A few nights back, STK and I had a dinner conversation regarding my growing discontent with students. For the most part, the students I encounter are engaging, likable people; there are a few I'd probably seek out as a friend if I were 20 years younger. My discontent has nothing to do with whether or not they're likable people, but how they treat the educational process.
I specialize in a less-than-mainstream part of my discipline: the rhetoric of popular culture. In a nutshell, I'm interested in how popular culture artifacts function as part of our public discourses regarding cultural beliefs, attitudes, values, and social conventions. One day we might address how Britney Spear's antics contribute to our cultural conversation about feminine sexuality, the next day we might address how a Godzilla film acts as a cautionary tale regarding nuclear technology. My courses aren't quite that scattershot, but you get the idea. Considering that most of us are immersed in popular culture 24/7, I believe we're influenced by the ideas we see, hear, and read. Sometimes our core values are reinforced, sometimes our core values are challenged. Nevertheless, over time we can't help but be subtly influenced. We pick up on the major debates raging across talk television/radio and talk about these things with the people we encounter. We might pick up on recent fashion trends and adjust our own dress accordingly. We see a thought provoking film and spend the next few days re-examining our own beliefs. While I don't believe popular culture is the only culture influence that can do these things, I definitely think it's a major contributor. Understanding that phenomenon seems like a worthy, and important, career path for an academic, no? Shouldn't we take some time and examine those things that contribute to the formation of our cultural attitudes and values? And it's fun, too! Yesterday, I got to spend 1.5 hours talking about the cultural significance of Spider-man.
Back to the dinner conversation. I turned to STK and said something like the following: "I love what I do. REALLY love what I do. But students just don't seem to get it. I'll show a portion of a film, stop the DVD to engage in some discussion, and students growl. They want to sit around and watch TV shows or movies all day. Getting them to discuss anything other than the basic plot is like pulling teeth. Oh, there are always a couple students who do some good critical engagement, but the vast majority just sit there like I'm talking a different language. Am I nuts to be so passionate about this? Shouldn't more people be concerned with the deep meanings conveyed by popular culture? Seriously, there's more to Harry Potter than a story about a young magician who drinks pumpkin juice and fights the forces of darkness. There's an important message in the Harry Potter narrative regarding choice; Harry chooses the path of a moral individual. From the start of the very first book, there's an underlying message regarding choice; being a moral person requires that we continually choose to be a good person. It's not as simple as just being a good person; A moral person emerges from the moral choices he or she makes. Students don't seem to care about any of that. They just want to see Harry kick Voldemort's ass.
STK paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Most people don't want to think about life that much. They just don't care. It's easier to go through life not thinking, not challenging their own thoughts and actions, and just see that stuff as entertainment. You, on the other hand, you think about everything. Should people think more? Probably."
STK's right, of course. Most people don't see popular culture as a source of serious ideas or a significant contributor to everything from sexuality to national identity. I'm a pretty engaging teacher and the students seem to enjoy our discussions of these ideas, but how many of them actually buy it? From their papers, not many. They can spit back the theories, but their analyses are usually less than critical.
What brought on all this self-reflection? A fart joke, in the classroom, directed toward Wonder Woman. Oh, and a sexual comment regarding Supergirl. I'll see if I can muster up the energy to expand in another post. ::sighs::
I love my job but there are days when I wonder if I'd be better off working in a comic book store or as a barista.
8 comments:
Most people don't think about the forces in their lives, period, whether that's global warming, Xena, or the Roman Catholic Church. That doesn't necessarily mean that their influences are significant, nor does it devalue their study.
On the other hand - Aquaman, you cannot marry a woman without gills! You are from different worlds! (sees neutron bomb) Oh, I've wasted my life...
Derek,if you worked for a barista, you'd likely get fired for drinking the profits ;)
As for the comic book store, at least youre expected to read your merchandise :D
lol, gene. I should probably think less, eh?
Maybe I should be a barista in my own coffee house, Susan. What do you think about that? That way, I'd only be drinking my own profits. I wonder if I'd qualify for a business loan?
Derek, if it's any consolation, I get that a lot, too. In studying animation for its ability to reflect social mores, I get a lot of people saying one of two things: "I never thought about it" or "Aren't those just for children?"
It could be worse- you could be trying to get your students to give a rip about history.
Gene, thanks. Nothing like a little perspective now and again.
Comment 1 of 2:
...there are a few I'd probably seek out as a friend if I were 20 years younger
Were we really all that different 20 years ago?
Comment 2 of 2:
I've almost become convinced that when I finally get a classroom of my own, I'll need to start each semester with a speech something like this:
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Chemistry (or Physics, or whatever). I am Mr. Martin, and this will be the hardest class you have this semester. This is a science class, and if you want to pass it, you will have to work hard and learn to think in ways that you're not used to. The only way to learn science is to do science, and we will do a lot of science in this class. There will be homework assignments every night and progress quizzes at least every week. Yes, that's a lot of work, but there's no other way to learn the material.
"Now, if you're curious and this sounds like something you can do, then welcome. I'll help you learn some things you didn't know about this universe of ours and how it works. You'll leave my class knowing a lot more than you know right now.
"However, if you're taking this class only because you have nothing better to do with the 73 minutes before lunch, then by all means, please make your way down to our fine counseling center and find some other class to take. Because unless you're commited to learning the material, you have absolutely no chance of passing this one."
It'll be fun to see if anyone leaves.
I've found, to my surprise, that there's a lot of push-back from this generation of college undergrads about the idea that they can be in any way influenced or "duped" by the media. I stopped showing a video on alcohol and its marketing to college students because so many of my kids' responses were along the lines of "well we don't really *believe* that when we see it; we're not sheep" and so forth, and I didn't really have the time to make the case sufficiently. I wish I knew what was up with that - the end-product of generatinos of media manipulation combined with "be an individual!" and "each one of you is far too special to be part of the mainstream!" messages?
Derek, I would LOVE to hear of you opening up your own coffee shop, because it involves something you have a great passion for.
I might even scrape the money together to fly in and frequent it :D
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