Reason #34 Why I’m Glad To Be An English Major

My last class of my college career was yesterday– “American Gothic,” an English course. We had just finished reading Beloved (which was my fourth time reading it overall, yikes). Our reading list had started in the 17th century so, three centuries later, we had a fairly good understanding of gothic novels in America. For our last class, my professor brought in the film version of Beloved, produced by and starring Oprah.

Now, critics generally agree that the film version of Beloved was a bit of a disaster– everything is sub-mediocre, from the screenplay to the acting to the cinematography. But what watching the film clips really made me think about was how glad I am that I’m an English major.

I’m not saying that good films can’t be made from good books– but I do think that there is inevitably something lost when you transfer a text into a visual medium. Especially with Toni Morrison, who rarely uses linear narrative and often fucks with basic elements like.. character identification, and, um, reality. So you can see how unwise it might be to try and make a film from her works.

But I was also disturbed by my professor’s ease with bringing in the film and showing only the most graphic clips. Her point was well-taken: that the film brushed over all the horrific memories in the novel and condenses them into one brief, confusing flashback. But I do take issue with her perpetuating that insensitivity by showing the most graphic parts of the film out of context. It was literally two minutes of watching dead babies and tortured slaves, without much discussion.

I think her assumption was that our generation has been desensitized to film violence, and therefore we can watch extremely violent scenes any time, any place.  Sure, piece of cake.

Except– this is exactly why I’m an English major, and not a film major. Because graphic violence in novels is different. It still forces you to visualize violence in intense detail (for example, from Beloved: “to feel the baby blood pump like oil in her hands; to hold her face so that her head would stay on; …to absorb, still, the death-spasms that shot through that adored body, plump and sweet with life…” hello?!).

But violence in literature also forces you to do more than “watch” violence; it also forces you to reflect on that violence. To think about the meaning of it. Violence in films, or on TV, requires no reflection– just absorption.

So, that’s the long story of how my last class of college was: a little frustrating, but also making me satisfied to have the degree that I do.

Screen Time

For the past three years, I’ve been taking a break from movies. Actually, from screens in general– I can’t remember the last time I watched a television show. This is partly because of a general cultural transition shifting our idle time from TV’s to computers– but it’s also a deliberate way of life. I made a basic post about this decision already. I wouldn’t say that it’s been an “experiment,” per say, but I’ve certainly noticed the effects. Thus I bring you… the effects!

The Good:

• I’m a hell of a lot more productive. I’m reading more and producing more art than I ever have.
• I can have a conversation without compulsive ADHD-like symptoms, i.e. checking my phone, sending a text message, taking out my laptop. Obviously this skill is hindered when the other person is exhibiting these symptoms, but still, it comes in handy…
• I notice the real world. I notice the weather, the people on the street, the taste of my coffee.
• I engage with things that directly affect me (my family, the local debate about building a Wal-Mart on a Civil War Battlefield site, etc.), instead of things that don’t (i.e. the lives of celebrities, that ‘ugly’ contestant on Britain’s Got Talent, a funny youtube video, etc.)

The Bad:

• It’s been harder to maintain conversations with certain friends. I don’t get any of their references, and they don’t seem to know about anything that hasn’t happened on a screen.
• I’m a bit of a ornery old man when it comes to kids on cellphones. Sometimes I just want to knock it out of their hands…

That being said, I do think there is some amazing stuff being produced in the cinema. It’s one of the few “screen-places” that can still affect deep and genuine emotions about political things. I don’t know how many people actually walk out of the movie theater and decide to change something about their lives as a result of seeing a movie, but eh, that’s not something that I can really control.

So here’s some wide-releases that I’m excited about (in addition to Good Hair, Chris Rock’s documentary)

Gays or Southerners: You Choose

“How many poor jokes with malice against American Southerners, conservatives and Christians does it take for NY critics to label something funny?”

–from a commenter on the NYTimes Review of “Bruno”

My only contribution to the discussion is to agree wholeheartedly with this comment. “Borat” was groundbreaking, and “Bruno” could have been as well– if they had chosen a different target for exposure. Of course rural areas and the South are generally more homophobic; we already know that, and making fun of this demographic only reinforces a sense of superiority among the urban/North.*

“Bruno” could have infiltrated a WASP-y fraternity, or a suburban dinner club, with better results. The bottom line is, there is no point confronting homophobia in the U.S. if you are going to oppress another marginalized group  in the process.

* On a totally different note, I’d pay to see a film about the liberal South, those little enclaves and communes of revolutionary farmers and free-minded young folks with good manners. Y’know, all those reasons why I’m still here.