Monthly Archives: May 2011

Finale

[fi-nal-ee, -nah-lee]
–noun

1.the last piece, division, or movement of a concert, opera, or composition.
2.the concluding part of any performance, course ofproceedings, etc.; end.

Wow, its already May? One minute it was September, and everyone was asking “How was your summer?” and now we’re looking forward to the next one. But within a week there is so much to do. No wonder it appears as if us millennials are moving at 100 miles a minute. In the span of finals week some may crank out about 40 pages worth of analysis, while also produce 2 lab reports, and take two three hour exams. But also pack up their entire room to be shipped halfway across the country and still save time to procrastinate…But wait, don’t you have to sleep at some point? And eat? Eh, that’s what 5 hour energy is for, and the Grill delivers, so those can be compromised. After a long year of hard work, learning and activity there’s nothing like finals week to really test our multi tasking skills. It is the grand finale of each year to be able to round up everything we’ve learned one last time.

 

For me, and for the Word of the Day, this blog in some ways serves as the “grand finale” and I wanted to acknowledge that kind of termination of sorts. This was my first blog ever, and in all honesty I’ve really enjoyed the experience of putting my words out there on what I’d like to think of as a digital journal of sorts. It’s nice to see the feedback through comments and while I know it was a requirement to comment, people were really responsive to some of the posts. Without attempting to sound cliche, and perhaps even following my research project, participating on the blog really felt like being part of a community.

“Millennials”

Excerpt from my paper as Harry Potter as a millennial representation…

 

While Harry Potter represents characteristics of the millennial generation within the books and on screen, the most profound expression of the Harry Potter millennial emerges when youth use technology to foster community, and to advocate for political and social change. After proceeding through a thematic analysis of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the 5th segment of the series, themes of teamwork, technology and activism emerged. Harry and friends teamed up to form “Dumbledore’s Army”, a group of teenagers empowered by education to fight against the suppressing forces both at school and within society. They began a rebellion, and questioned authority figures, and media sources in their lives that seemed to issue strict value systems and a limited way of thinking. In finding these faults, members of Dumbledore’s Army formed their own political views and united together to induce much needed change when others did not rise to the occasion. Dumbledore’s Army harnessed the technology available to them within the Room of Requirement, a place where they felt they could experiment and express their identities as young wizards. A resonating sense of positive possibility emerged as they were empowered by education and united by action.

Yet, the morality instilled within Harry Potter’s world did not remain confined to pages of the books, and instead pervaded into the real world that young millennials live in. The themes were out in the open for Harry Potter fans to interact with however they wished. Would they accept the rebellious nature, the teamwork and the politically active sentiment their favorite characters displayed? Absolutely. Paratexts have become the driving force of the Harry Potter phenomenon. Through YouTube fan vids we see a close interaction with the films, and we see fans explore morality. They make meaning in the form of the “authored” videos of their Harry Potter experience, and share it with a public online community such as YouTube. The authors express an innate millennial knowledge of technology, and encourage viewers to comment and respond to the video in an effort to build a shared experience and a shared authorship. Similarly, Mugglenet.com offers an online community constructed specifically to provide Harry Potter fans with a space for communication. Their “Chamber of Secrets” forums provide a kind of “ Room of Requirement” for fans to pose theories, and express themselves within the Harry Potter canon, but not feel restricted to it. It is within forums such as these where a sense of unity is fostered in a shared experience. Fans respond to comments, and build off threads such as “What did you like about the Order of the Phoenix?” But there is still a more active mode of participation, for within Harry Potter online communities such as The Harry Potter Alliance real world issues are explored, challenged and presented in a way that others can interact and make meaning as a group. Their Dumbledore’s Army philosophy is hands on activism. These fans unite in their online participation on social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, and then use these resources to reach out and raise awareness. They use technology as their tool of activism.

