I watch a lot of kid’s TV. Not because I always want to, but I’ve got a 4-year old child, a small apartment, and a media background; it’s inevitable. We are a busy family and sometimes, TV is a great babysitter. There are days when I want to chop the veggies by myself, with some music in the background, or chat with my wife without little ears listening in, or get some work done. But I’m still checking in and thankfully, for the most part, there does seem to be half-decent if a bit saccharine children’s television programming out there and if you want to build a DVD library you certainly won’t be short of options.

The Ontario government has now included Media as separate and distinct strands within the high school English and Visual Arts curriculums. We all know what the future is going to look like; screens, screens everywhere. Teaching children how to critically translate and absorb media has never seemed more important, the power of persuasion the media holds cannot be denied.

As parents, we can still hold the power and influence around media consumption in the home, provided we can afford to be around to monitor it, and hopefully we can build a solid base for our children’s cognitive and critical skills, one that will be reinforced at school, our children’s literal second home.

That kids will consume media outside of these two domains is inevitable and therefore they must be prepared to navigate that power vacuum. Hence, the need for quality of media education at home and in our schools. The Ontario government has stepped up to the plate and that means parents must too. Unfortunately, that is difficult for many parents to do. The reality of our economic society means many parents are not home when their children are. Added to that, the dearth of media education many parents may have received themselves can make this part of parenting very difficult. Focus for parents must start early, so that as media consumption grows, children are able to translate and understand what they are consuming. As it is, the youth of today, like all before, are living social experiments of their times and that must be acknowledged and respected. Society’s continual evolution is impossible to stop; ask any beaver, the dam will only hold for so long. These kids need lifejackets so they can, at least, keep their heads above water.

Allow me to take a walk down memory lane. It’s 1993, the summer and I’m freshly graduated, or more truthfully, just escaped by the grace of god, diploma in hand, from high school. I’m entering my burnout phase but I don’t know it yet, life is good, and the soundtrack…Oakland area hip hop artists, Souls of Mischief, ’93 ‘till Infinity keeps me popping as I try to perfect every skateboard trick while I can because a life of responsibility is staring me in the face.

So what was the point of that? Well, almost every adult I know has a similar memory of good times and specific soundtracks.

I recently read a review of the new Souls of Mischief album, and all the calling cards were still there, the beats, the intricate four man vocal interplay, the rugged vibe and the homophobic and misogynistic lyrics.

All this musing is a result of entering the world of teaching. Although I like to think that I have always had the ability to stand aside from the music I listened to and critique it objectively, whilst still enjoying it as an art form that spoke to me on different levels, I do remember spouting lyrics back then, that I try to subconsciously censor now. And though I still return to that record and enjoy it, life has cast a shadow across it that has altered my perceptions. But back then I was the type that lived my music and that type of teenager runs rampant in our schools as much now as I did.

The teenage years are difficult for all kids but especially so for those on the societal margins such as the students who are exploring their sexuality and discovering that they are different from the “norm”. For these students, the subtle and the obvious slings and arrows mainstream pop culture and especially much of hip hop bombards them with can be very difficult to weather.

I don’t remember any teachers trying to hook us in with hip hop infused lessons; it was still too new an art form. Rock and folk were the usual avenues and not to be discounted. But finding a teacher using hip hop in the classroom is certainly not unheard of today. Unfortunately, from an anecdotal survey, the usual methodology is to employ “conscious hip hop” as exemplars in the classroom. What that can also mean is that there is a lack of critical analysis of the lyrical content of the hip hop that doesn’t fit into that small niche. We must be careful as educators to ensure that we engage with both the “light and dark” shades of pop culture because as much can be learned from critiquing the bad as can be learned from examining and praising the good.

Regarding hip hop, there is much to praise and admire about this art form but there is also much to critique, especially the rampant homophobia and misogyny. As teachers we can participate in a dialogue with our students about the culture they live in and the ideas and opinions they are confronted with each day. By helping them to decipher the structures of power and agendas behind these messages, we can better help them to understand and contextualize the disparities of views they encounter.

Not naked in the proverbial sense, but sans makeup etc. on the cover of the Marie Claire May 2010 cover.

