Vampires, really?

After reviewing several pages, blogs, websites, articles, and opinion pieces, I’ve developed a few thoughts on the prevailing philosophies about the popularity of vampires. Five of the articles I read are linked and briefly summarized below and will contribute to my thoughts on this topic:

This article considers how the introduction of sexuality into the vampire figure has helped the popularity of vampirism to snowball to what it is today.

A doctor of philosophy makes some interesting points about the versatility of vampires to accept our projected hopes and fears.

The idea here is that there are more vampire movies and popularity during democratic terms and more zombie media out during republican terms. I find the logic laughable but interesting.

The essence of this article focuses on the versatility of the vampire symbolism. We are able to assign good/evil to the issues we are fighting in our lives.

The part of this article most interesting is toward the end when the author talks about how there has been an increase in vampire popularity since the events of 9/11. The primary philosophy on this increase is the mortality of our typical heroes has been damaged, and women in particular turn to immortal heroes.

First of all, I don’t have an opinion on vampires or vampirism as it stands in our pop culture. I haven’t read any of the Twilight books or any of the other historically important vampire texts. My students love the Twilight books, and because it makes them WANT TO READ, I don’t ask questions about what or why! I am not able to require vampire literature to be read (several Christian families would fight that despite the assertion of Christian principles in the text).

Going into this week, I wasn’t sure I would find anything of value; I’m happy to say I did find a few ideas that are interesting (if less than earth shattering). Vampires in ‘western cultures’ are much older than most people think. It seems to be agreed that American obsession with vampires in earnest started sometime in the 1920s and has been a roller coaster from decade to decade.

With these articles as a foundation, the reason I like best for the popularity phenomenon is what these characters represent in our lives. For many female teenagers, the men in the Twilight books represent that safe, sensitive, attractive man who is interested in them because of who they are. This is also the attraction for many adult women as well; it is an innocent escape into a romance with someone who is never going to leave or die. Finding a man like that is tremendously alluring.

Stepping away from the Twilight books the logic still holds. Vampires (since the introduction of sexuality with “Dracula”) are people who are not subject to the laws of humanity and mortality. Vampires, especially males, have immortal desires and are not chained by emotion or even monogamy. They are able to commit more than a lifetime to giving someone whatever they imagine. Vampire romance for adult women is a very popular genre these days.

The article above that focuses on the increase of vampire texts and media since 9/11 makes sense. Our human heroes (military, police, firefighters, etc) are limited to human rules and mortality. We were shown on that day what happens to those men—they can be killed. The vampires in fiction can be our everything and not face a day of reckoning.

Another concept that was touched on in one of the above articles as well as other blogs and articles I came across is that of known immortality. On a deeper level, one of the reasons we are interested in vampires is because they know their fate. The concept of ‘after life’ known to many Christians is intangible. Those who are steadfast in their faith know there is an afterlife if they accept Christ, but they do not know what it looks like. Being around or ‘knowing’ someone who knows how they will spend forever is attractive to many people.

No one seems to know much about the exact reason vampirism is so popular today, but like every other fad, it will fade for a time only to resurface when the culture market can bear it.

You're Going to Wear THAT?!

There have been several times in my literature discussions that students didn’t have the first clue what era we were discussing simply by looking at the photo (period dress). This week’s article got me thinking about how our clothes really are a sign of the times and of social movements. I did more searching on the topic and found that clothing has long been a product of a person’s status and the activities of which they are a part.

In the name of connecting clothing to history through research, writing, planning, and speaking, the students will be arranging a “Fashion Through the Decades” runway show. Here is the rough outline of the project:

Purpose: To connect the relationship between clothing and culture and historical events through research.

Project: Students will connect the clothing of the times by hosting a fashion show that is well researched, planned, and narrated.


Action Steps (in brief):

1. Students are PARTNERED (or small groups) and assigned a decade (1900s-2010)
2. Focusing only on the United States, each group RESEARCHES the era, the major historical events, cultural events of the time, political movements/actions/leadership, and the clothing and style (hair, shoes, etc) popular in that time (men, women, blue collar, white collar, children, and teens)—this will be the longest part of the project
3. As they are compiling their research, they are to select 3 looks from their era that are most representative of the events/era/attitudes of the time
4. COLLABORATE with the theater department (through the teacher) and each other to find clothing that will be wearable in the show
5. LOCATE students/staff not in the class period to be models for the clothing
6. WRITE fashion descriptions for each of the looks to be read as the model is going down the runway.

Example: Here we have Rosie the Riveter. She was an active part of the 1940s during WWII. She is sporting rugged denim clothing that could withstand the hard labor she was doing each day as the men were off to war. She was in pants which was uncommon for the era, but we couldn’t expect her to work in a skirt, could we? She wore a bandana most days while working…etc

7. These descriptions must be written clearly with a factual yet fun TONE designed to teach the audience as well as be entertaining.
8. The show will be arranged by the teacher—there will be a total of 33 looks that will walk down the runway.

Again, this is just the basic concept of the activity—the teacher would need to do pre-teaching to be sure that students learned to wonder how the events of the time >were/weren’t reflected in the clothing of the time. The change in clothing would be investigated as a chicken-egg relationship. Why did things change/did things change?

It would take a lot of work, but it would be a fun activity to coordinate and to share with other students and staff in the school. The research, writing, and collaboration activities would blend well together in an effort to reflect on the culture and clothing.

Toys

Thinking about toys as popular culture is both obvious and yet they are so ingrained I found myself needing to purposefully take a step back to consider their impact and development. I enjoyed reading (http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/toys.html) and considering the development of toys through the decades. My reflections on toys and their place in our culture will be painted by my own toy experiences and the time I spent working in a toy store during college.

