Most messages from the mass media operate on the collective unconscious of a culture. The ethical consequence of such identification through unawareness is the transfer of decision making from consumers to image makers. The mass media critic can serve as a mediator of the ethical problems created by such a mode of identification. As mediating influences, the television, movie, and other media critics can expose and evaluate the values that are offered by message producers and digested by the public. Critics seeking to transform the public's identification through unawareness into identification through awareness will try to develop methods of inquiry that aid in making message values explicit. If critics adopt the role of mediator, two desirable effects should occur: a change from financial competition to value competition in the media marketplace, and the development of informed audiences able to decide what media products are good, desirable, and worthwhile. (RL)