"Slumdog Millionaire," Education, and the Standardized Test

The story of the film “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) is structured as a back-and-forth juxtaposition between the informal, non-standardized “life” learning of the central character and the concept of objective, multiple-choice 'testing' as a criteria for success in an economy characterized by a neo-liberal ideology. The reward for passing this test – which, in the film, is the Indian version of the game show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire – is a literal fortune in cash, enough to raise even the poorest "slumdog" Indian out of poverty and into a life of meaning and value.

Analysis of the film really gets interesting when we ask the following question: What form of education has the greatest capacity for preparing someone (e.g. the film's protagonist) to correctly answer the multiple-choice style “exam” questions that comprise the heart of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Is it a focused program of formal study of the types of material likely to come up on the exam/game show? Not in the case of the film, which suggests that the life story, or "life learning" of the main character -- the formative experiences that he had throughout his childhood and teenage years -- had a powerful impact on how he learned to make meaning of the world as he experienced it in the flashback scenes. It is these "life learned" meanings that, at crucial moments (such as the unlikely scenario of being a contestant on a game show!) are what we will remember and what will best equip us to deal with the situations of life that we face as these situation arise. Our formal educational experiences (as with those of the young protagonist and his brother, briefly depicted in the film) are often memorable for the sense of incompleteness, confusion, and unanswered questions that they leave behind (e.g. "What is the name of the third Musketeer?").

An additional message can also be found in a careful analysis of “Slumdog Millionaire,” regarding the role of motivation and reward in relation to high-stakes standardized testing (which, in the film, is represented by the questions on the game show, and the million-dollar prize that is at stake for answering them all correctly). The “reward” offered for answering the questions correctly – in both the game show and, in big-picture terms, (arguably and ultimately) with high-stakes standardized testing in our schools – is material comfort through financial security in an economic system dominated by the need to have monetary resources to represent one's value to society. The film's protagonist, however, in addition to having a radically different form of 'exam preparation' (as discussed above), also has a radically different motivation for wanting to take the exam (i.e. participate in the game show) and to progress as far as he can and answer correctly as many questions as possible. His motivation is not the financial security represented by the reward offered in the game show's title. Rather, the protagonist's motivation transcends the immediate reward structure of the game show, replacing it with and using it as a vehicle for reaching a more personal, and more 'human' goal -- reaching out to a long-lost lover. In this regard, he subverts the formal, stated objectives of the game show/high-stakes standardized test, and uses the structure and “space” that the game show offers as a platform for acting on his own values and internal motivations.

Question for Reflection and Application: In regards to schooling and high-stakes standardized testing, how can we apply the messages of “Slumdog Millionaire” to our own practice in the field of education?

(Edited and Revised on 14-November-2010)

TwitterArchive: EdReform by the Numbers

TwitterArchive: EdReform by the Numbers (from 10-November-2010):

Business's bottom line=Numbers ($). Corporate #EdReform's bottom line=Numbers (Test Scores). Coincidence? I think not! #edchat @DianeRavitch


.@EdReformPR: If it can't be counted, then it doesn't count! Numbers -- cold, hard numbers, like 17 or 92 -- THAT is the heart of #EdReform!


.@EdReformPR: #EdReform is abt respecting Numbers.If my thermometer reads 43,I don't ask, "Yah, but on what scale?" It's 43,darn it! #edchat


#EdReform is about respecting Numbers: Test scores & data. Bigger = Better. Who wants 1 measly dollar bill when you can have *99* pennies?!

TwitterArchive: "The Social Network" (2010)

TwitterArchive: "The Social Network" (2010) (from 28-October-2010):

#MovieReview: "The Social Network" (2010) [3.5/4] College life. Elitism/$. Real "education". Some great/funny dialog. 3D characters. #movies


After watching "The Social Network," I have more sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg (couldn't stand him b4) &yet even less desire 2 use @Facebook.