It makes sense that the technological advances in toys would parallel the media and the ‘major events’ in history. The article we read for the week (referenced above) focused on the highlights of each decade—as most decade by decade lists usually do. I remember both my mom and grandma talking about toys they had as they were growing up. Though I can’t remember the specifics, they weren’t these ‘mainstream’ toys, but both women spoke of them with smiles on their faces. Toys evoke lots of great memories and for everyone; the happiness of a ‘simpler time’ is apparent when they look back on their youth.
I was a child of the 80s and early 90s. Born in 1981, I remember a lot of the great cartoons like Gummy Bears, Rainbow Bright, GI Joe, Care Bears, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all the marketing that went along with them. I was from a family, however, that didn’t often follow those product trends from year to year. I was able to have one or two ‘current’ items in my toy arsenal. We were much more a family who liked board games like Clue, Monopoly, Pictionary, and the great classic toys like Lincoln Logs, Light Bright, Etch-a-Sketch, and a Barbie from time to time. My sister and I would spend hours building items with Lincoln Logs and coming up with our own pretty pictures with the Light Bright.
The attitude toward toys today seems very different from when I was young. Perhaps that is a product of the kind of parents I had. I was taught to be thankful for what I did have and amuse myself with the toys we had. We had plenty of toys, but WANTING something wasn’t enough to merit a purchase.
I spent three and a half years during college working at Toys R Us. 95% of my time there was spent at the ‘customer service’ area of the store. I got to learn a lot about the marketing of products, shipping cycles and parent attitudes toward toys. Toy placement in a store is very well researched and purposeful. Sections of the store are designed to lead into each other, and the most highly advertised merchandise gets prime placement. Shipping cycles and locations are based on city demographics and store performance. Highly sought after toys are not equally distributed between stores. I don’t know the equation that was used, but our store in South Dakota often had to request additional popular toys like Elmo dolls and the return of the Cabbage Patch Dolls.

Parents turned into demanding, mean spirited people when we couldn’t meet their every need. We referred to it as the “Disney disease” because when they entered the store, they were under the delusion that everything would be sunshine and lollypops for their children’s toy wishes. When we couldn’t provide the toy they wanted or if something broke after purchase, we were often faced with frustrated people who made it seem as though the world was conspiring against them. You’d think I was exaggerating, but I’m not! Over and over, parents were flat out ANGRY when something was unavailable or malfunctioned. I believe the trend of ‘my child first’ is one of the worst parts of the advance of toys and their impact on our culture.

Part of the change in toys is marketing and rapid availability. Anyone with a credit card and the internet can order anything delivered to their front door in a matter of days. There is still joy in toys today for kids, but there is so much change so quickly that kids and their short attention spans only play for things for a bit until the next bigger/better item comes along. Manufacturers also take fewer risks today due to the threat of lawsuits. Kids are no longer encouraged to learn through ‘natural consequences.’

Maybe I’m being too hard on the trends of today, but I do believe that kids today are not as appreciative of the things they have because of the general rapid availability of the next item. Families are generally demanding on stores and products always expecting the best at every end. Perhaps we should go back to simpler times of toys in an effort to teach contentment.

Food Unit

In response to the chapter about food and popular culture in Tooning In, I have developed a unit with concepts inspired by the major points in the text. The target audience would be grades 9 & 10 in a social sciences class (psychology, sociology, etc). The unit is in outline form with the purpose of each activity, the mystery question to be considered and resolved (if possible), and the basic activities. Many of the “activities” would be the ‘final project’ for that part of the unit—there would be lots of discussion and teacher provided notes along the way before arriving at most of these projects.

Food as Cultural Currency Unit

Part 1: Saturation

Purpose: To become mindful of how/where food and body image inundate us

Question: How long can you go through a day without a message relating to food crossing your eyes/ears?

Activites:
A. Find 10 examples of ‘food message media’ and create a basic collage
B. Journal 90 minutes of after school time minute by minute noting ANY food related image you find
C. Reflect: Where did most of the food images come from? What were the messages in the images? Did they impact your thoughts or actions? (how) What did you realize by doing this activity?


Part 2: You Are How You Eat

Purpose: Consider how people eat and how our personalities may be reflected through our food behaviors.

Question: What do someone’s eating habits say about their personality and ability to connect with others?

Activities:
A. Choose 3 people you eat with fairly often. You should know their personalities as well. One person should be a peer, one an ‘adult’ and the third anyone you choose.
B. Observe their eating habits (without telling them) and record your observations. Include notes on what they eat, how quickly they eat, do they mix the food on their plate, and where they eat.
C. Read the short article from Divine Caroline
D. Respond in a short reflective piece: Did their eating habits match the article? What are you more aware of after this activity? Do you think food behaviors/choices are reflective of personalities? Why or why not?


Part 3: The Ideal

Purpose: Consider how the ‘attractive female’ has changed over time and what cultural changes are a part of that.

Question: How and why has the image of the ‘attractive female’ changed?

Activities:
A. Find a picture of a woman of ‘western culture’ in the 1400s, the 1700s, the 1800s, the 1920s, the 1950s, 1980s, and today
B. Reflect: what are the similarities and differences do you see? (T-Chart or ven diagram)
C. Answer: What is likely the major reason the shift from ‘curvy’ to ‘skinny’ happened?
D. Read the article summarizing the ‘desirable woman’ in western culture.
E. Create a digital piece (PP, edited movie, digital poetry, etc) that shows the shift and at least one cultural reason for the shift from the 1400s to today.