This is a tricky issue to breakdown for me. On the one hand, I admire Jessica Simpson for taking on the exclusionary societal perceptions of beauty in response to the vitriolic attention she received when she gained some weight last year. But on the other hand, the magazine Marie Claire exists in many ways to perpetuate those same exclusionary perceptions of beauty. Is this a case of the wolf in the sheep’s clothing? Or just a shrewd marketing move?

Regardless, we have reached a point whereby technology has allowed us to propagate a societal ideal of a flawless, perfect female body. The rampant photoshopping of magazine cover models projects an impossible example of beauty to millions of readers every day, including our students.

There has always been a societal pressure for conformity and that has included the concept of beauty, but over time that concept of female beauty has become an impossibility to obtain, though many women, young and old, will suffer through diets, exercise and beauty regimes trying.

So how can we situate Jessica’s new role for our students. It is certainly part of a self-affirmation movement that in general is thought to be a positive contribution to. But it rests against the backdrop of her latest show, Jessica Simpson’s Beauty Road Show.

A show in which she canvasses the hip and trendy streets of Los Angeles asking women what their favourite body features are and engaging them in discussions about beauty. Unfortunately, judging by the slide show of women that made the final cut, Jessica’s still treading deep in the waters of “conventional beauty”. But I guess I can’t expect her to go out and find a modern day Medusa and then celebrate her unique beauty; there are still advertising slots to sell after all. And this is a massive part of the problem. Beauty has become an industry designed for monetary profit

The power of celebrity has proven to be quite strong in our society and of course, this is a feel good cause for many to rally around so I’m not surprised to see Jessica making headlines for the efforts she is making. But we must ensure as educators that we point out that the shiny gloss Jessica refused for her magazine pose was only that. Gloss, on a women already fitting the conventional mold of beauty. We need to continue to challenge the conformity aspect of beauty that infects so many females today. Celebrating and loving one’s individual beauty would come at a cost to the beauty industry but it will surely be of benefit to all women. How we as educators participate in this challenge is by modeling an inclusive community in our classrooms whereby individuals are celebrated for themselves and by exposing the power structures behind the beauty industry so that our students can cast a critical eye upon their society and encourage them to play an active role in shaping it.

I was recently helping a 16 yr-old student write a very short (200 words) blurb for a zine we are making together as a class. I felt like a dentist. It was, as I imagine, like pulling teeth. We had taken the necessary step of developing a short outline but the moment we sat in front of the computer, he froze up. Now I’ve seen him work his way through YouTube et al, so I know he is quite capable of using the computer. I’ve also watched this student spend almost 4 hours painstakingly painting a beautiful picture so I know he can focus under the right conditions. Perhaps it was the blank white nothingness of the word document that spooked him. Regardless, we quickly sat back down at a table and the student slowly, whilst voicing much complaint, wrote out his blurb by hand. We then went back to the computer and the student transcribed his work as I dictated it to him. After this experience I began thinking about “off-label” uses of the new IPhone App, Dragon Dictation.

“Off-label”, of course, referring to the alternative uses doctors discover for drugs marketed to them by the pharmaceutical industry.

In this instance I discovered Dragon Dictation during an educational seminar on accessability issues in schools. Dragon Dictation allows you to dictate into your IPhone, which will then transcribe your words with handy “correction” options. You can then SMS, email or paste your text in any application on your phone. The accessibility issue referenced in this seminar was of students who were physically unable to type.
Many people, myself included, often have difficulty translating what they are thinking into words on a page. For whatever reason, for some people there seems to be a barrier between the brain and the page. Having an interface, through which you can literally voice your thoughts, thereby allowing even your most obscure and unintended musings to be captured in text for review later, could break down such a barrier. Seeing one’s thoughts and words rendered instantaneously would be liberating for anyone. Often the first few words are the only barrier that needs to be broken before the torrents of words come gushing out.
There is a filtering process that occurs when your text is conceived of, outlined, drafted, edited and completed in hard copy, the stereotypical “scribbling writer, notebook in hand” is easy evidence of that, but the filtering can still occur within the context of dictation. Dictation becomes your conception and initial drafting stage, the formatting, organizing and reviewing stages come after.
The speed, almost 5x that of typing, according to reviews, would seem to allow for a more immediate and direct flow of creation, an attribute which I believe would better serve any student (or person) who suffers from “writer’s block” and thereby freeing their voice and person to be heard as well. If only we could afford to give one to every kid that needs one.