"The Social Network" portrays @Facebook as what I ultimately think it is: An unhealthy tool 4 social status competition. #Facebook #college


The rapid growth of @Facebook as depicted in "The Social Network" reminds me of the rapid spread of an infectious virus ("viral"). #Facebook


By opening up @Facebook to virtually everyone, it is no longer the "exclusive" club it's portrayed as in "The Social Network". #Facebook #FB

TwitterArchive: Charter Parenting & Charter Family (Parody)

TwitterArchive: Charter Parenting & Charter Family (Parody) (from 19-October-2010):

#EdChat Friends: Act now & get in on the latest wave of the "charter" mvmnt - Charter Parenting - by opening your own CharterFamily! #parody


Manage a dynamic Charter Parenting operation & implement innovative - not band-aid - solutions (except for w/real booboos)! #edchat #parody


Develop your CharterFam manifesto, hire your team, assert your dominance thru fear,& be on your way to Excellence & Success! #edchat #parody


CharterFamily CEO starting salary: $200k+ | Act NOW to get in on the latest wave of the "charter" mvmnt - Charter Parenting! #edchat #parody

TwitterArchive: EdReform, Bill Gates, & NBC's School Pride

TwitterArchive: EdReform, Bill Gates, & NBC's School Pride (from 16-October-2010):

I'm a little disturbed by the premise of this @NBCSchoolPride TV show -- "Extreme Makeover" meets "Waiting for Superman"? #edchat #education

In re @NBCSchoolPride: School "makeovers" lead to "a renewed sense of school pride & an increase in student achievement scores"? #edchat

Am I missing something, or is this @NBCSchoolPride show trying to make some TV ad revenue off of the #EdReform circus? #edchat #education

Let's follow the money trail 2the sponsors of the @NBCSchoolPride show: Walmart & - wait for it - Microsoft! #edchat #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm

Let's be real: I don't know anything abt @BillGates' bio,but was he bullied in school? Would that explain his meddling in #EdReform? #edchat

Seriously, if @BillGates was bullied in school, that could provide motivation for him 2want to "fix" things now that he has $/power. #edchat

I'm not trying to be mean to @BillGates; trying to understand his motivation & why he can't just donate $$ w/o strings attached. #edchat

TwitterArchive: The Sources of EdReform

TwitterArchive: The Sources of EdReform (from 15 October 2010):

Are #EdReform -ers (adults) trying to make their name in #education & forgetting that it is about the young people, not the adults? #edchat

Are so-called #EdReform -ers (Gates,Oprah...) remaking #education to serve adult needs,instead of its real purpose of serving kids? #edchat

In regards to all of the #EdReform initiatives: Did it ever occur to anyone to *ask kids* what they think would improve their educ.? #edchat

In re #EdReform: If non-educator business ppl can be #education experts, then why not also the *kids* who are being educated?! #edchat

#EdReform: If business ppl can B #education experts by nature of their bank accounts,why not students by nature of their experience? #edchat

#EdReform: Are the rich & powerful COLONIZING authentic #education & learning for their own benefit (profit?)? #edchat /cc @DianeRavitch

We need post-"colonization" approaches to #EdReform to take back the issue frm the rich&famous(Gates et al.). Step 1: Student input. #edchat

TwitterArchive: Olaudah Equiano & Slavery

TwitterArchive: Olaudah Equiano & Slavery (from 15 October 2010):

#Reading autobiography of 18th C. African slave Olaudah Equiano ( http://goo.gl/xlgu ), & his vivid descriptions of the horrors of slavery.

Olaudah Equiano on slavery: Slaves "toil for [the] luxury and lust of gain" of their masters. (Full text: http://goo.gl/pp5F ) #p2 #NoAgenda

Olaudah Equiano on slavery: Slaves' "every tender feeling" are "sacrificed to [their masters'] avarice".( http://goo.gl/pp5F ) #p2 #NoAgenda

School Teachers, Morality, and Social Networking: A Reflection on “Moral Spaces in MySpace”

School Teachers, Morality, and Social Networking: A Reflection on “Moral Spaces in MySpace”

In response to:

Foulger et al. (2009). Moral spaces in MySpace: Preservice teaches’ perspectives about ethical issues in social networking. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(1), 1-28.

The topic discussed in this journal article is particularly relevant in terms of the confluence of ethical issues, new social media, and professional expectations. This is an issue that I have a strong opinion about, and my opinion is rooted in the perspective that a teacher (especially a public school teacher) is a professional and therefore subject to a somewhat higher set of expectations than might be in place for the general public.

As an initial comment on the research design of this article, I am a little bit concerned about the sample ratio of female:male – 44:6 – (p. 7). While indeed it is a general trend in higher education in the US to have a majority female student population, the ratio of the sample in this study seems a little too one-sided. As such, it may be more realistic to confine the results of this discussion to the (primarily) 18-25 female undergraduate demographic.

