Utilizing Teen Culture in the English Classroom

Jason KurtzDell Rapids High School

What can movies, books, and the internet tell us about the 21st Century student? Students are still reading and writing, often all on their own. Film, song lyrics, verse-novels, and personal blogs give students ownership in their own education. "Ironman" can teach students about Joseph Campbell’s hero myth, books like "Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist" and "Crank" can teach them about music and poetry, and internet sites like Goodreads.com can store all of these ideas and thoughts in one place. The way students read and write is changing— we as educators need to keep up. 

Part 1: Micro Movie CriticismBy bringing pop culture films into the classroom and

giving the students the skills to analyze them, it can enhance many areas of the English or language arts curriculum, from discussion to writing.

Students gain ownership in their type of criticism, and become “experts” in a particular approach in analysis.

They also learn how to look at films from other perspectives, and begin contrasting approaches and effects.

If they can do it with film, they can do it with literature, artwork, music, and plays, too. Film is just the medium used to teach the skill of analysis and critical thinking with perspective.

Any Film Can Work!Marxist Criticism, Capitalism

Media Criticism, Social Criticism

Feminist Criticism, Monomyth

Genre Study, Feminist Criticism, Jungian Criticism

Any Film Can Work!Social Criticism, Jungian Criticism

Modern Surrealism, Film Criticism

Modern Surrealism, Film Criticism, Literary Criticism

Christian Criticism, Feminist Criticism, Genre Criticism

Monomyth: The Hero’s Journey

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell summarized the monomyth:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Eco Crit, Social Crit

The Hero’s Journey

The Call to AdventureThe call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.

Refusal of the CallOften when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.

Supernatural Aid After the hero has accepted the call, he encounters a protective figure (often elderly) who provides special tools and advice for the adventure ahead, such as an amulet or a weapon.

Departure

The Crossing of the First ThresholdThis is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.

The Belly of the WhaleThe belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself.

Departure Continued

The Road of TrialsThe road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.

The Meeting with the GoddessThe meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non-dualistic way. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to be represented by a woman.

Woman as the TemptressAt one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.

Initiation

Atonement with the FatherIn this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power. For the transformation to take place, the person as he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into a different realm.

ApotheosisTo apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. This is a god-like state; the person is in heaven and beyond all strife. A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.

The Ultimate BoonThe ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.

Initiation Continued

Refusal of the ReturnSo why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes?

The Magic FlightSometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.

Return

Rescue from WithoutJust as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon.

The Crossing of the Return ThresholdThe trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.

Master of the Two WorldsIn myth, this step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.

Return Continued

Freedom to LiveMastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.

Return Continued

Part 2:The New Techno-Reader

or Keeping the Lit Circle Fresh

Online communitiesBecoming the CriticMulti-media activitiesAuthor Interaction

Goodreads.com = Good Reading Groups

Goodreads.com = Good Reading Groups

TeenInk.com = Good Critics

TeenInk.com = Instant Gratification

iTunes & Your classroom

iTunes & Your Classroom

iTunes & Your Classroom

YouTube, Online Video & Your Classroom

YouTube, Online Video & Your Classroom

YouTube, Online Video & Your Classroom

Are you a censor?Be aware that you often dictate

the material available to your students and that access or censorship lies in the hands of the provider.

Professional filters contribute to the reading environment in the classroom and library.

Part 3: Pop Music Poets Many students seem frustrated and hesitant with poetry

interpretation because oftentimes, their own suggestions may differ from classroom text's interpretation. However, students usually have no qualms when asked to offer interpretations of popular musical lyrics. In fact, they seem quite eager to defend a lyrical explanation and will readily point out (without even realizing it) symbols, images, and allusions as ammunition to prove their points.

