Adaptation: Literature, Film and Society

Teaching Situation and Content Objectives

I teach at a magnet school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a diverse student body, ranging from those students who help support themselves and their families to those who are extremely wealthy. Specifically speaking, at Booker T. Washington High School, our current student body is comprised of 35% African American, 36% Caucasian, 3% Asian, 13% Hispanic, 9% Multi-Race, and 4% American Indian with 38% free and reduced lunch. My classroom reflects this diversity. Also, the two classes I teach, Pre-AP English II IB-MYP (focus on World Literature) and AP Language and Composition (focus on American Literature), have students with ranging abilities, so it is important that I differentiate and scaffold my instruction, as well as build in some flexibility for those students who need it. This unit will be written for my AP Language and Composition class, but I feel like the information and texts will be useful for other grade levels as well and is not only appropriate for an English classroom, but for a Film classroom too.

Although AP Language and Composition courses are typically focused on nonfiction, I like to bring at least three to four novels into the classroom to help aid in analysis skills. My students secretly get excited when I say we are going to read a novel, as they sit up straighter in their desks and start asking me all kinds of questions: What is it about? Pause. Who is it by? Pause. How long is it? Groan.  This secret excitement is seen in the way they devour the book at the beginning; however, despite the initial interest, the excitement wanes if they aren’t being constantly entertained. So the question I always ask myself is how can I keep that initial interest sustained? What activities can I have students do that will motivate them and continue their in-depth analysis? The answer lies within finding a text that they can relate to, giving them a distinct challenge, developing strategies and activities that allow students’ ideas and creativity to shine, and using film and technology. This is how I will keep their interest. This is how I will further their critical thinking skills.

Wanting to find a text they can relate to, I chose a bildungsroman for this unit. According to The Oxford Companion to English Literature, a bildungsroman is defined as “an ‘education‐novel’... [and] relates the experiences of a youthful protagonist in meeting the challenges of adolescence and early adulthood.”¹ This definition also explains that these “‘coming‐of‐age’ novels, typically develop themes of innocence, self‐knowledge, sexual awakening, and vocation.”² Teenagers love reading about people going through issues similar to those that they are going through, so The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar seemed perfect choices.

I also know depression is ubiquitous among teenagers; they either have suffered from it, are suffering from it, or know people who are depressed. It’s real, it’s palpable, and it’s everywhere. In Jean M. Twenge’s 2017 book iGen there is scientific data showing that the rates of depression for teenagers and young adults is on the rise. She writes that “overall, more and more college students are struggling with mental health issues”³ and notes that in a 2016 study, students indicated major increases in “feeling overwhelmed (increasing 51%)... and (perhaps most troubling) feeling depressed  (increasing 95%, or nearly doubling).”⁴ So for this unit, it was imperative for me to choose bildungsromans that dealt with not only with a coming-of- age story, but ones that deal directly with depression and unhappiness to help students confront these issues and know that they are not alone. The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar both fit these criteria, and with the 13 Reasons Why culture that my students are living in, these books might generate true interest. Though both these literary works are dated and might not completely resonate with modern teens today for they both predate the internet and the use of smartphones, their themes of depression, identity, and fitting into society are timeless.

After considering the content of the novels, I think about creating interest that can be sustained for the iPhone and SnapChat generation that I am teaching. If my students aren’t on their phones, then they are talking about movies or Netflix shows. Considering this, I want to combine the chosen bildungsromans with their passion for movies, media, and technology by having them create a modern adaptation of the novel they read by filming a movie scene or trailer for their final project.  Robyn Seglem, author of “YA Lit, Music and Movies: Creating REEL Interest in the Language Arts Classroom,” writes, “Embedding media within the language arts curriculum will not only teach students the critical thinking skills needed to interpret the onslaught of media messages, but will also allow teachers to use the media to teach and motivate students in the areas of reading and writing.”⁵ This solidifies why it is important to include media in the classroom.  As an extra added bonus Seglem points out “that understanding the more popular media texts that engage student interest can help educators …[better] understand their students.”⁶  So by using popular media outlets and technology, students will hopefully be more invested in the unit and as a teacher, I will better understand and see my students’ world and reality because they will be showing me their modern interpretation of their old-school bildungsroman, using literary themes to make sense of their own lives -- the English teacher’s dream. In the end, using film in the classroom will be a motivational tool and encourage analytical skills.