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fictionalSo, I just had to make a quick [read 3 hours] dash to the New College Which Must Not Be Named. (I may need a new fandom-specific name for this one: thoughts? Prydonian Academy will not do, as I fear it will not be all happy, happy, joy, joy.) It was frantic because I'd not read the email closely, and I was just checking it to make sure I was getting certain notations right in my syllabus, and then I realized that we were *ahem* requested & required to make an appearance at a New Faculty Tea. At 3pm. It was 2:10pm when I was reading the email. SO I dashed out the door, armed with laptop (so I could work on the subway, always fun, and I ended up just writing more story instead, bad kali! no biscuit!) and ran like the hounds of hell were chasing me down to the college.
Only to discover that it was totally useless. It was in fact, just tea. (Literally tea. And lemon cake. and ice cream - none of which I ate.) Dunno what they made such a big deal about it for; it was completely insipid, and also not net-worky. Just to produce the illusion that we are all collegial colleagues, with spirit Feh. And if I have to hear once more: "Oh, you teach children's literature! You're so lucky!" I might throw something. I'm not lucky, okay? I've got balls and attack ovaries, and therefore enough guts to actually study things I like, rather than things which look respectable. Luck has got nothing to do with it! ANYWAY. I did get some writing done, which was okay, and on my way home, I stopped at the bookstore to see if my texts for the class had arrived, and didn't even have to go downstairs because I saw a bunch of college boys coming out with them all in their hands. One of them was cute too! He looked exactly like Lex Luthor from Smallville. Dunno what I'm gonna do with that.
In conclusion, a rec. This is a Doctor Who vid; it's called Handlebars, and I think it is incredible. The song choice is impeccable and fits the Doctor in all his breathtaking arrogance and fundamental glee so perfectly, but with all that, there's an underlying irony; the glee is undercut throughout by notes of anguish that just made me want to cry, even as my mouth hung open in awe. It's the kind of vid that is so very clean, you almost can't see all the work the vidders did to make it work. Spoilers through 4x13: Journey's End. Go check it out!
Only to discover that it was totally useless. It was in fact, just tea. (Literally tea. And lemon cake. and ice cream - none of which I ate.) Dunno what they made such a big deal about it for; it was completely insipid, and also not net-worky. Just to produce the illusion that we are all collegial colleagues, with spirit Feh. And if I have to hear once more: "Oh, you teach children's literature! You're so lucky!" I might throw something. I'm not lucky, okay? I've got balls and attack ovaries, and therefore enough guts to actually study things I like, rather than things which look respectable. Luck has got nothing to do with it! ANYWAY. I did get some writing done, which was okay, and on my way home, I stopped at the bookstore to see if my texts for the class had arrived, and didn't even have to go downstairs because I saw a bunch of college boys coming out with them all in their hands. One of them was cute too! He looked exactly like Lex Luthor from Smallville. Dunno what I'm gonna do with that.
In conclusion, a rec. This is a Doctor Who vid; it's called Handlebars, and I think it is incredible. The song choice is impeccable and fits the Doctor in all his breathtaking arrogance and fundamental glee so perfectly, but with all that, there's an underlying irony; the glee is undercut throughout by notes of anguish that just made me want to cry, even as my mouth hung open in awe. It's the kind of vid that is so very clean, you almost can't see all the work the vidders did to make it work. Spoilers through 4x13: Journey's End. Go check it out!
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-27 05:19 pm (UTC)I was reading this discussion over here, and I'm a bit surprised, really. Especially with the lack of interest of students with pop culture. I'm in college. And i know college here is completely different from college there, but is is college nevertheless. And the pop culture related subjects and projects are usually the most successful ones. I had this professor who taught Communication Theories III, and he basically showed us, you know, how those theories are applied at pop productions. And how this whole industry is organized. I can't really get to details in english, 'cause I'm not really that good, but things went on that way. We red books, we watched documentaries about it, and had wonderful classes. By the end of the semester, we all had to present a seminar on a subject of our choice, related to pop culture. Analyze it, discuss it, and not fall to the oh so boring conspiracy theory. Like ten different groups, analyzing the most different things! From TV shows, to movies, to the representation of minority social groups in Hollywood or television. People fell in love with it, and took his elective subject the next semester. So, so, crowded. And so, so great! Last semester, we even had classes about fanfiction on it. I was like, SRSLY DUDE?! And it was so, so, so great! There was a monograph about it, even. It's not the only subject revolving this matter that we have, but it's one of the most famous ones. Everybody LOVES it. This professor wrote about three or four books concerning the subject, and we all bought at least two of them. It's culture, you know? Modern culture. It might seem stupid, but it is what shapes the society, like you said. It moves the world, really. So, why not study it?
I don't know if it's because my ramification in college is more connected directly to this area, or something like that, but it makes me really surprised that people who have this industry sparkling right before their eyes don't grow interest on it. I love what I do, and this is a part of it. I don't want to be a writer, or even work in this business, but getting to know a piece of everything makes a good professional, right? You can't just lock yourself in whatever it is that you want, that's not how the world goes.
I'm have gotten the whole point of the discussion thing wrong, though. Just crossed my mind.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-27 06:08 pm (UTC)And yeah, I thought that was the way it was going to be too; I remember LOVING any introduction of pop. culture in my college classes. Like, we had a Greek Mythology professor who used to show up on the first day in sunglasses and a motorcycle jacket and inform us that if we ever called his home number between the hours of 8pm and 9pm on Tuesdays - when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on - we'd get an automatic F. People adored him.
When profs. used to talk about fanfic and tv and music and stuff, we'd all go nuts for it.
But my students seem completely uninterested; it's all just "geeky" and boring, and has no relationship to their life, or something. I try to do it, because I loved it so much, but they don't seem to, or I'm just not finding the right things to reach them with.