Metadiscussion #1
If you're going to use this blog to help solidify the foundation of your cultural literacy, I will occasionally provide some random tips or notes that aim to make your journey smoother.
If you're going to use this blog to help solidify the foundation of your cultural literacy, I will occasionally provide some random tips or notes that aim to make your journey smoother.
- Go in Fresh. Don't read the back of a book before reading it, or the back of a movie's packaging before watching it. Don't watch a trailer for a movie within the week before you watch it. Don't read the wikipedia page for books or movies before you read or watch them, and avoid reviews too. Allow yourself, as much as possible, to experience these things without preconceived notions.
- Record your impressions. You can write in a diary, on your own blog, as a comment after a post on this blog, in an email, or on a napkin. It will get you into the habit of organizing your thoughts and presenting them clearly. It doesn't have to be an essay—it could just be notes for further discussion.
- Read other material afterwards. Only after you've had your own experience and impression should you go and read what others thought of the work. Hopefully this will prevent your experience from being tainted by prejudicial notions. After all, if you read that some movie is considered "the worst movie of the 90s," when you watch it you may subconsciously quash your positive reactions to it, and find more fault with it, in order to bring your opinion in line with conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is sometimes right! But try to learn to develop your own impressions.
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