Part 4: Talk Back

Purpose: Critically analyze a commercial and respond with other messages

Question: What messages are in mainstream commercials and what message do you want to send?

Activities:
A. Read “The Guide to Body Image”B. Find a commercial that is on TV today (Youtube, etc) that has ‘body image messages’ in it
C. Watch the piece several times noting the hidden messages and overt body image messages
D. Download the commercial and create a talk-back piece:
a. Over ride the audio (pick some of these options)
i. Say what you think of their portrayals/messages
ii. Be witty, serious, thoughtful, etc
iii. Change the commercial to be sarcastic
b. Add other images to convey your thoughts or change the meaning of the commercial
E. Present the piece to the class

Sample Assignment

Continuing my fictional geography teacher-self, I have created a "Cultural Image" project. Below is the assignment write up that would be given to the students. It lacks a certain amount of specifics because it would need to be relevent to today's topics, but the general concept and assignement stucture is there.

Cultural Image

We’ve all seen the clips: “Wildfires rage in California…” “Thousands feared dead in Indonesian earthquake…” “Four feet of snow blankets Buffalo…” “Palestinian militants bomb Israeli outposts…” Each of these stories gets their 30 to 90 seconds of coverage with dramatic images brought to us on the TV or webpage we are viewing. We are shocked, saddened, surprised…and then it’s over. The story bleeds into another story and new images fill the screen. But what is going on just off screen? Have you ever been misrepresented? Only had a part of your story told? Somewhere in the middle of all these questions is where the study of media and geography collide with cultural portrayals.

Goals: Analyze how the media portrays world cultures and events. Consider the media’s motivations and how our understanding of places and cultures is shaped in relation to these portrayals. Then, create a portrayal that is complete. You will tell the story of a PEOPLE and a PLACE—not an event.

Project: Create a multi-media presentation with images (pictures or video) with no text or spoken audio. Your project may take whatever form you prefer (use whatever program you wish), and must be a fair and accurate representation of a culture residing in a specific geographic area. Your final piece will be a ‘modern song’ (not older than 10 years) that will accompany your images.

Project Steps (Each will be checked for completion)
1. Choose a major world event not older than 1 year
2. Watch 3 to 5 clips of that event from the internet or TV media
3. Write 10 words that describe the CULTURE, the PEOPLE , and the GEOGRAPHY as portrayed
4. Research the region to find out “the rest of the story”
5. List 10 words that describe the CULTURE, the PEOPLE, and the GEOGRAPHY as you now know it
6. Collect Images and create your multimedia document that represent those 10 words
7. Create your multimedia document with the images (total of 2-4 minutes)
8. Select a modern song as the soundtrack and layer it into the document

On presentation day, you will show us one clip of the world event. We will list 3 words (as you did in step 3). Without introduction, we will then watch your presentation and write down 3 words at its completion. Discussion will follow.

A reflective paper will be due at the completion of this project, but it will not be assigned until all the presentations have taken place.

This Term Will "Pop!"

The tone for this blog is a brief persuasive letter regarding the use of Pop Culture in the classroom. I have decided to be a fictional geography teacher writing to my students' parents. Here is a letter I would send home early in the term.

Dear Parents:

I am excited to have your daughter/son in my Geography class this year. We will be learning many things this term through many different activities and experiences. Central to geography and our studies will be the use of “popular culture.” There is rich depth to be explored in an area many think is too shallow to merit attention. By using aspects of popular culture, students will be asked not only to consider the course content but to analyze it in relation to events and people they are familiar with. Learning is brought to vivid reality and is engaging for students in a way inaccessible through a textbook. It is impossible to know what events will occur that may find their way into the classroom, but below are some examples of how popular culture may be used to focus on certain areas of study during the term.

Focus Area: Mapping
The most basic concept in Geography: where are countries, rivers, continents, etc located? Students will learn the basics of the world layout then will select a style of music or musician. They will follow that style from its roots, through its influences, and finally to its present form. If they select a musician/group, they will study their tour stops, their routes/movements, as well as the scheduling of events. By plotting a subject that is interesting to them, they will be interacting with the map in a way that is meaningful and expands their current understanding. Additionally, we would also work on mapping distribution and supply chains for major merchandise (like Coke, GAP clothing, etc) in an effort to understand mapping as well as consumerism and global markets.

Focus Area: Cultural Image
We will spend a great deal of time analyzing cultures. This area of ‘cultural studies’ is rapidly changing in the face of media and technological advances. One project that will incorporate popular culture and media texts will be the ‘Cultural Image’ project. The primary analytical consideration for this project is how the media’s ‘spotlight’ approach causes distorted concepts of an area. To analyze and combat the effects of these short clips that they are bombarded with, students will be asked to create a multi-media presentation with no written text that conveys the richness of a location and its relationship with the geographical and culturally specific aspects unique to it. They will need to select a ‘modern’ song to be the soundtrack to their images. By balancing their selection of images (picking photos requires a high level of analyzing) as well as having the ability to communicate in a medium that is fresh and creative, students will be challenged to learn about a place and its culture in an in depth way while considering the media’s presentation of these areas and their cultures.

Focus Area: Mapping Technologies
Creating maps and studying where people live are key areas for geographers. While studying these techniques, students will be utilizing popular culture tools and events to study and map people and events. Using GoogleEarth, looking at Census techniques all around the world, website counters, demographic collection techniques they experience, and the uses for this data students will study a process they are already a part of. Because they are actively involved in these processes already, they will have a higher investment in understanding the process and be more engaged.

