Stories are powerful, not just because they bring readers and listeners into new worlds. Stories, and who is telling and hearing them are connected to that power. In the last chapter of Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, Jerica Coffey writes a piece called "Storytelling as Resistance." In it, she notes that "everything we read, watch, or hear is a construct with underlying power." Like language itself, students must think critically about who has the power to actually tell the stories.
Coffey has her students dig into the untold stories of people in their communities and write nonfiction narratives. She teaches in Watts, California, an area where there are plenty of stories told about the community but not by those who live there. Students recognize the ways in which Watts is portrayed in the media, and who has the power to tell those stories. Coffey has students connect with people (over 30) in their community, interview them, and then write their stories in the voice of the people themselves.
Coffey and her students were clear that while their community might not have the kind of monetary wealth that more affluent areas had, they had "other kind of wealth," like aspirational, social, familial, and resistant wealth, among others. I was drawn to the concept of linguistic wealth, "the multiple language and communication skills that we use to support our communities." If ever there was a term that encompassed the asset-mindset of multi-lingual learners, it has to be "linguistic wealth."
Coffee and her students challenge the dominant narrative told about their community in order to give a voice and tell the stories of the people who make up that rich, vibrant community. She is an educator who understands the value in understanding who is telling the story.
.....
In an earlier chapter in the book, Linda Christensen explains how she teaches her students to think critically about the stories that children are told, those that are so embedded in our culture that they "indoctrinate" us with ideas on how to act, live, and dream. She is talking, of course, about Disney. The ways in which filmmakers at Disney decide to tell peoples stories are fraught with harmful stereotypes. Christensen shows cartoons and films and has them think about the way these stereotypes are put forth with questions like "Who plays the lead? Who is the buffoon? Look at the race, station in life, body type of each character. What do they want out of life? What would children learn about this particular group from this film?" Like Coffey, Christensen challenges students to consider the power construct in who is telling the story, and about whom that story is being told.
Looking at Disney films through this critical lens is important if we want students to become savvy and critical consumers of digital media. Watching a film the way we watched Encanto and charting the conventions and stereotypes within was enlightening, and something I will do in my classes this upcoming year. I will, however, ensure to balance the critique with the enjoyment of these films...it's a BOTH-AND situation!
No comments:
Post a Comment