We’ve all seen them. They’re everywhere. A yoga pant for every occasion. Plus, they are favourably reputed to be flattering to the female behind. Yes, they are simply pants, but there are many meanings behind them and stereotypes assigned to those who wear the infamous lululemon yoga-inspired pants. Are they purely for fashion? Do they represent and show off the social status of an individual since the branded pants are quite costly at a price over $100? Does wearing lululemons mean that the person stands for and is promoting the meditative, body and mind principles of yoga, or are they marketing themselves by Lululemon’s campaign of living a healthy, active life? Are lululemons purchased and worn solely for comfort, or are they fulfilling a superficial desire to look attractive or to look like individuals of a higher social status? As a text, these pants and Lululemon as a company are highly ideological, and they have won over their youth consumers, meaning they are extremely relevant to popular culture studies within the high school community.  

Lululemon is a great popular text to bring into the classroom because of its different ways of being interpreted. As a text, the pants represent a specific culture popular in North America, and it would be engaging for students to compare the yoga culture here in North America to its origins in India, or its current practice in Asia and elsewhere.

Teachers and students can also engage in discussion about this text with regards to body image. America is on a health-obsessed kick, and has been for several years, which is reflected in Lululemon’s successful and rapid rise in popularity over the past 5 years. However, is Lululemon really helping and encouraging people to get fit and healthy, or is it contributing to more self-esteem and body issues?  Perhaps this product is only working for the wealthy individuals who can afford the clothing and the lifestyle that goes along with it.

With regards to discussing body image in relation to lululemon yoga-inspired pants, the class can look at how Lululemon markets its products, and can analyze the website, the store, and different advertisements for this product. Also, a discussion can take place regarding authenticity, and whether a knock-off product is just as meaningful as the original. There is a cultural struggle for control between authentic overpriced merchandise compared to the same knock-off or no name clothing. Which trend is more acceptable or popular?  Students should be learning how to read and deconstruct company labels and products so that they are not disillusioned or fall prey to excessive consumerism from a personal desire to possess the “correct” or fashionable labels in order to define themselves as being socially acceptable and respectable.

All I can say is that lululemon is here to stay for a good while, so why not engage your students in a discussion about the power of consumerism.

Gender Construction/Capitalism

When considering gender as a social construction, Ellen DeGeneres comes to mind not because of her highly-publicized and exploited sexual orientation, but rather how she functions in both male and female elements of the gender sphere.

It is interesting to note how Ellen has used social constructions of gender and sexuality, whether intentionally or not, to gain ground for her own independence.  This independence, potentially career-destroying in the late 90s, has become capitalist gold for the broadcasting company that now employs her.

The capitalist product of “Ellen” is marketed in an intensely intelligent and clever way so that she maintains her independent lesbianism while not in a way that shocks mainstream society to the point of making her show a fruitless endeavour.  She also treads delicately in an historically male-dominated form of television entertainment traditionally reserved for late night adult viewing.  She carries the characteristics of presenters like the brash and witty David Letterman, while also maintaining the femininity of the stereotypical caring, understanding, and (often) giving motherly figure of an Oprah Winfrey.

Students need to be aware of several things in the commercial text of the Ellen DeGenereses of the world, and it’s not all bad.  They need to be aware of the labourious path she took to her current position of dealing with societal pressures before they were the ‘in’ fad and to understand the power dynamic at work in that system itself.  To be aware of the tremendous personal fortitude it took to stand up for herself at a difficult time, but also of the reward it has meant for her in the long run.  However, they also need to be aware of its exploitation in contemporary television and the way in which it uses its societal ‘difference’ from the mainstream to draw profits through viewers.

Educators need to be sensitive to the issue of the varying sexual personalities in their classrooms, and to be sure to avoid alienating somebody through the treatment of such texts.  I feel that in the arts, like English and History, this can be best achieved through literature and primary resources dealing with similar events such as women’s suffrage, the Emancipation Proclamation, and even less obvious events like Canadian Independence.  Each of these events has underlying outcomes that result in profits for certain establishments and institutions, despite having very positive affects on society.  I feel that students will be better served as educated citizens after having considered how gender is constructed for profit through malevolence and celebration, and that Ellen DeGeneres is one of the best contemporary examples.

