Reading and Discussion #3: Navigating Popular Culture

My Bubblr doesn't want to connect.  After several tries and the message from Bubblr, "Database selection failed : Unknown column 'undefined' in 'where clause'" I have given up.  Below are snap shots of my Bubblr.

My popular culture is trapped in 1990 alternative bands, which is why I chose to use a picture of Kurt Cobain (the King of Alternative and all that is Grunge) in one of my Bubbr slides.  I think my sense of popular culture probably escaped my attention about the time I started college in 1995.  Motherhood to two babies did not help and then the return to college in 2010 possibly doomed in any interest in the world around me outside of my studies and family.  My fears fall into David Cooper Moore's #2,3, and 4 areas of concern by educators (Moore, 2011) :
                     
                   2. Ignorance or lack of sufficient knowledge about popular culture
                   3. Dislikes of popular culture
                   4. Alienation from popular culture, for example, "I feel out of touch" or "It doesn't relate to me"

However, Moore reassures the educator that they don't necessarily have to have a grasp on current pop culture to be able to utilize it to help students identify credible sources.  He does warn teachers that celebrating or criticizing students in regards to their choices in pop culture does not lend to a constructive learning environment, which is why I chose to use the HALO slide at the end of my Bubblr.  Not understanding my son's want or need to play the latest HALO does not keep him from wanting the game. It only creates a further gap between the two of us.  It is a mute point because he shuts down now when I ask, "Why?"  This now makes sense because I am not offering anything constructive to the argument.  I just meeting it with resistance.  Moore makes this argument by stating, "The critical thinking and open inquiry processes, like any other important skills, come with practice and are most effective when carefully scaffolded and supported by teachers themselves" (Moore, 2011).

Kurt Cobain

What I probably find most unsettling in the argument between generations when it comes to pop culture is that my pop culture was by far innocent.  Kurt Cobain?  My son does like Kurt Cobain and as Moore  quoted in the reading - Rock Band and Guitar Hero have come a long way in bringing back old pop iconic symbols.  So when he requested a Kurt Cobain poster I jumped right onto Ebay and order a fantastic poster of Cobain strumming his left handed (upside down) guitar in a green and red striped sweater.  What I got was a poster of Cobain smoking a marijuana cigarette.  Oops!  Parenting fail #52635375.  The poster went back to the seller and the seller sent me the original poster I ordered.  Sometimes reality checks are important.  It did give my son and I the chance to have a calm conversation as to why our "heroes or idols" don't always reflect everything we should idolize about them.  And yes!  If you are wondering his fascination with Kurt Cobain did end up in a serious conversation regarding suicide, as well.  It is odd how my favorite artist ended up being a "special" on media literacy.  That is something I would not have taken well if it would have been an educator that attacked me on the same topics from an criticizing point of view.  It took a understanding role from myself to approach the topic with my son.  Maybe that is the point.  This same idea should also be applied in the classroom.  A possible "Ah-Ha!" moment indeed.  I still hate HALO *sigh*.  I guess I'll have to be more understanding.

If You Were Born in Space

I do understand bringing in the fear of pop culture into the classroom, which is exactly the reason I chose to add a "parental advisory" image in my Bubblr.  When I show an innocent NASA video from YouTube in the classroom, I have to be ready to close out the page when the video is over.  I never know what might pop up on the side line.  Oddly enough a really awesome video about the biology of conception in space and how the body would develop in microgravity (ill effects) appears.  The picture is definitely one that provokes the imagination of all in the room.  I also highly advise it as a good video that I will not play in class.  Although the conception part is fairly innocent in the video, I'm not sure I'm ready to field questions about the "birds and bees" with students when I don't know their background.  I die a little inside when I have to admit that out loud.  I am a biologist - it is a fantastic/educational video but you never know who you will offend.  If you have time check it out - If You Were Born in Space.  I just watched it again.

My Question
When I was a kid and my mother was our scout leader for 30+ kids, there was always an issue with students who had little to no exposure to pop culture due to the parents blocking all access.  It seemed like every innocuous video she chose to show created conflict with these overprotective parents.  How do you get around that?  There will most likely be at least one student in the crowd.  I remember last year a group from the Boys & Girls Club came to participate in a rocketry workshop and more than half of the crowd had no idea who the Rocket Boys were.  I decided at break we would watch a short clip.  I know the faux pas behind not viewing a clip first and I fell right into it.  I never noticed how many swear words were in that movie.  In that situation is was okay but it won't be for every situation.  The Rocket Boys is part of our WV culture.  It is part of our history.  I couldn't even get away from inappropriate content in that situation.


Citation

Moore, D. C. (2011). Asking questions first: Navigating popular culture and transgression in an inquiry-based media literacy classroom. Action in Teacher Education, 33, 219-230. doi: 10.1080/01626620.2011.569470