When trying to eat a well-balanced diet, we try to ensure that a plate of food contains all of the trademarks for successful, physical wellbeing. Now, in order for us to do the same on a social and academic level, let’s apply the same theory of consuming a balanced, nutritional ‘text-based’ diet. If a plate of food requires fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and healthy proteins, then a plate of ‘healthy texts’ should also provide a spread that enhances our depth of understanding and our engagement with the world around us. A textual plate that not only allows us to dig our teeth into the classics of the literary world, but also presents a smorgasbord of popular cultural texts spread across a range of modes and mediums such as film, music, social media, images, television, books and magazines that provide the sustenance and enjoyment required to develop a healthy, open mind when discovering the world.
It is important that as a teacher, I continue to promote the value of canonical literature, but I have also learnt that ‘eating’ the same thing consistently, can become monotonous and out-dated, especially for a digitally savvy generation who consume a cavalcade of texts daily, but at a level that seems to satisfy their appetites before they sit down for a meal in my classroom.
Ok, I’ll leave the food analogy now.
The idea of incorporating the assumed low-brow texts of what is popular among the youth has long challenged the teaching profession. Do we bow down to what they want to read, or do we continue to use the age-old traditional texts because we know what’s good for them? Well, guess what? We can do both. In order to fully understand how this can be achieved successfully in the classroom, it’s important to define what popular culture is. Due to the nature of what is considered to be popular constantly changing to reflect the relevant era, a specific definition of popular culture is challenging to pinpoint, but it can be considered as being consumed by the majority and is, ‘influencing and being influenced by us’ (Schultz and Throop, 2010, p318). In addition to this, Takacs explains popular culture, ‘as the work people do to transform the cultural resources available in society into meaningful expressions of localised desire’ (Takacs, pg 6, 2015). A critical eye, when dissecting a definition such as this, will clearly see the relevance that popular culture has to the teaching of texts in the English classroom. The modern student, through their constant engagement with technology, is influencing the creation of a myriad of texts. Their need for interaction through social media has fuelled the transformation of cultural resources and their ability to communicate and read these texts has provided meaningful expressions of their attitudes, values and beliefs. An acceptance and understanding of the ideals behind the popular culture of today allows me as a teacher to acknowledge that popular cultural texts have a place at our dining table (one more, indulge me please) when we interact with and dissect the great literary works of our past.
Over the past two years, an effort to ‘beef up’ the learning experiences in English, we have endeavoured to blend the popular with the classic. There has been a steady decline of interest in the traditional texts within the classroom which could be attributed to a number of factors – most notably the lack of interest and relevance to our students’ very modern, visual textual consumption. To address this decline of interest, we have refined some of our units and the most successful so far is the manner in which have taught Shakespeare’s Macbeth to our year 10 cohort this year. Instead of serving them an entrée (I just can’t help myself) of Elizabethan context with a side of iambic pentameter instruction, we began with a look into the notion of good vs evil through the popular lens and the assistance of the first instalment of the popular film series The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. We watched the film to dissect how the theme was evident to them as an audience. The construction of characters was explored and the plot peeled away to reveal exactly how we as an audience are positioned to develop our own attitudes and values in regards to good vs evil. The students devoured it, and because they could find relevance in the text, they were able to engage in discussions and activities that enhanced their understanding. Through the application of this popular culture text, we as teachers were then able to explore the realm of Shakespeare’s Macbeth with a focus on the same theme. While the language barrier still provided challenges due to varying literacy skills, students were able to make connections between a contemporary popular text and a piece of classic literature as they were able to identify the timeless relevance of the theme while discussing the clear differences between how it was projected to an audience. Integrating these two texts acknowledged their interests and also assisted them in seeing relevance in traditional texts while engaging with texts that they had always considered as more challenging (Page, 2012). I was interested in how successful this unit was and have continued to incorporate texts that are relevant to my students with the canonical texts that our curriculum/menu prescribes. Fuelled with a heightened appreciation for the value of popular culture texts due to the readings utilised in this paper, I have continued to work with students on using the texts that they are familiar with in order to teach the classics. The Lion King has been used to introduce Hamlet, The Simpsons used to explore The Raven and Star Wars discussed in relation to Beowulf. Ultimately, I have learnt that if we as teachers of English continue to teach canonical texts by serving up a boring and unbalanced plate, students will continue to struggle to digest the content and ultimately this could result in indigestion for all parties.
Acknowledging, understanding and embracing popular culture when teaching the classics is essential for secondary English teachers. The 21st century learner is exposed to a mass market of texts that they can read and actively participate with and therefore negate the value of the canon when they enter our classrooms. We need to remember that any form of engagement with texts is feeding their minds, moulding their identities and shaping their understanding of the world. Finding a balanced curriculum that meets the needs of students and provides them with opportunities for rich, meaningful experiences with texts is essential if English teachers want to engage their students and ensure that they are maintain a happy appetite as they progress through their educational journey. At the end of the day, texts are good for learning and teaching. The classics are timeless and offer an abundance of learning experiences, but douse them with a rich, creamy sauce of popular cultural texts, what was once good for us, is now powerful.
Danesi, M. (2015). Popular culture: Introductory perspectives (Third;3;3rd; ed.). US: Rowman & Littlefield.
Schultz, K., & Throop, R. (2010). Popular Culture. (pp. 318-323) doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-044894-7.00054-3
Takacs, S. (2015). Interrogating popular culture: Key questions. New York;London; Routledge.
Page, M. A. (2012). Popular culture: The New Literacy Challenge for English Teachers. English Journal, 102(2), 129