In regards to the general issue of teacher-professional's (pre-service or otherwise) use of social media and the issue of privacy, it needs to be noted that traditional understandings of privacy do not apply in a digital world designed around an architecture that by its very nature is intended to support the wide distribution of information (text, images, video, etc.). Also, as we are all aware of from stories of media piracy over the Internet, within the digital realm, nothing “stays put”. The basic ability to make perfect 1-for-1 copies of any digital information (text, images, video, etc.) means that once someone places something “out there” in the digital realm, it is practically impossible to know who will create their own copy of it, where they will place that copy, and what other things they might do with it. [If you're not convinced, log into your Facebook account and find the most embarrassing photo of a friend that you can locate. Then Right-click and “Save-As” that image. It is now yours and you can do with it as you wish.]

The notion of teacher-as-professional is a broader issue than cannot be fully discussed here, but if one accepts that a teacher is a professional and therefore subject to a different, stricter set of standards (including moral standards), then the preceding paragraph should offer a substantial body of reasoning for why teacher-professionals should be especially careful in the digital realm (including, but not limited to, social networking services).

As for myself, I recently abandoned and deactivated my personal Facebook account. Although – given what has been said above – I was always very careful as to what I posted, it eventually became more trouble than it was worth, and I decided to walk away from it. I do, however, use Twitter as a primarily professional (and partially personal) tool to communicate and interact with others. The difference with Twitter, from my perspective, is that whereas with Facebook and MySpace there is a sense of privacy (false, in my opinion), with Twitter, everything is available publicly to anyone, even those who do not have a Twitter account.

Fixing Audio Issues with Skype 2.1 for Linux

Problem:

* Massive audio delay (several seconds) / lag with Skype 2.1 (beta) for Linux

* Echo problem / echo cancellation not working

* Recording/microphone not working

My Setup:

* Ubuntu 9.04 (Netbook Remix)
* Acer Aspire One Netbook

* Static version of Skype 2.1 (beta) for Linux from Skype.com [2.1.0.81]

My simple fix / work-around - Initial steps:

- Install package: 'padevchooser'

- Run [from Sound & Video]: 'PulseAudio Device Chooser'

- Run [from Sound & Video]: 'PulseAudio Volume Control'

-----

- Verify settings: 'PulseAudio Volume Control' > 'Input Devices' tab > 'HDA Intel - ALC268 Analog'

* Channels unlocked/unlinked; Front Left @ 0%; Front Right @ ~99%

* Volume Meter should move to register sound levels being picked up live by microphone

-----

- Run: 'Skype 2.1 (beta)'

-----

- Verify settings: 'Skype 2.1 (beta)' > 'Options' > 'Sound Devices'

* 'Microphone' & 'Speakers' & 'Ringing' = 'PulseAudio server (local)'

* 'Allow Skype to automatically adjust my mixer levels' = Deselected/Off

-----

- Skype should now work as expected:

* Recording/microphone working

* No echo problem / echo cancellation working

* No noticeable audio delays/lag (not including delays due to poor network conditions)

Normal sequence for using Skype after following the above "Initial steps":

- Run [from Sound & Video]: 'PulseAudio Device Chooser'

- Run [from Sound & Video]: 'PulseAudio Volume Control'

- Run: 'Skype 2.1 (beta)'

Comments:

* Verifying the above settings under 'PulseAudio Volume Control' seems to make recording/microphone work as expected

* Preventing Skype from mucking with mixer settings should leave the desired 'PulseAudio Volume Control' settings unaltered

* When 'PulseAudio Device Chooser' & 'PulseAudio Volume Control' are running, one / both (neither / background process related to installing 'padevchooser' package?) solve the audio delays/lag

* While not fully understood, and potential for redundancy does exist, the relatively simple-to-implement solution of running the two PulseAudio utilities along with Skype offers an easy way to solve the maddening issues that made Skype practically unusable

To Do:

* Work out a solution to allow audio recording of live Skype conversations with Audacity

[Last modified: 9 June 2010]

Bibliography: Education & Society

A short list of resources on Education & Society:

Dewey, John. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Books.

Freire, Paulo. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. (M.B. Ramos, Trans.). New York: Continuum.