As you can see, popular culture doesn’t always mean the study of tattoos and the latest trends in rock bands. There are aspects of students’ everyday lives that are ‘popular culture’ and should be brought into the classroom as a way of learning applicable knowledge in a meaningful and engaging way. I encourage you to question your student often about their engagement in this course, challenge them with questions about current world events, and be in contact with me should you have thoughts or questions on the course content.

Thank you for sharing your student with me this term!
~Mrs. Holton

Digital People??

This week I will focus on the use of ‘digital conversation agents’ or ‘avatars’ or ‘talking heads’ or… you get the idea. There has been a lot of progress in this area since I last checked—ala the 80s’ Max Headroom. I had no idea that so much discussion and study had been focused on the use of this technology. Here are a few thoughts after doing the reading assignments for this week.

In the Veletsianos article, I was surprised by several things: “students converse with agents” was a statement that caught me off guard. They are able to CONVERSE with a digital agent, really? I’ve had minimal exposure to these “pedagogical agents” in online help tools. The idea that I would be able to freely interact with this ‘being’ is interesting and a bit scary. The way students interacted with this agent is shocking! Their language and lack of appropriate conversation does not seem within the realm of normal interactions. I believe Veletsianos is on the right track in acknowledging the lack of inhibitions that tend to happen when students are using digital platforms to communicate, but that isn’t enough. I believe there are also factors including the teen/student wish to push the limits to see what the ‘machine’ is capable of. That is not an excuse, however, for the behavior and conversations these students were trying to have with the avatars. It is a sad commentary on our culture---alas, that is for another post.

Another piece of the Velentsianos article that got me thinking was how the researchers mentioned how there MAY be a human/machine power differential. Really?! How couldn’t there be a difference in power? By pointing that out, I became aware of my own assumption ‘against’ computers. I am of the belief that machines will never have the complexity and master the unpredictability that is inherent in human-human interaction.

With that in mind, I read the Doering, et al, article. I have had Aaron as a professor, and I enjoyed his style. This article was much more ‘approachable’ and the study more useful because it was well developed and focused on a population that is likely to be patient and appropriate. I found it very interesting that this article used the term “Conversational Agent” as opposed to “Pedagogical Agent.” I think Conversational Agent is a more appropriate term than the dry ‘pedagogical’ approach taken by the Velentsianos research.

While reading Doering, I kept picturing my experience last week. I was on the phone trying to get help with an insurance question. There was a digital gatekeeper before I could get to my account information. The question was simple, what is your ID number? I answered it 8 times..EIGHT TIMES and it still didn’t understand me. My frustration level was palpable! With that in mind, I understand what the students were referring to when they tried rewording or restructuring their questions and the conversation agent still didn’t understand what they were talking about. That exemplifies the limitations of the ‘machine’ answering questions even with the best algorithm guiding the response. (then again, I’m still FLOORED that the agent in the Velentsianos article knew to respond to the inappropriate questions).

How would I apply this to my classroom? I don’t think I would. I played around with making a digital version of myself, and it was silly. I didn’t have much fun with that particular program, and I don’t see it being useful with my students. If I work with deaf/hard of hearing students, the inaccessibility would make it pretty useless. If I were working with hearing students, the interaction of a ‘moving’ person who seems to be active and knows what is going on could keep their interest, but I’m not certain they would learn that much more.

Another thought as it pertains to this class—I always felt that “pop culture” were those things that we shared (somehow) with another person (online, texting, in person, etc). Why would someone use an informational/glorified ‘tour guide’ as a chat buddy for popular topics? Isn’t the draw of these topics that you get a human response that is unique to that human? I’m not sure these ‘people’ have a place beyond an interactive FAQ approach. We shouldn’t be in a hurry to push humanity out of learning and living.

Let's Play!

This post will focus on gaming (in all fashions) and its link to learning, living, and a bit on the classroom.

Lessons from the “Halo” King

I met a student three years ago when he was a freshman in my English class. I made it a point to get to know all of my students on that ‘what do you like to do? what makes you tick?’ level, and I learned early on that ‘Billy’ (name changed) was a huge fan of video games—specifically Halo. He was in my first period class, and I noticed that he would enter the room almost every day with a guy friend or two from class talking about their latest conquests or failures playing Halo the night before. He was an easy going student but would light up when talking about game playing. He would then seemingly resign himself to class and limited participation. Needless to say, this bothered me a great deal, so I set out to learn a bit more about Halo. I learned that it is a first-person shooter game that has team work ties to accomplish galactic-style missions after the ‘world’ has been destroyed (obviously that’s an incomplete description—sorry gamers). Armed with this knowledge and other ‘teacher motives,’ I started a ‘what is critical thinking?’ discussion in class one day. We were all over the map with the discussion, but after some agreed upon terminology came out, (thinking, balancing ideas, wondering, looking beyond the obvious, being creative, etc) I brought up the idea of video games. I would love to say that Billy sprang to life and joined in right away, but that wasn’t the case. He was reluctant and doubtful of the connection between something ‘school’ and his beloved video games. We started a new list: what is great about video games? Why are they addicting? What kinds of skills are needed to be successful? And wouldn’t you know it; a lot of the same ideas as listed above came up! By the end of the discussion, Billy was leading the comparisons. After that great discussion, I started to see there may be something to gaming and how it can be tapped for use in the classroom without actually playing the game. “Think Critically” became a mantra in the class, and the students were able to conceptualize what that meant because they had something tangible to hang it on. It didn’t work for everyone, but it was a powerful way to hook the guys, and with Billy being the class expert, I was able to capitalize on a better group dynamic as well.

