Visualizing (online reflection #3)

My class just finished reading the novel Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding. As a proverbial cherry on top for the unit, my MT (Mentor Teacher) and I decided to show them the film adaptation. You know, the black and white arthouse flick from the 60s? Yeah, that one. Anyways, we decided to show them the film because we both felt that the students had a somewhat hard time engaging with the text. Retrospectively, we felt there was a missing sense that the students were being deprived of: we realized that students had a hard time connecting to Golding’s images. Wanting to adhere to notions of dual-coding (that is delivering information in visual and verbal formats) we decided to allow real images (i.e. the film) to help build their understanding of the novel, the setting, the characters, etc. Reading through a pedagogical text, I was surprised to see this notion supported: “[films, video, etc.] serve as parallel texts that lay thematic content alongside the writer’s ideas in print” (Bomer 250). In speaking of my students, they fully enrich the validity of this quote. As we watched the film, one of my students pointed out something so small, yet so thematically resonate. My student, who every day comes in late—wearing his massive grin—said: “they’re so small. So innocent. It’s weird to see them acting this way.” I nodded at him, thinking carefully of my next words.

            Interesting observation, [name omitted]. Now, how does seeing this film help you solidly your take on the theme of this novel?  

            I waited for him to answer, but I knew what he was going to say. And believe me, there wasn't anything wrong with that. For him. For me. It was a lightbulb moment. He gave me another grin, and extrapolated on the loss of innocence. The images—the film—he was seeing, generated another dimension of comprehension. Like Bomer surmises, film is an extension that further develops meaning (250). With this sense of meaning, film takes us on a journey. A journey that involves intertextuality.

            What is Intertextuality?

            Intertextuality, according to Wiki, refers to the shaping of one text’s meaning by another text. Noting the word “text” in the last sentence, these texts don’t have to adhere to orthographical presentations. These so-called texts can be non-print: just like film. The beauty of intertextuality in film is that it doesn’t just back up textual foundations, but, the visuals can generate new constructs, discoveries, and analysis that offer a new perspective on a text.

            I remember watching The Artist (2011) in my senior year English class. A seemingly fun movie on the surface, I didn’t necessarily understand at the time why we were watching this film with our whole-class reading of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952). Although, I’ll never forget a feeling I had while watching that movie. Sitting there, watching the dejected artist voyeur around his town like a ghost, I remember constructing an insight about the nameless protagonist in the novel (which sadly, I can’t remember, but trust me, I know it got me that A on my paper). Essentially, the visuals of the film allowed me to expand on my literary analysis. With this notion, I want to allow film and other new literacies to do the same for my students. I want to differentiate learning, and at the same time, enrich comprehension on both domains of the visual and verbal educational spectrum.

Plus, films allow us to catch up on grading. J

References:

Bomer, R. (2011). Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms. Heinemann:             Portsmouth, NH

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. A Novel. 1952.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. A Novel. New York: Perigee, 1954

The Artist. Michel Hazanavicius. Jean Dujardin. Warner Bros. 2011. Film. 

Wikipedia contributors. "Intertextuality." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the            Free Encyclopedia, 31 Oct. 2017. Web. 16 Nov. 2017.