Gatto, John Taylor. (2009). Weapons of mass instruction: A schoolteacher's journey through the dark world of compulsory schooling. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Holt, John C. (1981). Teach your own: A hopeful path for education. New York: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence.

Illich, Ivan. (1971). Deschooling society. New York: Harper & Row.
[Full text available online in HTML and PDF formats.]

Parsons, Talcott. (1959). The School Class as a Social System: Some of Its Functions in American Society. Harvard Educational Review, 29(4): 297-318.

Reimer, Everett. (1972). School is dead: Alternatives in education. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.

See also: Other books by John Taylor Gatto and John C. Holt.

TwitterArchive: Kevin Acklin's "Public Safety Plan"

In response to Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Kevin Acklin's "Public Safety Plan":

@KevinAcklin: Not comfortable w/all the emphasis you place on beefing up police forces. People = Center of community; Police = Derivative

@KevinAcklin: Your "Public Safety Plan" has a confused understanding of the role of police in society. >

@KevinAcklin: > RE "Public Safety Plan": Protect neighborhoods by investing in their people, w/jobs, community resources. >

@KevinAcklin: > RE "Public Safety Plan": Police can do nothing to *build* neighborhoods/community; only react to failures/breakdowns. >

@KevinAcklin: Sorry, but I think your ideology RE [role/function of] police [in society] is backwards. [...]

TwitterArchive: "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L. Anderson

AUDIO: "Pastor" Steven L. Anderson abuses the #Christian gospel to promote his gospel of #hate: http://is.gd/2GBh4 #p2 #topprog #rebelleft

Should the "Faithful Word Baptist Church" in Tempe, AZ have tax-exempt status? http://is.gd/2GBh4 #p2 #topprog #rebelleft #tcot #hate #fear

Should #p2 #topprog start a vers. of @mmfa 2monitor "right-wing terrorist" propaganda "preached" in so-called "churches"? http://is.gd/2GBh4

Audio (MP3) of more "sermons" from "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson: http://is.gd/2GCc5 #p2 #topprog #rebelleft #hate

Police narrative of strange behaviour leading to arrest of "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson: http://is.gd/2GCrM #p2

Twitter account for "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson = @sanderson1611 #p2 #topprog #rebelleft

"Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson attempts to Biblically justify his #hate speech: http://is.gd/2GCGA #p2 #topprog

Bio for "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson: http://is.gd/2GCRE #p2 #topprog #rebelleft

More insight into the ideology of "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson, via his essays: http://is.gd/2GD7G #p2 #topprog

VIDEO: #MSNBC discussion of "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson: fomenting terrorism? http://is.gd/2GDqo #p2 #topprog

It's amazing just how much info on "Why I Hate Barack Obama" "pastor" Steven L Anderson is provided by him on his own website/etc accts! #p2

All persons of faith, regardless of what that faith is, should be disgusted by attempts to misuse religious doctrine 4 personal agendas #p2

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RT @sanderson1611: Check this video out -- Pastor Wants #Obama To Die Of Brain Cancer: "Like #TedKennedy" http://bit.ly/tLWCI #p2 #topprog

Video: This past Sunday was "Bring your gun to church day" at Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ. Watch: http://bit.ly/tLWCI #tcot

---

RT @CelluloidBlonde: [...] Homophobic/Obamaphobic Pastor Steven L Anderson facing poverty as clients flee http://is.gd/30AP0

RE "Pastor" Stephen L Anderson: The real loosers in his #hate filled, anti- #Christian rants? His wife & children. #p2 @sanderson1611

RE "Pastor" Stephen L Anderson: Tempe, AZ folks: Pls step in & make sure his wife/children don't suffer. Donate food, etc #p2 @sanderson1611

#Tempe, #AZ #p2 #topprog: Pls donate food/clothing 4 wife/children of "pastor" Anderson-Don't let them suffer 4 his hate. http://is.gd/31czw

"Towards a Philosophical Understanding of the 'Birther' and 'Deather' Movements"

Like many Americans tuned into current political debates, I have been attempting to figure out just what is going on behind the “Birther” and “Deather” movements. It was Sarah Palin's recent Facebook comments, however, that finally provided some breakthrough inspiration as to the reality behind both movements:

Sarah Palin: “The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil...”

