A lively, balanced, and insightful guide to interpreting the media, Doing 21st Century Media Studies gives readers a practical introduction to the major issues that comprise media studies--most significantly, the media's immense, relentless, and often pernicious effect on society. In thiscompelling and accessible volume, Toby Miller and Richard Maxwell present analytical tools that work to decode media messages, motivating readers to become more critically and politically engaged with their own daily intake of media. By outlining a more proactive and constructive approach to mediastudies, the authors argue that media is not merely something that is done to us--instead, they present it as an engaging arena through which we can better understand the world around us.