Generalizations

I share that story not to say I already knew games/gaming were great tools but to make a point about generalizing. We take for granted students’ ability to take concepts from one area of their lives and apply it to another. This is not an innate skill; far from it, in fact. How many times have we tried to connect a concept from our neighboring classroom and recognize that students seem to leave understanding in compartmentalized zones? I may ask, “How is Mr. Truto’s unit about free speech related to what we’re talking about?” And I get the classic blank stare—like the knowledge from his subject is only activated within his classroom walls. This is, in all ways, contrary to our goal as educators to encourage and prepare students to question and grow outside of school.

To me, this is where ‘pop culture in the classroom’ usually falls a bit flat. When I brought up video games, the students, especially Billy, looked at me like I was throwing an unrelated theme into the mix of a ‘school’ discussion. It wasn’t until I made the first few links between gaming and critical thinking that they started to see the parallels. It is not enough to bring something ‘hip’ into the classroom and say “Why is this important? How does this connect to___?” We have to be more purposeful than that. Recognizing the things that are popular and an everyday part of their lives is the first step; doing the teacher-thing and identifying how that event/concept/person is a key to bigger picture learning and growth is why we are the teachers and not just discussion leaders. We have to lay the ground work, especially in the beginning, that will allow students to gain traction and develop the skills leading to a point where critical analysis and higher order thinking is par for the course rather than a fleeting moment.

This was evident in Henry Jenkins “Labyrinth” article as well. The game development and concept sound really fantastic, but the connections between the game and the real world and classroom applications are still teacher-led. It is vital to remember this: games are useful for educational purposes, but we must illuminate the tethers between them if students are to benefit from the application of gaming as pop culture in the classroom.

One of my favorite sites Teen Checkup ran an article about gaming and teens not too long ago. It’s a good site that is worth checking out.

The BIG-M of Gaming

Gaming for students is a major part of their youthful identities. Many are involved in video games, sure, but the Americanized image of a ‘classic’ high school student centers around sports. Sadly, it seems that there are many students who are either athletes or video game people—this isn’t a hard dichotomy, of course, but there are genres of gaming that are not ‘suitable’ for the respectable varsity athlete. What a sad way to categorize people. Board game companies are also focusing on a return to family-centered gaming as a way to reconnect. I didn’t have to think very hard to see a strong connection between all three types of gaming that explains their appeal to youth and to families.

As an undergrad, I had the privilege to attend Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. As a SD school, Augie has aspects which remain close to Native roots. In our education program, the foundation of a healthy child and classroom is focused on the Circle of Courage. Early-on in the program, you are forced to memorize the four parts and be able to discuss their basic applications. Someone long before me came up with the BIG-M as an mnemonic device. The four aspects are Belonging, Independence, Generosity, and Mastery. As my studies at Augie explored greater depths, I came to realize there may be no more perfect model of ‘wholeness’ in a person or classroom. In short, the Circle suggests that for a person to be whole and in a state of contentment for learning and growing, they must have balance in these four parts of their life.

Gaming fits into this structure, and in that way it is no surprise to me that students find comfort and satisfaction in enjoying games. To play a game with family, a team, or even virtually, you are part of a community. As a member of that community (participant or spectator), you have specific knowledge and a sense of BELONGING as you work together to achieve goals. Even without your community around you at all times, you experience the feeling that your presence makes a positive difference. All games require a certain amount of skill and knowledge. As you participate in those games with your family, with friends, or with your teammates, you are demonstrating and increasing your MASTERY of skill. Everyone has pride in something, and when you play and succeed (or even when you have just improved on something), there is power in feeling as though you have talent and a sense of mastery. In games, we often talk about sportsmanship—the attitude of recognizing others’ contributions as well as approaching the ‘game’ with the best intentions to play a fair and honest game. Those qualities resemble the quality of GENEROSITY in the Circle of Courage. When we come to an experience where we give of ourselves and recognize the ‘giving’ of others, we value each other and the experience in a new way. Finally, when gaming, we don’t have anyone holding our hand—what we accomplish is singularly satisfying. Even though we may be part of a ‘team’ or community (physical or virtual), we are an individual bringing our unique set of mastered skills to the group; in other cases, we are on our very own doing something that makes us feel good as one person. Our INDEPENDENCE shines when we are able to stand alone with the confidence gained by the other areas and feel as though as an individual, we have something to offer to a community when the time comes.



Some people might think those connections are a bit farfetched, but if you take apart an unsuccessful classroom, a struggling student, or even your own personal life, you will likely see that one area is lacking. So what does this mean in the classroom with gaming? To me it means don’t be afraid to bring games in, but even more so, don’t be afraid to analyze what gaming brings to their lives. Give them some background structure and opportunities to really take a look at why they do things and what motivates them. I think you’ll find that the BIG-M structure of the Circle of Courage is the underlying foundation for why people play games and why they are such a satisfying and addicting part of our culture both as participants and spectators.

Red Zones

I spent last Friday night at a local night club in my hometown. I went out with a couple of my girlfriends and asked them to help me with this assignment. We had a good time observing the men for the sake of the assignment (all three of us are married….but come on, it was for educational purposes alright?)

The first thing to know is the layout of the space requires you to be in one of a few ‘zones.’ You can be near the bar, along a wall, on the dance floor, or in the netherworld between one of the general areas. That night there was a fun cover band playing. They were drinking all sorts of concoctions, but the most common were bottles of beer.