Youth as Progress

Students are often concerned with their public image — the way they look to others — and this is largely the result of societal, commercial pressure to make them feel a certain way to achieve a certain outcome.  The outcome in question is one of malleability and dependence upon superficial things that lead them to develop a dependence on some thing, not unlike an addiction, in order to comfortably get through their day.  With this said, I present to you the iPod.

Students are already well aware of the iPod prior to their entrance into any teacher’s classroom, but what they might not be familiar with is the evolution of its predecessors and their power over what constitutes adulthood and youth through music.  This is to say that in the way vinyl was replaced by cassettes, cassettes by compact discs, and now compact discs by digital media on devices like the iPod, youth is often observed as being on the ‘cutting edge’ of musical technology.  Now, this isn’t to pigeon hole the definition of youth into one concept, but rather as one popular means by which to indicate who is mature and perhaps less mature in today’s consumer society.  My parents, who have only recently (5-10 years or so) moved from cassettes to CDs are not youths, but whereas I rely on my iPod I may be considered a youth, despite being twenty-six.

The idea of the creation of the term “teenager” as posited in Buckingham’s article “Introducing Identity” as a term created in the 1950s through market research, is equally as important in its implication with the iPod by today’s standards.  iPods are marketed as tools for younger people — those who are ‘hip’ or otherwise ‘in the know,’ and to have one symbolizes your youth versus non-youth.

In the same way that the structures of power at play within the use of the term ‘teenager’ to denote a person who is a “social problem” or “at risk,” the visual presence of an iPod generally offers a viewer with the message of youthfulness, despite the owner’s actual age.

I find it increasingly more interesting to note how those with iPods (myself included) tend to rely on their players as a means by which to assert some sort of independence over who they are, and how closely that is related to their self-perceived notion of what is culturally more accepted.  It allows one to take a musical directory of their youthful individuality along with them in digital form wherever they are.

Essentially, youth is a construction developed by corporations for financial gain and controlled by them as a result through societal pressures.  The importance of this alone is worthy of each educator’s awareness, and ought to be considered in the development of culturally relevant lessons and other course materials.

Spirit is Everything…

Forgive me for picking on the Toronto Maple Leafs in another blog, but it’s too tempting to avoid.  In terms of culture-as-process and high culture versus low culture, we need not look past our own local hockey rink to see both in action.  The Leafs are very much a conglomerate of things cultural and corporate — a national treasure for some, and an iconic embarrassment for others.  No matter where you sit on the blue and white fence, there are a few commonalities.  One, that the game of hockey, Canada’s sacred construction, is involved.  Two, that you are always aware of the successes of the team.  And three, it’s likely that you’ve never seen them win  a league championship within your lifetime and can only find people in retirement homes who have if the History Channel or ESPN Classics isn’t showing anything Stanley Cup related.

I jest but there are some serious issues with the cultural monopoly the Maple Leafs have over several Canadians.  Watch a game on Saturday night and notice the empty sections behind the home bench or in prime platinum seating — this is not because the team is performing poorly, but because the prime seats in Canada’s most esteemed hockey club’s building are astronomically priced and the ticket holders are out wheeling and dealing.  Or, go to a game and take it in from the nosebleeds, where tickets to watch from half a kilometre in the sky are also astronomically priced, but filled to the brim with rabid, ecstatic first time fans from across the country and grizzled veterans who haven’t missed a home game in thirty years.  The point is that the power dynamic for this historic sports corporation functions very successfully on both levels — in both realms of culture, low and high.

For most students, Maple Leafs culture is low if not entirely based in cheap merchandise and governmentally funded television broadcasts on Saturday night.  Speaking as one who was once that student, living in Northern Ontario and knowing that my heroes and understanding of the sport existed solely in transmitted form on a small black-and-white television, I can attest to the cultural divide that exists, and is manifested and perpetuated by the Maple Leafs corporate body.  Where postmodernists would strive to destroy this privileging of one cultural level over another, I will simply support the need for a similar result because of its corporate creation, and will strive to illuminate my students on this fact.  In order for students to be active participants in their culture, they need to be intelligent participants.  It is because these organizations, like that of the Maple Leafs, that “create this cultural curriculum are not educational agencies, but rather commercial concerns that operate not for the social good but for individual gain,” that our students, my students, need to be aware of the Maple Leafs, and corporate professional sport, as a text or culture in process.

