Well, I’m done. Have been for a bit now. The main reason that I finished early was so that I could think it over and see if I wanted to make changes. Since I finished the first time, it’s been redone three times. I think I’m happy with it now.
What has this meant for me?
To be honest, I first took it as just a fun project. It was something to work on that would alleviate some stress from the beginning of the semester. I do well with projects, especially multimedia-based projects. By the last revision, however, I feel a bit different toward the idea of a multigenre literacy autobiography.
For me, every text has something to give. Watching my autobiography, one may think that I arbitrarily chose fun songs and books, while just listing authors on my book shelf. That’s not the point. The point is that every single time I engage a text, I receive something. It could be something as small as a new way to spell a name. It could also be a tenet of life that can be added to my existing beliefs about our world and how it works.
Many people look to religion to find their way through the world. Since my “beliefs” are solely my own and gathered from many sources, this becomes more difficult for me. Therefore, I gather things from the knights of Camelot, the druids of old and even cranky old shamans. But I digress.
This project is a means to an end for me. It only proves my point that every single text has something to give. My penchant for fantasy novels has given me a different perspective on the world. Idealistic? Surely. Unrealistic? Perhaps not so much as one may think.
As a future teacher, I can see why some students abhor the practice of reading while others cherish it like I have. Some individuals are afraid to venture outside of the box they know and understand. If everything is satisfactory in their lives, why should they change it now? The point of engaging texts of various sorts is to learn more—about the world, yourself and who you may become.
Let’s take a brief look at a few items from my autobiography.
James and the Giant Peach. It is a fantastical story of a boy dealing with a lot of strife, who finds himself living out his dreams. The story is not all cheers and laughs, however. He goes through many ups and downs to reach the end of the movie.
What did I get from this? Life is a journey. While there are bad times and bad people, you can surpass that. In being a strong individual and keeping your chin up, you will be so much further in life than most people. If you look in the world, you see individuals with this sense of entitlement that they tote around with them. That is a very silly picture, yes? While everyone is entitled to basic necessities, no one has been entitled to the grand aspects of life. You have to want it, work for it, and cherish it.
Gladiator. This is a fantastic movie and I highly encourage you to watch it if you haven’t.
What has this movie given me? This movie gives a sense of pride in one’s country, an inner strength, hope, belief in one’s morals and the inevitable win by the good guys.
Maximus endures a lot of pain and sacrifice to make things right. While I admit that violence is not always the answer, this character wasn’t given much of a choice. He did his best to make a point without taking life at whim.
One thing that many individuals do not have today is fortitude. Of our own character, fortitude can be the rope that saves us from hanging. That doesn’t seem to make sense to you, does it? The objects that give us harm can also prevent harm.
I can see many people watching this movie and taking nothing away from it. That’s how our world is, these days. We consume without respect to the processes and effort that goes into making something. There is a reason that things come to fruition. There is a reason that this movie was made. Entertainment is surely one of them, but it is not the only one.
Music. This is, surprisingly to some, a controversial topic. Why is this a text? Because it gives me something. It can give you something too.
I chose this song because it is a perfect example of what music can be. First, we have the industrial sound of the music. For some, it just sounds like some version of a club-thump mix. It can be, but not if you listen to the lyrics. For me, the music itself is a simulation of our heartbeat, the thread of movement that holds us in this life.
Take a look at the lyrics. (I chose this particular Youtube video because it had the lyrics for you.) Admittedly, this song talks about a very morbid subject: suicide. The vocals are relatively monotone, effecting an air of distance.
While the music plays in the background, that rhythmic thump-thump of life, the lyrics talk about the extinguishing of life. Is this an obvious contrast? Yes. Is it supposed to be? I don’t know. The band is known for its industrial music, yet it is also known for dark, heady lyrics.
What does this give me? An appreciation for life. A reason to ask friends and family, “How are you doing today?” A reason to seek out some form of help when I need it. A form of musical therapy when I’m dealing with death and tragedy. It gives me many things; what does it give you?
How will this help me in my future classroom, you ask? It’s relatively simple if you think about it. Just as I take something from every text I engage with, my students will too. I want them to explore not only what the text means in a generic sense, but what it means for them.
How does it make you feel?
What does it make you think of?
Does your heart skip a beat when looking at/ listening to it?
Do you understand more now?
Who does this text bring to mind for you?
Have you had similar experiences in the past?
I have a homework assignment for you all.
I want you to look at a text every day. It doesn’t have to be a new one. It can be one you’ve looked at every day for your entire life—but I want you to engage it. Answer those questions to yourself.
What has it given you?
I’ll go first. I’m currently reading the book Mordred, Bastard Son by Douglas Clegg.
(I also highly recommend his novel The Priest of Blood.)
Read this:
“The year of war and fire lay dying, and the cauldron of Rebirth, called by some the Grail, had been lost. The aisles of Avalon in the brackish summer sea had turned to haze, and even the finest boatmen could not find them. Those who worshipped the heathen gods went underground; those of Christendom sought sanctuary in the ruins of abbeys and monasteries and nunneries and the Roman villas, which had become property of either church or warlord; the war continued, even after the great castles of Arthur, pen-Dragon had fallen and lay in ruin” (2).
From the very first sentence of the book, I was drawn in. This paragraph gave me an image of a world. Did this world exist? I’m not sure. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I was given this beautiful image of a world in which I can escape to—a world that may hold answers to many of my questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment