt to censor and police children's viewing of the program
and to protect tender young minds from its allegedly harmful contents.
Some parents and teachers may indeed find the program without re-
deeming social value and want to protect their children from the show.

Another approach, one that I recommend, is to use the program as an
opportunity to teach children media literacy and criticism. This involves
watching the show with children, discussing its images and messages
and its potential effects on the audience. Such an exercise might well
grasp young viewers' imaginations and help to cultivate critical media
literacy, thus empowering young people to critically analyze their cul-
ture. If our culture is increasingly a media culture, then media education
should be an important part of general education--not to mention chil-
dren's socialization. In this case, popular programs like Beavis and Butt-
Head can be a positive opportunity for media education rather than an
opportunity for ineffectual handwringing and bemoaning of the decline
of American culture.

If we watch closely, Beavis and Butt-Head and other popular artifacts
of media culture can tell us much about our culture. What they suggest
may not be pretty and may be quite disturbing. Critical analysis of
Beavis and Butt-Head may suggest the need to develop alternative cul-

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