My fifth grade students are working on our annual class play. They have chosen to rewrite the classic story “Alice in Wonderland”. It’s so much fun to watch them in action, just letting the creativity flow. I love this time of year, when my sole responsibility is crowd control.
Of course, I am always amazed at how much the world has changed since I was in the fifth grade, and how the kids’ perceptions differ from mine. (They have written a mariachi band into the play.)
For example, did you know that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp did a completely creepy “Alice” movie? Huh. I didn’t. My students wanted to base our script on THAT version rather than Lewis Carroll’s. So I decided to watch it.
Oh. My. God. I got as far as Johnny’s White Rabbit, with his horrible pinkish orange eyes. Then I hit that clicker so fast that the whole TV just shut right down.
Of course, the next day the kids had a field day laughing at my sensitivity when I explained my reaction. They find me very quaint.
So they tried to explain the Burton story, telling me all about how the Jabberwocky is a giant monster that Alice has to slaughter in the end. This is the story that they all know. This is how they think it goes.
Um. Really?
Has everything in the whole wide world changed, I wonder? Even the classic old stories, once known and loved by every child, have been changed and rewritten and done over.
Is nothing sacred?
Sometimes I feel as if I have fallen down the rabbit hole.
I mean, look at the way everyone is suddenly raising chickens. Now I am a confirmed and dedicated locavore, and I love the fact that I am able to buy fresh eggs and local, organic chickens. But when I was a kid, the only people who had actual chickens in the back yard were those hopelessly backward, unsophisticated immigrants. The rest of us thought they were….well….quaint.
I feel like I’m down the rabbit hole.
And what about plastic, for goodness sake! Remember “The Graduate”? (Of course you do). The middle aged, successful businessman advises a young Dustin Hoffman to “get into plastics” because it is the material of the future. Back in the 60’s (when I was in fifth grade), having things made of plastic was a sign of modernity. I remember clearly when my tin “Beatles” lunchbox with its warped metal clasp was replaced with a bright blue plastic “Lost in Space” lunchbox. I was so incredibly cool.
Now everyone hates plastic. It is made from petroleum, it stays in the environment for a billion years and there is a big pile of it swirling around in the Pacific Ocean. Plastic is hopelessly old fashioned and out dated.
Rabbit hole.
And let’s think about politics for a moment, shall we?
I remember a time when conservative Americans believed in the motto, “America. Love it or leave it.” I remember when it was the middle class, white, conservative “majority” that used to vilify the hippy radicals who marched in protest against the Vietnam War. When young people stuck flowers into the gun muzzles of the National Guard, the conservative base called them “unAmerican” and “disrespectful.”
I remember “My country right or wrong.”
Now? If you want to call yourself a real conservative, you have to believe that you and your friends have a right and a duty to own big guns that can shoot a million rounds. Why? So you can fight back against those government agents if they come to your door.
Rabbit hole in a big way.
And finally, there is the recent loss of sensitivity to sexual misbehavior. See, for my entire life, a public figure could pretty much say goodbye to his career if he was caught red-handed in an affair. I mean, we all knew that behind closed doors powerful men were enjoying their free time in the company of beautiful women. But it couldn’t be right out there in public! Remember the incredible outcry when Ted Kennedy was caught cheating after the death of his young and beautiful campaign worker? The uproar was more about her presence in the Senator’s car than it was about her tragic death. And I know you remember Monica Lewinsky…..
So how do you explain Mark Sanford? The famous A.T. “hiker” was reelected after admitting that he was in Argentina with his girlfriend while collecting his public paycheck. He was reelected. They knew about his lies, his cheating and his attempts to cover it all up, and they voted for him anyway. Really???
And then there is the skinny, smirking face of the man with the unfortunate name. First he sends photos of his pride and joy out into the Twitterverse, loses his Congressional seat and publicly hangs his head in well earned shame. Then he runs for Mayor of New York.
Well, yikes.
This is not the world I grew up in, for sure. Alice, we are down the rabbit hole.
Empty Nest, Full Life 
Change is sometimes good, but not always. One thing we can be sure of is that we’ve seen nothing yet!
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OK, that’s a scary thought!
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Yes it is.
In many cases the increased communications ability we have now has served to make people more aware of others’ values and situations.
For that smaller, loonier group, though, it has server to further polarize their extreme views. That small but noisy group continues to have a profound (and mostly negative) effect on the more reasonable majority. That’s why we, as a profession, need to keep striving to make our charges ever more critical of the information stream they receive.
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I really enjoyed reading this post ! Also, I admire that you actually discussed your reaction to the Johnny Depp film with your students. They’re lucky to have you!
I wrote a similar post when I was really upset with Facebook. It doesn’t come close to how well you have written this post but here it is :http://thoughtsofalessercanine.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/social-media-friend-or-foe/
My friend commented on how we shouldn’t be judging the younger generation for certain things they do (or don’t do) but then again, that’s a right of passage.. we were judged by those older than us for the way we were shaping our world.. it just goes on 🙂 and it’s both good and bad!
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Sweet Facebook post!!! As a mother of young adults, I got my account strictly to feel connected to my kids. But, alas, they have realized the shallowness of the medium, and they rarely post anything. So now i use it with my siblings and scattered old friends! (I mean, geographically scattered, although at our age we are all pretty “scattered”, too).
As for judging the younger generation: as long as we do it with amused affections, I’m all for it! Nothing makes my students (or my kids) feel cooler or more empowered than the realization that I think their tastes are completely nuts.
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And falling, and falling and falling. Faster and faster I’m afraid!
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Its all nuts. I think that means we are officially “wicked old”.
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I’m down there with you, Moms.
I can handle things changing. But not the classics. That hurts my soul.
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Although I like it when the classic is changed by my funny, whimsical students. They have recast the Mad Tea party so that it takes place at Starbucks; the Mad Hatter is there for the free WiFi. You gotta admit, that’s funny!
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Yes it is. It’s the adult versions I don’t like!
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Seriously; Johnny Depp with pink eyes. Creeporama!
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Johnny Depp generally? Creeporama!
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No…..Johnny Depp generally…..mmmmmmmmmm
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Oh not for me. I generally don’t like his movies, though, that may be why.
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Have you seen “Finding Neverland”? It is so incredibly sweet!
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No. I stopped watching anything he’s in.
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Watch this one. Really. It doesn’t have a single creepy moment, and it is very lovely. Do it for me!! 🙂
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OK. I’ll add it to the list! I stil haven’t seen Les Miz ..
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Oh, man, I have. Three times. (she admitted sheepishly)
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I’ve seen it in the theater five times, I think. I bought the movie, but my husband is reluctant to see it and he works at home, making my viewing time more difficult. (He doesn’t want to remember the movie stars in the characters. Personally, I say get over it or get ear plugs. But then I don’t say it aloud. Which is why I am still married 26 plus years later.
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Whilst I get and agree with all you say, I think its called getting older! It is the cycle of life. The very same was probably said by out elders about the world we created in our day. I really enjoyed this post.
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So true! My parents absolutely refused to listen to the Beatles, insisting that Sinatra was “classic”.
Honestly? I don’t really mind the cultural shifts ( I think they show that culture keeps evolving). Its the thought of Anthony and his Weiner that truly shocks me.
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Some things never change:
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I love it!
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