Ms. Palin's comments contribute directly to building up the “Deather” movement, and provided inspiration for the following working definition:

"Deathers"

Definition: Factually deficient, fear-mongering "critics" who "criticize" imagined things that don't exist in reality; things that only exist in a conjured-up fantasy realm of abstract emotions. Statements are usually delivered through the spoken word, on radio or television. These statements from the Deather movement are laden with an ontological / existential weight of fear/terror/angst, but are devoid of any epistemically rooted 'facts,' as facts are commonly understood. Deathers often confuse statements saturated with the emotion of fear as being "the truth" – a failure to distinguish between an ontological / existential notion of "truth" (i.e. “it's true because it feels so true”) and an epistemic notion (i.e. evidence is available to support a claim).

While on the subject of definitions, let's also put on the table a working definition of the “Birther” movement:

"Birthers"

Definition: People who cannot / refuse to accept that a person with a multi-faceted personality and a multi-positional identity (Barack Obama) could actually rise to a position of prominence and power in their conception of the United States of America. The president is the political leader of America; they are Americans; but yet they cannot accept a Barack Obama as a leader – their leader. The reality of the President's identity threatens the deep rooted (but out of touch with the contemporary world) individual and collective identities of the Birthers. The resultant cognitive dissonance is too much to maintain; the only options for moving forward are to either assimilate or deny the identity of Obama. Birthers, by definition, choose to deny the reality of Barack Obama as president by denying the validity of one of the most basic facts of his identity, his place of birth, which Birthers claim is not America. This, in a subjective sense, is true, for the Birthers' abstract, idealized, and – dare I say – 'bleached' concept of America could not possibly have a President Barack Obama as its native son. However, a substantial degree of disconnect exists between Birthers' subjective conceptualization of "America" and concrete historical and geographical fact.

(Note: The term 'bleached' as used above does not exclusively refer to skin color or race. Rather, it refers to an idealized conception [of something] that is impoverished, deficient, blanched, non-holistic, and selectively reduced from the thing as it exists in the fullness of its reality.)

How do these working definitions help us to deal with the reality of the “Birther” and “Deather” movements as we encounter them in current political debate? My initial response is to charitably consider Birthers and Deathers as people in need of further development through gentle yet increasing exposure to epistemically-grounded facts and the reality of America as it exists today. On the other hand, however, I am reminded of another small, yet significant fact connected to the reality of life in contemporary – and historical – America: Some Americans possess weapons. As a subset of America, some adherents to the Birther and Deather movements also, naturally (and legally) possess weapons. My concern is that the constant drum beat artificially (re)produced by the voices on corporate talk radio and cable talking-head shows might unnaturally contribute to the over-inflation of the emotional state of some Birthers and Deathers – particularly those in possession of weapons. A new question now arises: Should these voices on radio and television be held morally and legally accountable for any role they play in pushing a Birther or Deather “over the edge,” into violent action?

A healthy, functioning democracy requires open discourse of epistemically-grounded ideas, not endless shouts of fear-inducing 'preaching to the choir'. Fear and anger, as emotions, are things experienced by all of us. But as we know, for healthy adults, fear and anger usually run their course and then subside. My concern is that the constant chatter of voices (and notice that it primarily is “voice” – spoken on radio and cable TV – rather than the printed word) from the corporately-funded mouthpieces on the self-proclaimed “conservative right” daily (re)produce and maintain a state of perpetual fear and anger in Birthers and Deathers. No person can live in a state of constant fear and anger without eventually suffering serious psychological and emotional consequences. So we must ask: Are these voices, through the amplification of their media megaphones, responsible for committing mass emotional and psychological abuse, on a scale of which has never been seen before?

It is not enough to merely sit back and, in a detached way, analyze the philosophical aspects of the Birther and Deather movements. If the extent to which each of these movements exists is a result of mass media inflicted abuse, do we not have a responsibility to intervene in healthy and helpful ways? The wide-spread presence of this type of abuse in our society is not healthy for any of us.

So what healthy and helpful methods of intervention exist? A top-down, end-product focused, extreme version of a “Fairness Doctrine” that determines who can speak on the airwaves and what they can and cannot say? I would reject such a notion, for its potential for abuse is far too great. Rather, a different approach might be found in bottom-up, process oriented critical media education. All “consumers” of media messages should have some background in deciphering the content and broader context of the messages that are delivered to their ears (and eyes), and an ability to sort out messages of dubious validity. Let me be absolutely clear: this is not about telling people what to think; that would be an end-product (the “what”) centered approach. Rather, this type of approach would center on educating people in healthy, constructive, and well-rounded means of how to think (the “how” is the procedural aspect). The end goal would be to equip each individual person with a means of understanding and interpreting the fullness of meanings behind messages that appear very (emotionally) appealing on the surface. People would, in a sense, be “inoculated” from the direct reception of the fear contagion as it is transmitted through mass media mouthpieces.

In sum, the existence of the Birther and Deather movements can be understood in educational terms as the result of a mass media delivered pedagogy centered on the (re)creation of perpetual emotional states in its 'students'. It is only fitting, then, that an alternative educational approach be offered as a more healthy way forward.

TwitterArchive: Twitter #Healthcare #Debate Guidelines from August 5-6, 2009

#Healthcare #Debate: 1. If you're going to call someone an 'idiot' for linking to something, be sure to actually read the link 1st.

#Healthcare #Debate: 2. Calling someone an 'idiot' might be a sign that your emotions are ruling your reason. Stop, relax, tweet.

#Healthcare #Debate: 3. Insulting someone & then blocking them when called on it is passive-aggressive #bullying. Go to bed w/o supper.

#Healthcare #Debate: 4. Mocking these guidelines is a sure sign that they hit their intended mark. Fire away #patriot.

#Healthcare #Debate: 5. Consider the #Aristotelian components of #ethos, #pathos, & #logos when debating. Refresher: http://is.gd/25zEu

TwitterArchive: Breaking #Birther News from August 5, 2009

Breaking #Birther News: Jesus not valid Jewish Messiah b/c Father not an Israelite. Petition made to BV Mary for birth certificate.

Breaking #Birther News: Presidential numbering system skewed from the beginning: G. Washington not born in the United States of America.

Breaking #Birther News: #Birthers responsible for partial abortion of #democracy at town hall meetings. #satire #gop #hcr #healthcare

Breaking #Birther News: #Birthers anxious to see Joe Biden sworn in as President. #satire #updatedfromoriginal

Breaking #Birther News: #Birthers theme song: |Bing Crosby - Mele Kalikimaka| VS |Baltimora - Tarzan Boy| VOTE NOW! #satire #music

Breaking #Birther News: #Birthers theme song: |Toto - Africa| VS |Gloria Gaynor - I Am What I Am| VOTE NOW! #satire #music

Breaking #Birther News: #Birthers urban theme song: |Dolla ft T Pain & Akon - Who The F- Is That?| VS |Beenie Man - Who Am I?| #satire

TwitterArchive: #FakeNews from August 5, 2009

#FakeNews: European billionaires visit US on fact-finding mission 4 adopting American for-profit insurance-based #healthcare sys. #satire

#FakeNews: For-profit hospitals feat. new version of #Bible in patient rooms, inc. passages from Malthus, H. Spencer. #satire #updated

#FakeNews: New #GOP #healthcare #HCR plan: Free iTunes download of "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House for every American. #satire

"So You Think You Can Dance" and the Renormalization of the Male-Heterosexual-Dancer Identity

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role that schools play as sites for the (re)production of the normalized narratives surrounding socially constructed gender identities, and one counter-narrative force found in the mainstream television culture that functions partially to expose certain aspects of these socially constructed identities.

I will begin by recounting the personal narrative that brought me to consider the subject matter of this essay. For the past five summers, the Fox television network has featured a "reality" dance competition series called, "So You Think You Can Dance?" (SYTYCD). My initially exposure to this series came in the summer of 2008, during the show's fourth season, followed by the Australian version of the show that aired in the winter of 2009. But it was not until the currently airing season (summer 2009 in the US) that the following question struck me: regarding the male participants in the show, why do a disproportionate number (as compared to the overall US population) seem to self-identify as homosexual? Is there something inherent in the genetic makeup of homosexual males that makes them have a predisposition towards dance and human expression through bodily motion? Certainly not, as even the thought of that question seems a bit ridiculous. But yet, the observational data - at least as far as SYTYCD presents material for observation - does suggest that the percentage of male dancers that are homosexual is much higher than the percentage of males that are homosexual in the general population. What might explain this observation?

The "breakthrough" insight -- and the connection to the notion of the social construction of (gender) identity -- came with the profile and back-story of one male contestant that participated in earlier rounds of the current season. This male contestant, who appeared to self-identify as a homosexual, discussed the pressures he faced in high school, as the athletically-built son of the high school football coach, to play football instead of pursuing his own interest in and passion for dance. Fortunately he was able to battle the pressure to play football, and, with the eventual support of his father the coach, pursue his interest in dance, progress through the initial rounds of the current season of SYTYCD, only to be cut before reaching the Top 20. To reconnect this male dancer's story to the topic of this essay, the insight generated from his story came in the form of the following realization: There must be quite a few male althletes (irregardless of sexual orientation) out there on the fields and courts that would make wonderful dancers, but that, due to the pressures on males to play "traditional manly sports," are never able to even consider dancing as an activity, hobby, or even career.

But at this point we must ask, How does this connect to the observation that a disproportionate percentage of male dancers are homosexual? I would hypothesize that perhaps male homosexuals are already aware that they do not, cannot, will not, and/or refuse to fit into and conform to aspects of the currently dominant socially constructed narrative surrounding male gender identity, and are therefore in a position that makes it easier to resist and reject the social pressures to only play the "traditional manly sports". It could be that a certain percentage of all males, regardless of sexual orientation and apart from social pressures in one direction or another, have some sort of predisposition that is connected to an interest in dance and self-expression through bodily movement. The difference may come, however, when societal pressures are introduced that define what are "appropriate" and "inappropriate" physical activities for "normal" (heterosexual) males to engage in. If one wants to be seen as a "normal" (heterosexual) male, and "normal" (heterosexual) males - according to the socially constructed gender identity - do not associate themselves with the realm of dance, then, regardless of natural disposition towards creative expression through bodily movement, dance will be rejected as an "inappropriate" activity for the socially "normal" male to engage in.

Let us now reengage the discussion thus far with the question of the role that schools play as sites for the (re)production of the normalized narrative surrounding socially constructed gender identity. Educators and administrators in the K-12 arena should be aware of how the structure of the schooling experience -- in general as well as in regards to physical activities, sports, and "arts" education -- functions to reproduce the normalized (and socially constructed) male gender identity as described above. How do sporting opportunities and other extracurricular activities function to embody and reproduce the normalized, socially constructed gender identity? Do we think of certain activities and sports as "appropriate" or "inappropriate" for either boys and/or girls? Why? How is it that the structure of the schooling experience - particularly in high school - (re)creates as desirable the ideal archetypal forms of the all-star male athlete and the sexually attractive female cheerleader? How do we, as individual educators, administrators, and policy makers, contribute to the (re)production of the normalized, socially constructed gender identities? What "acts of resistance" can we take in order to work towards dismantling the rigid bonds of these socially constructed identities so that our male and female students may be more free to pursue their natural inclinations and interests?

As we reach the conclusion of this essay, perhaps the final question asked above can benefit from a closer look at the counter-narrative embodied in "So You Think You Can Dance?". In the structure and composition of the show, indirectly and directly (particularly in the comments of on-air judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe), the (counter-)narrative that is continually (re)produced is that dance, in all of its myriad of forms, is appropriate for all human beings - irrespective of gender or sexual orientation - as both a form of human expression through body movement and as a social activity that brings people together in the physicality of the embodied human experience. In this sense, the very title of the show itself ("So You Think You Can Dance?") is an invitatory question that beckons all who hear it to participate in one way or another - even if just by watching and enjoying the show - in the universally human activity of dance.

Documentary: "Good Copy Bad Copy" (2007)

Criticism: It's refreshing to know that the Nigerian film 'industry' and the Brazilian music 'industry' is more bleeding-edge than the corporate dinosaur carcases in the USA. Watch this film here.

Music: A.R. Rahman & The Pussycat Dolls - "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)"

Criticism: Are American Pop music consumers unable to appreciate the original version of the song, "Jai Ho," which is in Hindi, with some Spanish? Are they incapable of Googling "jai ho english translation"?

Is this a reflection of American's intolerance for linguistic ambiguity?

Is this an example of cultural colonization, taking only that which is perceived as valuable to the colonizers, such as the catchy musical refrain of "Jai Ho," which is relegated to the status of a meaningless sound in the English version?

Or is it just a positive example of "the collaboration of sounds from the East and West"?

Documentary: "Manufactured Landscapes" (2006)

Criticism: Distopian future? No -- Distopian present. Hideous imagery.