I would like to use corporate situations like these when satisfying the media studies part of the English curriculum, and also how it creates a nationalistic political power structure in History courses.  How culture is manufactured and literally sold to people, students particularly, who buy into it is important to their understanding of the world in which they live, and I make it my personal agenda to demonstrate that to them.

RIP! A Remix Manifesto is a Documentary film about mixing, mashing, sampling, collaging, stealing, creating, borrowing, reinventing, and controlling. Filmmaker Brett Gaylor says there is a War going on right now, and we are all a part of it. This War is between cultural consumers and creators, between the past versus the present, between public domain versus private corporations. Who controls our culture? This media literate generation, with limitless information available to them, is being limited and controlled because of copyright laws. The internet supplies individuals with an abundance of music, videos, pieces of writings, and images which are all presumed to be at one’s disposal to enjoy and inspire, but really, is the information available on the internet free for consumers to use to create with or have we all become villains if we listen to music or watch film clips on youtube?  

Brett Gaylor has done a great service to teachers by making this documentary, and I would recommend watching it yourself and showing it to your class if possible. The issue of stealing, copying, borrowing, or plagiarizing is applicable to every subject area in school, and this film can begin a conversation on the rights of individuals, the freedom of ideas, and who controls intellectual property. Gaylor shows how copyright laws are different for media texts compared to literature, because with literature you can take quotations word for word as long as the information is cited correctly and credit is given to the original creator. However, if a student is creating a youtube video and uses a song taken from the internet (giving credit to the artist), he is still committing a crime against the musician and the conglomerates behind that artist because permission of use has not been granted.

You may fully access the documentary through the National Film Board of Canada available through this link: http://www.nfb.ca/film/rip_a_remix_manifesto/   

When engaging with this documentary, both students and teachers should pay attention to the power structures that govern creative material available on the internet. I’m sure students will have a lot to say about this particular issue because of its controversial nature, and the fact that youth are directly influenced by the struggle between cultural consumers and creators, of which they are both. Is this new style of reconstructing previous constructions a way for youth to gain power over the past? History is changing because power structures are transitioning from one generation to another. This sub-culture of creative freedom is challenging the dominant hegemonic structures put in place by major corporations looking to make money off their intellectual property. The youth are revolting, and pop culture texts like youtube are allowing for a different hegemonic discourse. Here is a perfect example of sub-cultural capital taking over.

What does it mean to be an adult? Better yet, when do we really exit the stage of “youth”? Some people consider themselves apart of the youth culture even in their mid-twenties while others consider themselves an adult in their late teens.  So what is youth and better yet, when do young ones start feeling like they are adults. One show that has really challenges what it means to be a youth is the MTV reality show 16 and pregnant. The show follows girls who are still in high school as they prepare themselves for pregnancy and motherhood.  With the title 16 and pregnant it kind of bridges youth and adulthood because the age of 16 is still officially consider a child while pregnancy ideally deals more with adulthood.

What students need to know concerning this particular show, is the topic of teen pregnancy or just pregnancy in general. Personally, I do not really know if the show is trying to glamourize teen pregnancy or bring truthful awareness. But I think students need to really to be informed what is means to be pregnant and the life-altering changes that come with it and parenthood. Without being informed about pregnancy and the consequences that are attached it to especially for teens, I think the youth will be more accepting of the idea.

As for teachers, when engaged with this particular show I think that they should be aware of what the show is about. Teachers need to research on their own what makes the show so popular and interesting to the youth. In addition, I think teachers need to become aware of how to address and teach the issue of pregnancy and sex. I think that a lot of teachers are uncomfortable with the topic and I personally think that sex and pregnancy are difficult lessons to teach.  But teachers need to find a way to overcome or organize a way to inform students because without the information, the trend will just continue.

The structure of power that is contested with this particular show is family relationship and parenthood.  As much as it is about the teen starting a new family, it is also touching upon the issue of the teen’s parent’s discipline. I mean, the fact that their own child who is still a child, is pregnant, can show a negative light to their own parental guidance and parenting.  Overall, students can learn a lot from this particular show. Students can become aware of what happens during pregnancy, the changes that come and the relationship that are affected. This show can also teach students to enjoy their youth and to not rush to become an adult because once it is taken away, you cannot really get it back.