The obvious potential lies in that pop music songs and lyrics can be used as a springboard to literary interpretation. By analyzing the words in a song, as well as understanding the process and clues through which we develop our analysis, students will be able to have greater confidence in supporting their own interpretations of literature, and specifically poetry.  Associating the music or lyric with the term or concept that is being taught, also provides a mnemonic device that the student may use during recall.

In April 2003 in the “My Turn” section of Newsweek, Bruce Wexler claimed that no one reads poetry anymore. I contend that it permeates our society in a different way, though music.  Our students are listening to "poetry" every day.  By bringing a medium that students are familiar with (pop music & video) into the classroom, greater leaps in learning take place.

Simile A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as".

There's only two types of people in the worldThe ones that entertain and the ones that

observeWell baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girlDon't like the backseat, gotta be first

I'm a like the ringleader, I call the shots(Call the shots)I'm like a firecracker I make it hotWhen I put on a show

I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins

Spotlight on me and I'm ready to breakI'm like a performer, the dancefloor is my

stageBetter be ready, hope that you feel the same

[Chorus]All eyes on me in the center of the ring just

like a circusWhen I crack that whip, everybody gon' trip

just like a circusDon't stand there watching me, follow me,

show me what you can doEverybody let go, we can make a dancefloor

just like a circus

There's only two types of guys out thereOnes that can hang with me and ones that

are scaredSo baby, I hope that you came preparedI run a tight ship so beware

I'm a like the ringleader, I call the shots(Call the shots)I'm like a firecracker, I make it hotWhen I put on a show

I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins

Spotlight on me and I'm ready to breakI'm like a performer, the dancefloor is my

stageBetter be ready, hope that you feel the same

[Chorus]

Let's goLet me see what you can doI'm runnin' this like-like-like a circusYeah, like a what? Like-like-like a circus

[Chorus repeat x2]

Circus – Performed by Brittany Spears – Written by Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Benjamin Levin

Meter, Syntax, IdiomMeter (or metre) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Syntax refers directly to the rules and principles that govern the sentence structure. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through common use.

After all you put me through You'd think I'd despise you But in the endI wanna thank you 'cause you made that

much stronger

Well I thought I knew you, thinkin' that you were true

Guess I, I couldn't trust called your bluff time is up

'Cause I've had enoughYou were there by my side, always down for

the rideBut your joy ride just came down in flames'Cause your greed sold me out of shame,

mhm

After all of the stealing and cheating you probably think that

I hold resentment for youBut uh uh, oh no, you're wrong'Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do,

I wouldn't knowJust how capable I am to pull throughSo I wanna say thank you

'Cause it

Chorus:Makes me that much strongerMakes me work a little bit harderMakes me that much wiserSo thanks for making me a fighterMade me learn a little bit fasterMade my skin a little bit thickerMakes me that much smarterSo thanks for making me a fighter

Never, saw it comingAll of, your backstabbingJust so, you could cash inOn a good thing before I realized your gameI heard, you're going aroundPlaying, the victim nowBut don't, even beginFeeling I'm the one to blame'Cause you dug your own grave, uh huh

Fighter – Performed by Christina Aguilera– Written by Christina Aguilera and Scott Storch

Meter, Syntax, IdiomMeter (or metre) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Syntax refers directly to the rules and principles that govern the sentence structure. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through common use.

After all of the fights and the liesYes you wanted to harm me but that won't

work anymoreUh, no more, oh no, it's over'Cause if it wasn't for all of your tortureI wouldn't know how to be this way now, and

never back downSo I wanna say thank you [Chorus]

How could this man I thought I knewTurn out to be unjust so cruelCould only see the good in youPretended to not to see the truthYou tried to hide your lies, disguise yourselfThrough living in denialBut in the end you'll seeYOU-WON'T-STOP-ME

I am a fighter and II ain't goin' stopThere is no turning back

I've had enough[Chorus]Thought I would forget, but II rememberCause I remember I remember......x2

Fighter – Performed by Christina Aguilera– Written by Christina Aguilera and Scott Storch