[fandomentalist type nonsense] watched someone try to explain how, in their opinion, the media market is oversaturated with sex and violence. it was... not a good argument
Most high schoolers will read 1984, Catcher in the Rye, the Bluest Eye, Lord of the Flies. Some schools include The Handmaid’s Tale and The Kite Runner. Sex, violence, general depression.
From the beginning of most children’s reading experience (Charlotte’s Web, Anne of Green Gables, Watership Down) until their graduation from required reading in college, most individuals are only exposed to death, violence, explicit sex (usual of a violent nature), and general hopelessness.
When kids read Shakespeare, it’s Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing are both solid choices that show off Shakespeare’s writing and good characterization, but are rarely (if ever) covered even in college.
sorry i'm already losing it because the very TITLE of much ado about nothing is a pussy joke??? but yes the fact that it's NOT often covered in college is evidence of an oversaturation of sexual content
The Person on the other end of this, an actual high school English teacher: ....Much Ado About Nothing has a ton of sex jokes, and Henry V isn't even Shakespeare's best work in terms of languages or themes, the other ones + Cesar are
(English Teacher then went on to say "also it just sounds like you are describing. conflict? books with conflict? Books with complex themes that arise from character motivation and plots that propell the protagonists to action and growth?")
I really liked A Midsummer Night's Dream I do wish it was discussed more but yeah there's a reason those books are chosen of course that person doesn't see that
..... if we're pearl-clutching here, I would expect this person to talk about how Twelfth Night is about CROSSDRESSING and LESBIANS (except it's not really which is a fucking shame)
it's annoying me especially because I don't entirely disagree with the opinion they initially expressed of "media has too much grimdark" but like........ most of their examples....... are not remotely grimdark
other good quotes from this english teacher: Classes are meant to teach you to analyze complex narratives and themes and symbols. Not provide easy escapism into a G rated paradise
Roll Fizzlebeef
yeah i wish there was more times it was mentioned or even shown in more media it was one of my favorite plays tbh i may have used my pull as one of the "good" kids to get us to do that play senior year cause I was done with romeo and juliet
The thing is, I've never heard of Watership Down being aimed at Very Young Children, and I sure as hell have never heard of it being assigned to young children
(Like, HP has a questionable author whose biases kind of grossly creep into the works at one point but the books themselves are not outright harmful, and that's the only serious reservation I have about any of those works)
(I'm just saying, why would you cite these and not those unless you either don't know what you're talking about, you have some kind of weirdly specific agenda, or both)
(more people should read animorphs it has themes like there being no entirely good or bad side and even evil people are in fact people, sometimes reaching out and having faith that things can change wins the day)
Btw, I should mention that I had what I would consider an average public school upbringing, and I only ever had to read ONE of the aforementioned books for school(Lord of the Flies, specifically). Not counting Shakespeare's plays.
oh yeah I nearly forgot the scarlet letter which had some heavy themes too this person also forgets the new books introduced into the curriculum that deals with a variety of new topics too
And on my front it's like... I didn't ENJOY The Bluest Eye, but to be fair I don't think you're actually meant to enjoy most high school reading so much as think about it a lot. And I still am glad that was part of the assigned reading.
...Now. Granted. This comes really damn close to opening a different can of worms with the TRUE ART MUST BE MISERY and that really grinds my teeth, but that's a whole other tangent.
and another thing I read Watership Down something like three times by the time I hit junior high, I will decide for myself if bunny wars are too grim or dark for me, thankyouverymuch.
Most high schoolers will read 1984, Catcher in the Rye, the Bluest Eye, Lord of the Flies. Some schools include The Handmaid’s Tale and The Kite Runner. Sex, violence, general depression.From the beginning of most children’s reading experience (Charlotte’s Web, Anne of Green Gables, Watership Down) until their graduation from required reading in college, most individuals are only exposed to death, violence, explicit sex (usual of a violent nature), and general hopelessness.When kids read Shakespeare, it’s Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing are both solid choices that show off Shakespeare’s writing and good characterization, but are rarely (if ever) covered even in college.Classes are meant to teach you to analyze complex narratives and themes and symbols. Not provide easy escapism into a G rated paradisei'm probably biased cause that's what i'm working towardsbut yes