Romeo + Juliet + Films

For this week's reading, I looked into Hirsh's "Picturing Shakespeare:  Using Film in the Classroom to Turn Text into Theater."  Surprisingly, I found the material and the author's ideas to be interesting and something I could carry into my language arts classroom.

Hirsh stated that we need to remember that Shakespeare intended for his work to be a play performed by actors and not just analyzed in classrooms (140).  One of the best ways to do this is to have the students see a live action play.  However, it could be very difficult to find the money, time and resources to do this during school time.  It might be even harder to require students to go after school or on weekends.  One of the common solutions to this problem is to watch recording of a play or a movie adaption.  By using these resources, it becomes easier for students to visualize the play and understand the meaning. 

I like the idea of having a video tape performance of a play.  Since there could be a number of obstacles in seeing a play, this is a great idea to do.  I remember when I was studying Macbeth in high school and our teacher showed us a couple of important scenes from a well-known acting troupe.  Before my teacher showed us the scene, we would read it out loud in different parts.  The combination of reading and watching it on the television made the play easier to understand.  One of the benefits of having a video recorded play is that a teacher can pause the video to discuss parts of the play. 

Another important resource to use in the classroom when teaching Shakespeare is using movie adaptations.  Unlike the video recorded play, the movie might not be exactly like how Shakespeare had intended.  One example of this is Romeo + Juliet.  This movie was made in the 1990s and was set in modern day Los Angeles.  However, the play still uses the basic plotline and the original Shakespearean language.  Another popular adaption of Romeo and Juliet is West Side Story.  This story is set in the 1950s in a New York neighborhood where Hispanic and Caucasian gangs come between two star-crossed lovers. One of the dangers of using film adaption is that students might not understand the connections at first.  I saw West Side Story when I was eight years old and I did not know it was an adaption of Romeo and Juliet until I was in high school.  I feel the best way to approach a movie adaption is to spend time discussing the play first and then watch the film.  This allows students to engage prior knowledge while watching the film/play and expand their understanding of the play.

Reality TV and The Hunger Games

I LOVE the Hunger Games. Seriously, it was one of the best books I have read in a long time.  I love to root for the underdog to overcome his or her challenge.  Katniss, the protagonist, has to overcome a lot of difficult situations. Katniss lives in a futuristic America where there are 12 districts instead of 50 states.  Katniss is from District 12 where she has to secretly hunt in order to put food on the table for her family.  She is lives in the region known as Applachia [southern PA, WV, TN, KY and northern GA]. My dad's family lives in this region and Katniss's attitude reminds me a lot of my Grandmother.  My father grow up really poor in a trailer where both of his parents barely scraped by. 

Anyways, back to the book.  The Hunger Games is a competition with 24 teenagers (two from each district).  24 enter, 23 are killed in the process, 1 is the winner.  Katniss's sister is selected to play so Katniss makes the ultimate sacrifire in taking her spot.  The Applachia philosophy of clan roots, where you sacrifire everything for family, comes out in Katniss. In order to win the games, you have to be able to outsmart and look better than other players. Katniss receives sponsors by appealing to voters.  She has to go through lots of stylists to dolly her up.  She has trainers to tell her how to behave and how to talk.  During the game, she is forced to form an alliance with Peetra.  He claims that he is in love with her and there are many points of the book where it is confusing if this is true or strategy.

I think that this book would be excellent to use in the classroom.  An activity I would use is having students read the book and study reality tv shows.  I noticed that as I was reading, this book reminded me of the reality tv shows like Amazing Race and Survivor.  I would have my students pick from a selection of reality tv shows that they are required to watch each week.  As they are watching, I would have them jot down notes on characteristics that match up with the Hunger Games.  After gathering this information, I would have the students write a short paper on comparing the reality shows with The Hunger Games.  Another activity would be to research about stereotypes.  The 12 different regions are based upon the economy of the region (District 12=coal mining). It would be interesting to explain to the students the history of each of the regions and why they are known for a particular resource. 

Censorship

Wow!  I was deeply challenged by the reading material for class this week.  It reminded me of a story one of my education professors told me when she was a 6^th reading teacher.  For a period of 12 years, her school district taught a unit using Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson.  This book is one of my favorite books I read during middle school.  I thought it would be great to create a secret world with my best friend and escape from all of my problems.  Well, I was shocked to learn that my professor’s school district suddenly banned the book.  A SINGLE parent made a complaint about the book.  The basis of the complaint was that Patterson is a Christian (her husband is a well known preacher) and her philosophies were promoting an afterlife (i.e. “escaping into a fantasy world”).  After class that day, I went straight to my dorm room and re-read Bridge to Terabithia.  My opinion is this parent has not read the actual novel because Terabithia never mentions or applies any Christian philosophies.  I have a hard time understanding how one person can stop a whole body of people from learning.

I was surprised about the different opinions expressed by the educators in the “Ripple Effect of Censorship.”  Anne struck a chord with me because I can understand her viewpoint.  My parents made the decision to put me in public schools because it is unrealistic in the real world to everyone have the same beliefs.  When I graduated from high school, I turned down a scholarship to a prestigious Christian college because I wanted understand how to interact with students and colleagues that are different from me.  Unlike Anne, I could NEVER censor books based on my religious convictions.  I know that not every student will have the same morals and beliefs that I have.  I have a very open mind to what I like to read and I hope I can be a model for my students to push themselves.

Another teacher featured in the article that made an impact on me was Ellen.  I thought it was interesting how she involved students and their parents.  It is a great way for students to involve their families in what they are learning in school.  I love how if there is some sort of problem arises, she allows the student to pick another book.  By permitting students to do this, it creates an open discussion instead of creating a divide between parents and educators.  I could see how this model could successfully work in my classroom.

My conclusion is that there is not a single way that you can look at censorship. As I read, I struggled with the questions like “How would I have approached this subject” or “Would I fight to teach this book or would I quietly obey the rules?”  Actually, these questions made me think about The Chocolate War with the poster that said “Do I dare disturb the universe?” Pardon a country song reference, but you have know when to hold them and when to fold them.  If you fight for every single book that is challenged, you could come off as a “difficult” person and no one will listen.  If you are passive and allow everything to be dictated to you, no one will take you seriously.  I think if an educator believes that a certain book must be taught because it will benefit the students, then they should pursue defending it.  I think that we owe it to our students to model behavior where we can stand up for ourselves.