The demographics have a lot to do with how the observation turned out—most men in this bar were between 21 and 30 and were there primarily in groups. They wore all sorts of clothes—some in jeans and t-shirts, a few in jerseys, and some walking ads for Ambercrombie & Fitch. They were visually separated by these clothing groups for most of the night. The guys tended to stay in groups and interact with people in similar clothes. I can only assume that was because they came with each other and set the tone for the evening when they decided to go out.
Throughout the night, there were several groups who just stood around. It was too loud to identify what they were talking about. Generally, they didn’t dance as a group or make any group-based movements. Some of the guys would peel off from the group to find a lady and go dance (either ask her to dance or see her and go dance with her…or try at least, ha).

I was struck by the lack of group movement. Most of the guys seemed to stay in their safe group, but when they moved (to the bar, to the bathroom, to the dancefloor, etc), they moved alone. Women almost NEVER do this, especially in a bar. We usually travel in packs or at least in pairs. We decided that they felt more confident approaching ladies or moving around the bar by themselves—not sure why though, maybe they feel better being alone if it doesn’t (or does) work out with the lady? Or it could just be that they don’t want to be burdened by a ‘buddy.’
The room really got going around 12:00, and people were moving all over, dancing and having a good time. There were still some pockets of men, but by then there was a bit more of a mingling of groups and sexes. By then, our group had picked up a couple guys too (but they were old high school friends we hadn’t seen in years…so the dynamic was much little less risqué).

We saw on more than one occasion a pair or small group of guys doing some observing of their own. Their movements were subtle to identify where they were talking about. They would use their chins or point their beer bottles in a certain direction then talk about what they saw. Again, too loud to know for certain what they were talking about, but usually it was a pretty woman on the other side of the nod, so it doesn’t take too much stretch of the imagination to see where they were going.

I didn’t see anything I hadn’t seen before, but it was fun to take it apart with my friends and see if we could figure them out when we had nothing on the line. Men seem to be more bar independent--and yet dependent in the way they kept returning to larger groups of ‘home base.’ I’ve had worse assignments, that’s for sure!

So Many Signs

I suppose…

As a woman who does her best to avoid malls because I find them annoying, I now know why. The subtle set-up that we face when we enter the malls wasn’t ever really so subtle, but this article did a decent job talking about the psychology behind it. Unfortunately, I’ve been suckered by these tricks. The article talked about the mall/store’s goal of creating a ‘goal oriented shopper’ and turning her into an ‘aimless browser.’ Ugh! Yep, that’s happened to me; and here I thought I was smarter than that! I am not a Stepford Wife, however, and I resent the fact that Sears or anyone else might think they can market my life to me like that. Here’s to being made aware of those ‘tricks’ and working to combat them. I have very little patience for the people who believe their identity can be improved or defined by shopping at a certain store. We all face messages everyday that tell us what we are supposed to be and/or who we are supposed to be, but to believe that we can buy that is naive at best--shouldn't we be teaching that? Or would we be shot by the local mall owners?

While there are some truths in the article, I don’t think we need to go running for the hills in fear of the diabolical aspects of the American shopping mall. It is undeniable that there is a design to the mall layout—that’s just good business. In reflecting on my own mall experience, I see where the uncomfortable benches or randomly placed chair are purposeful decisions. They are not interested in people pausing or resting for ‘free.’ There isn’t any need to get down on the designers who are trying to increase business. If they are using psychological aspects as well as physical layout to increase the traffic in their stores and increase business, I say more power to you! I do have a problem with the exclusivity, however. As with any business, malls cater to a certain population but they shouldn’t do that to the exclusion of major segments of the population.

Build It and They Will Come

It was interesting to me to consider the socioeconomic aspects of the placement of malls as well as the target audience. I hate to admit it, but I hadn’t ever really realized that shopping malls are not built in the “rough” end of town. It seemed natural to me that they would be built in a ‘growing’ part of town because then they could be newer and better. It makes much more sense that the motivations would be less about the structure and more about accessibility for the people ‘with the money.’ I have a gut feeling there is a chicken/egg relationship here involving the downturn of neighborhood economics, but I don’t know enough about city planning and economics to really explore how that might happen. It is pretty clear that there is a message and a group of people that malls/stores are targeting, but the article contradicts itself. If the people who are ‘supposed to’ go to the mall are the only ones there, how is it possible that “90% of Americans go to a shopping mall once a month?” Clearly the majority of Americans visit a mall quite often whether or not they are ‘invited’ to do so or not. The messages that come out of the branding, placement, and hidden agenda of the malls is fascinating.

Semiotics and Iconography

The mall presents a very interesting place for students and teachers to STUDY the make up of branding as well as semiotics and iconography. From the article, I partially disagree that: “Citizens have neither a say in creating the ideologies communicated to them, nor do they always have the time to gain access to opposing ideologies.” This generation not only has a say but has the desire to create ideologies. However, the danger is that they are not critically analyzing what they are taking in or producing; additionally, people do not often TAKE the time to access opposing ideologies. This is where the one-sided brand-heavy market starts to feel like a one-size-fits-all mold that we are squeezed into. There are options; do we take the time to critically analyze where we are, how we got there and where we want to go next? Odd that such important things can be wrapped up in a little ol’ shopping mall.

Teachers can take advantage of the marketing and branding that occurs in malls to lead students on a journey of critical analysis of their world, its construction as well as how their identity is (or is not) defined by those products/messages. The mall is a shared experience among most youth, and would provide a great springboard for these discussions. They do not (and SHOULD NOT) be passive sponges for information or marketing. It is tremendously dangerous for them to accept whatever is thrown at them if the package is familiar and comfortable. Did we learn ANYTHING from the whole Trojan Horse episode all those centuries ago?

The scary article written by Kurt Andersen “Pop Culture in the Age of Obama” is a prime example of this danger. The creation of an idol out of a man simply because he’s able to make timely pop culture references and is able to utilize the communication modes and events of the day is a risky thing to do. The campaign and administration was/is able to harness the tools that are most comfortable to Generation Y and Z and share messages. The terrifying thing is that the people getting those messages do not have the tools or habits to deconstruct and consider the motivations behind those messages. There is where pop culture can be treacherous. We need to focus on content rather than presentation.

A prime example of this is explored in Bill Whittle’s examination of the Obama symbol.



It explores the strength and messages we are able to construct within seconds on a subconscious level when we see images. Iconography is very fascinating, and teachers and students should take time to see what pop culture is represented through these symbols. There will be MANY wildly popular aspects of pop culture that can be represented with a single symbol; why!? We need to discuss and explore these questions with our students.

Getting the Message?

When I shop at a mall, I am usually looking to invest my time while I consider investing my money. There is usually a secondary goal like socializing with a friend or ‘killing time’ by window shopping. Admittedly, I don’t do much of that kind of shopping, but that isn’t how it was in high school. For lots of reasons, I think the mall is a beacon for high school students. I think the article missed a major mark by only spending a sentence or two about how the young and the old are the bane of the mall planner’s existence. We are at a fork in the road. Malls today are still designed with Baby Boomers and Generation Y in mind. However, the tides are shifting and as Generation Y ages and the marketing designed with them in mind shifts from trendy clothes to house wares and the young-adult ‘needs’ of first homes and first babies, the malls need to recognize the shift. Malls are not enough for a generation who can find anything around the world with the click of a mouse and have it delivered to their door with a 16 digit code. Where the mall used to be a one-stop-shop, it is now far too limited. The coming Generation Z is a community of digital natives who have social networking in their blood and ‘gathering places’ that are not physical. This generation does not desire the same face to face contact that the generations before it did, and with the increase of two income families, there is money to be had and time to spend it. If the malls don’t retool to reach out to the changing Gen Y and the coming Gen Z, they will have big empty buildings where even the ‘old folks’ don’t make laps anymore.

Three Voices Alive Today

In this post, I will be referring to three music videos: Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party,” Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” and Lil’ Kim’s “How Many Licks.” Each of these videos is embedded below along with other references as addressed below.
To say that these videos are different does not begin to explore their relationship to one another. Each of them is from a distinctly different decade, mindset, use of medium, and intent. It is not reasonable to get a complete picture of the world through these brief videos, but they each have validity and merit through different lenses.



The thing that struck me most in Leslie Gore’s video was the conservative nature. It makes sense, of course, on the most obvious layers because things WERE more conservative in that time period. The women are dancing and the male-female partners are grooving with each other in a non bump-and-grind kind of way. But as I watched again, I got to thinking about the medium as well. Video during this time period was beginning to have greater entertainment focus, but it was primarily a one-way street. People put up a message for the audience to appreciate. The role of the music video was part of the approach to selling records, sure, but it wasn’t as commercialized or as branded as it is today. The simplicity of this video then is as much a representation of the times as it is the rigidity of the medium during that time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTpvjNn2BUM FIONA APPLE'S "CRIMINAL"(Embedding Unavailable)

The raw nature of Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” is undeniable. There is a sleekness in the music that keeps it moving forward, but as the story unfolds, it is easy to transition from a warped sense of pity to viewing her as if she’s like a train-wreck that you can’t tear your eyes from. All of the tight shots in this video are in stark contrast to the Gore video, but there are technological as well as stylistic leaps that have been made since that time, and comparing is not really fair or worthwhile. The cuts of her with the other people are all carefully scripted, and the careful control that is shown in the shots is indicative of the control she has over the story she is telling. You get the impression that you aren’t being told everything. That coupled with her sly smiles between the angst make it pretty clear that she only wants absolution from her most recent transgressions; if given the chance, she’d do it all again. After reading the critique of this video, I was glad to have the voyeurism identified because there was something about watching her that felt awkward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBqOFMaIpHc (Lil' Kim's "How Many Licks" Video--Embedding unavailable)


It was hard not to be floored by Lil’ Kim’s video; I was shocked the first time I watched it. It is outside of my normal viewing comfort-zone, so it took a time or two for the rawness to wear off, so I could start to see a message beyond the language and sexual messages. The explicit way she talked about her sexual exploits is quite different from the way Apple showed hers. While Apple used innuendo and transparent symbolism, Kim went straight to it with words and images. The way the videos were shot mirrors this. Where Apple’s video had tight shots with plenty to hide, Kim’s video had wide shots and a variety of people involved suggesting she had nothing to hide and relished in the attention. On a side note, I could NEVER show something like this in class, and it was difficult to consider the text just as a self-journey with the lens I used when viewing the video.

These short reviews on the videos helped me come to the realization that these women are all very different but represent the women of their time. I will go one step further and suggest they simultaneously represent women of OUR time, and that is where some of the heat of pop culture is focused. If we can have women of Gore’s sensibilities, Apple’s conflictedness, and Kim’s sensuality—what does it mean to be a woman today? There are plenty of people who try to categorize us in these neat boxes and paint us in corners based on decades, color, dress, or class, but the joke is on them. Women today are all of these things, but that isn’t the only conclusion. The one that may be too big of a leap is this: there were Apples and Lil Kims in the 1960s, but they didn’t have the opportunity to speak to the world on this kind of a stage. Whether through limits with the technology or limits on what they were ‘supposed to be,’ women in the 1960s were told what they could be. Apple and Kim push the limits of what we can be in a way that we may not want to experience for ourselves; just knowing that boundary is out there is comforting should we ever want to push it.

