"please learn how to write" and literacy in general
One of the top posts on the discover page at the moment is a post that dictates that people should learn how to write properly instead of misusing language--fair enough, I get it, it's a minor ick of mine as well. But you probably shouldn't sit upon a high horse about correct wording if you're not able to prove your own point: "not going to site examples"... It's cite.
I don't have anything against this person or what they have to say, but I'm not a fan of putting people down just because they may have less of an understanding of language than you. It's fair enough to not want to read something, but in the same regard, you really don't have to read it.
Having said that, I want to see more people spreading literacy resources. I think that more people should be discussing media literacy especially, though that's mostly because it's of personal interest to me. Learning how to be literate is kind of hard to do though, and it took me years of trying not to fall asleep in class to realise how valuable it could be. I think the biggest challenge definitely comes from not wanting to look like an idiot. There's nothing wrong with thinking your take is shallow, but there's also nothing wrong with having a shallow take. Thinking anything deeper than "the curtains are blue" is commendable in its own right.
It's okay to be the ogre
But on the topic of understanding things and getting more into reading than just wanting to entertain oneself, here's a list of steps that I would personally take:
- Read it, write down your first thoughts
- Read it again, using your first thoughts as a lens to contextualise the work. (I think that she is sad -> How does the author represent her sadness? Etcetera.) There's always more than one interpretation to be had, so even if your own perception conflicts with itself, it doesn't make either thought any less valid.
- Learn about the author--what do they stand for, what's relevant to their context? (e.g. Jane Campion's feminist retelling of John Keats' work in her film Bright Star, because she is a 21st century woman whose piece falls into the 3rd wave of feminism in comparison to Keats' own romantic-era patriarchally driven poetry) How does this inform their view?
- How do you feel about the text? Do you agree with the idea? Do you agree with other takes about the idea?
- Is there research to be done on the topic? There's no harm in not understanding things, but letting them go unknown means you miss out on a lot of interesting potential knowledge! Go find out more!
In terms of things to read? I think it's always fun to start with the classics. They're a lot more entertaining when you're not being told what to percieve. Plenty of texts have messages they want to share, and a lot of "texts" aren't even texts at all! A lot of movies have something to say that isn't written plainly into the dialogue. Even shows that don't take themselves incredibly seriously do a good job of social commentary from time to time: Arcane's a pretty good example.
Anyways, that's all I wanted to say :^) I've moved emails, so now I'm appletender(at)proton(dot)me. Feel free to send me anything!