Writing a myth was very different from studying myths, but both are enlightening. Of course, as with writing/studying poetry, the two crafts simply require us to use different skills. When studying myths, I felt like I was really learning about cultures and creative ways to explain the ways of the world before science. Writing a myth was completely different. I had to actually be creative. I found this especially difficult because of my typical reliance on scientific explanations for EVERYTHING. I felt really challenged when I was trying to think of a creative explanation for something that I already kind of understood. Of course, as with most creative endeavors, the hardest part was coming up with an idea. Once I vaguely knew what I wanted to write about, it was easier to elaborate and make up details.
I think after writing a myth I was reminded of how difficult it is for some students to begin writing essays. It's important to keep in mind how difficult writing can be because as English majors, we tend to forget how difficult it can be because we've been writing essays for four years on a weekly basis, or at least that's how it is for me. We should keep in mind different strategies for getting started on essays, like free-writing or brainstorming with a friend. The way I came up with my idea was through talking about the assignment with my boyfriend and talking about different possibilities. I think sharing these experiences with students and letting them know that writer's block is normal might help them overcome writer's block and allow them to better express themselves on paper.
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Hello Luisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that creating myths can be challenging in the modern world because as a culture we "know" so much. Hence, we had to do what the ancients did: make it all up!
While I suppose that you may be right that a few were trying to understand the world, but the answers are so fantastic that only a person who believes themself a demigod of sorts and is in some kind of direct communication with his made up divinity could believe this kind of stuff.
Myths not only create control centers for the Sadists to use for thier cruel pleasures, but, and correct me if I am wrong, they also backlash and cause cultural collapse. The Aztecs believed that a ship with Queztl..whomever would arrive with a red beard and save the country. Instead it was Cortez and he destroyed it. What do we expect? Myths are lies, lies are myths.
Collaborating to overcome writer's block is a great idea. I don't usually have that problem. My problem is knowing when to shut up! Like now.
All the best
Michael
Hey Luisa,
ReplyDeleteYour eloquence now precedes you :)!!
Has it been that long since we've been turning in essay after essay-----after essay? I guess it seems that way, and once again, I agree with your thought process. My penchant for relying on empirical evidence rarely, if ever, takes a back seat to the nonsensical. But I've also realized that it doesn't have to make sense. We briefly spoke last week about Mount Rushmore from the "sacred" presentation, and what really lies behind its construction. Our priorities as a nation seem ass-backwards as we cover up the gruesome details, hoping no one else will notice. It occurs to me that most people see what they want to see; trying to change their minds about what's real and what isn't may take more energy than we have, so we may very well be better off frying other fish.
When we do start teaching English, our modus operandi will include history lessons as well, which is when cultural relativity takes a front seat. The cultural lens can be an advantageous thing, and our way (the American way?)isn't the only way. Other cultures make our culture what it is today, and vice-versa.
Thank you for your thoughts; they're always welcome in my culturally diverse neighborhood.
Chuck
I know exactly what you mean. For the longest time, up until maybe last year, I always needed scientific explanations for things or I simply wasn’t interested in them. Whenever someone tried to tell me a scary story, if I discovered an inconsistency with it, I would lose interest. Then all of a sudden we get this assignment to come up with our own myth and the idea of the amount of creativity that would be required to pull it off was really daunting.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, like you, once I was able to come up with the initial topic, the details came to me pretty easily. Free-writing, brainstorming, and general outlines have always been a tough thing for me to incorporate. It never really meshes with the style of creativity that I’m used to, but it would definitely help my creative thinking process if I used step-by-step basic idea generating methods such as those.