I was reminded of a few other great videos while watching these. The biggest one that came to mind was “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYQX8J-FFo (embedding not available). She used the same methods as Apple with tight shots, but she didn’t hide anything with these people. She brought the “fringe” into the light; I argue that she didn’t resolve anything with this video—it was just a passing spotlight on people who feel alone, but it was a start. A text worth considering when using the medium of music videos.

I'd Rather Not Toon In To This Text

After reading the first three essays in Tooning In by Cameron White and Trenia Walker, I feel confused, frustrated, and decidedly not looking forward to reading any more of the text. While there were a few moments that caused me to reflect and question my current thoughts and practices, the thinly veiled attempt of the authors to shift, rather than change, the direction of classroom education was infuriating.

In the very first paragraph of the first chapter, a thought hit me: if popular culture ‘perpetuates the status quo and…hegemony,’ why are youth drawn to it? Later in the book there is talk about the general feeling of disenfranchisement felt by the majority of youth today, and how media and pop culture helps to bring them together. I suppose this could answer it partially, but there is also talk about the use of pop culture to challenge and change the power structure. Schools will always be artificial and power-filled institutions; the only way to change that is privatization. That aside, we can work to change the severity of the power structure, but by bringing in pop culture (which I’m not opposed to), we are bringing in the ‘weapon’ used by decades of youth to question and change a power structure. How can that happen without pop culture losing its edge of being ‘outside’ and therefore moldable and enticing to youth? If we are teaching them how to use a modality that is a ‘naturally occurring phenomenon’ are we not artificially using our “power” to change society in whatever twisted direction we see fit? I’m not sure where I stand on this one yet, but it seems to be contradictory.

That leads me to my primary frustration with this text so far. Page after page there are jabs at the negative effects of the current accountability movements. I am generally not in support of standardized testing as a means of measuring the progress of students, but ACCOUNTABILITY is not a bad thing. Accountability for teaching and learning is not synonymous with standardization of teaching and learning. If teachers and students aren’t accountable for whatever they are teaching/learning, what’s the point of school (and funding streams for that matter)? This text seeks not to change accountability or standardization but to impose a different standard through catchy and ‘relevant’ means. If we should bring pop culture into the classroom in an attempt to teach critical thinking, we have to be mindful of teaching critical thinking rather than just shifting a lens to match what we like better. If we are teaching students to look at something “this way” as opposed to “that way,” we are NOT teaching critical thinking—we are imposing a standard.

I found myself a bit confused about using media artifacts. There seems to be a fuzzy line of media artifacts that were pop culture and current pop culture. We can use media artifacts to establish a more engaging classroom and use them to a more complete extent, but how is that ‘pop culture?’ The text goes on to say that using these to support teaching rather than teaching them as media texts is a thinly veiled attempt at progressivism and relevance. I don’t disagree, but using something that was pop culture when it happened to investigate a time period as a whole will only be effective if we connect it to our current world. Maybe that’s what they were getting at but didn’t quite get to. I’ve used media artifacts in my English classrooms repeatedly because I teach very visual learners, and I’ve also done units teaching media in and of itself. Students are able to gain much more from the media artifacts after we’ve studied the genre of media itself first.

I love the idea of incorportating pop culture aspects as a means of unit-based/thematic instruction. Being able to bring things to life that will live with students outside of the classroom is very powerful and what every teacher desires. I want my students to generalize what we're working on in class and be able to use those processes in an effort to change their world. That's the power of pop culture in the classroom--making it real and relevant to the individual not just in the way "I" see it.

Reflecting on my stance as a teacher, I am most connected to the demystification type right now. I’m thinking that might change a bit, but generally, when I taught media, I taught it in a way that was helping students to see what they bring to the table as viewers/users and to recognize what the media was ‘going for.’

In the end of all this, I am feeling a bit less willing to use pop culture in the classroom with the motives these authors suggest. I still want to use it, but I want to teach critical thinking PERIOD. Not critical thinking with a social justice lens. Students who are taught to think can think in whatever direction they want—I should not groom them in either direction. I disagree with the author’s claim that the role of the school is to ‘enhance…values development for our children.’ The author spends 33 pages talking about how we need to get away from certain directions in the classroom and bring in pop culture in an effort (as stated on page 34) to go another way. Indeed, the author claims, don’t ‘mill’ children…unless you mill them this way.

As I’m re-reading this post, it is a bit negative/rant-like. Despite it all, I DO still have an open mind to pop culture in the classroom, but I now feel defensive and the need to tread forward very carefully with the ideas from this text. Disappointing start.

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by. This is the site for my thoughts on pop culture and its use in teaching. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say throughout the semester, but for now...I'll just add a little about myself.

I have always been a Minnesotan, but I moved to Iowa in June. I don't have a job yet, but I hope that will change next Tuesday with an itinerant position here in Iowa! My background is Deaf Education. I worked at the MN State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault for 5 years and will miss my team and my students! Since moving to Iowa, I have learned a lot of things: everyone here asks 'Debit or Credit?' when you try to buy something--not sure why they do that, plastic and glass bottles cost an extra 5 cents and you only that money back by bringing them to an approved recycling center--no one told me this, so who knows how many nickles I threw away my first three months here, and the ENTIRE state stops what they are doing for the Iowa State Vs U of Iowa games. Other than that, it seems like a pretty great place!

I will be finished with my M. Ed. in December when I finish this class and another online class I'm taking at the same time. It's going to be a crazy fall, but the light at the end of the tunnel is a pretty great motivator!

I'm looking forward to thinking about the use of pop culture in the classroom and finding practical ways to use it that are 'sell-able' to the average administrator.