While some still argue that Harry Potter is merely a children’s book, a fantasy or a means of escapism, the Harry Potter fandom will probably disagree. For it is not just the magic that has grounded a community, it is the ability to inspire hope, and promote social change. It is the simple fact that for some, they have finally felt like they belonged to a group. Though it is a group that has boundaries, and for many of them it must somehow remain close to the canon, and PG-13. Opinions in these communities may not be diverse, and in turn limit the group’s potential. But that doesn’t mean that conversation won’t continue to happen. Most recently the questions, “Will the phenomenon of Harry Potter ever dissipate?” and, “will the magic ever die?” have been posed in light of the film adaptation finale in the summer of 2011. My answer: not with this generation, and not as long as these online communities, and the paratexts continue to exist. Because the morality issues ingrained in Harry Potter have been ingested by the millennials: a generation committed to a positive future and fully equipped with technology. Harry Potter has become a part of our culture, whether we directly participate with it or not, the values of Harry Potter thus will continue to circulate. Just as a wand can conjure up just about anything, so can a millennial with technology and teamwork.

 

 

Millennial Adults

What happens when the veil of childhood falls away, and we leave the boundaries of high school lockers and family dinners? Commence adulthood. I’ve talked to a lot of people about a show like Madmen and as it appears on a wider demographically encompassing channel such as AMC, older people tend to watch it. A lot of Midd students watch it, and a lot of them watch it with their parents. Madmen is the kind of show that, similar to Glee, or maybe even Twilight, bridges the gap between generations. But the trajectory is in reverse. Now it is millennials aspiring for a more mature lifestyle, and a yearning to immerse themselves into an adult lifestyle. There is an aesthetic glamour that certainly appeals to this aspiration in Madmen, but can also be found in Damages as Ellen Parsons poses as the young hotshot lawyer to be. Continuing on a millennial media familiar trope, we see a murder plot take hold in the first episode, though how it will reveal itself we don’t know. While neither FX or AMC are channels I would associate with millennial television, millennials continue to return to their programming as a source of entertainment while also engaging in a kind of futuristic imagination. Perhaps it is the simple fact of how we will see ourselves in a few years, protégées to Glenn Close ( someone close to our parents’ generation). As Strauss and Howe argued, we oftentimes think of ourselves with the ability to change the future, and that we possess the skills to do so.

While these shows do not explicitly showcase technology in the forefront, the technologies we use to watch them, unlike our parents who may watch it on TV, represent our mastery of technology.  We make the program millennial in this way because we control how we watch it, not to mention the engagement with the programs outside of the TV show such as discussion forums and site participation. But more importantly, is the previous generations inclusion of millennials into this adult world. It’s informative in the sense that it seems to “prepare us” for what is to come, while also giving us the option to take our millennial stand by “changing the future” of what we see operating in front of us.

 

Nostalgia

noun

a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

 

It’s purely coincidental. While our theme this week has been about embodying the echoes of nostalgia, remixing and replaying. But the pang of nostalgia we saw reflected within the tropes millennial television seemed to pervade beyond the screenings themselves. I didn’t realize how the sentiment would continue, that the feeling would also echo in my own life. Perhaps that’s more than a coincidence; perhaps it’s just simply relevant. As if the millennials are always anchored somehow to a time of the past. It’s certainly possible, as Facebook albums constantly remind us of our earlier days- when Facebook didn’t even exist. Or in a split second we can receive a video from home with our dog barking in the background. As if we’re there but not. Our connectedness to that feeling of nostalgia is oftentimes bound up in our technological roots. But for me, the feeling is the age old yearning to return to a former time via a series of events this weekend. I played a JV lacrosse game against my high school, and thus playing against former teammates and most of all my former coach and friend. Hearing their voices again, even in a state of play sent me back. Nostalgia makes me disbelief in the phrase, “ Out of sight, out of mind.” The feelings hover under the surface whether you address them or not, and return to you in moments like these. They make you wonder, how have I been doing without them? I realize it’s hard to replicate the familiarity with people who watched you really grow up. They knew who you have been. And what’s more of my nostalgic weekend is returning home for an evening. I haven’t been home really since December. And things have changed. The snow has melted, the sand and salt from the winter have blown away and the sun is shining. Some of the small town stores have turned over to newer ones, and I felt a little lost. What was it that I missed while being away? What else has changed? And then when my dog comes running toward me, tail wagging, she reminds me that my return no matter when it is, is a good thing.

What’s even more nostalgic is the feeling that hits campus as we enter the last week of classes. Remember September? Remember when we were all fresh from the summer, excited about the prospect of a new school year, and excited to see new faces and old? It seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago simultaneously.