Pop Culture: Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learnt From... [Thurs, 1st Period]

[thefearwasreal]

Oz numbered off the students as they entered the classroom today.

"Right, hegemony," Oz said, once the entire class had arrived. "Like I said week before last, the concept of a cultural hegemony is a society where instead of the Man keeping you down directly, the cultural norms are such that it seems like common sense to keep yourself down. This in turn will often lead to counterhegemony, which as the name suggests is resistance or opposition to the status quo, people saying 'your common sense is neither of those things', sometimes they'll appropriate the tools of mass media to in order to convince other people of this, if any of you have ever heard of culture jamming, that's what I'm talking about. Enough people subscribe to your newsletter and might have a flow-blown counterculture on your hands."

Oz paused to sip his coffee. "But of course, since the Man benefits from having a nice orderly society where everyone thinks it's just common sense he's in charge, they're usually not going to respond to countercultural movements with 'good for you, have some pie'. Sometimes they crack down on it, which if the counterculture isn't actually harming anyone, is a total dick move, and can backfire if people start wondering why you're smacking the hippies down so hard, sometimes they don't react effectively enough and the balance shifts over to the counterhegemonic movement altogether, with the counterculture becoming the new cultural norm, which can be good or bad depending on what these new cultural norms are. But usually it ends up somewhere in the middle with the dominant culture either adapting to the sub- and countercultures, or co-opting it for their own ends. Which is why you kids can now buy symbols of countercultural rebellion at Hot Topic."

"Now for the class activity. Ones are counterhegemonic idealist, twos are loyal to the Man. Find a partner from the opposite side. Ones come up with a way to convince people to stick it to the Man, twos try to figure out how you're going to react to that, ones then react to that reaction, and so on. Halfway to the end of class, swap around."

Improving Your Skills [Friday, 3rd Period]

[so_hawkward]

Clint was aware that there was something a little strange going on in town, so when the students arrived at the Danger Shop, they'd find it set up like an outdoor paintball field, with suits, guns, and purple and green paintballs.

Red vs. blue was just boring, honestly.

"Even the strongest, most power-laden people can sometimes find themselves up against an enemy that's stronger than themselves, and at that point, their only real option is to team up with others to deal with the bad guys together," Clint said. "The problem is, powerful people don't always know how to work well with others." Sorry Tony, but at least you were getting better at it? "Unless you're planning on winning the lottery and living on a yacht somewhere for the rest of your life, you're going to have to work with others, and knowing how to deal with differing personalities and still get the job done is an important skill." With a grin, Clint pointed to the paintball supplies. "Half of you are Team Purple, and half are Team Green. Get yourselves suited up, and may the best team win."

Cheerleading, Friday after classes, The Gym

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Hey, everyone," Jessica said. Since this was really a meeting related to, you know, actual cheer business and doing stuff and not just bossing people around, Jessica was taking charge. Also, it was a good distraction from everything else going on today. "Thanks for trying out last week. I'd go ahead and post a list of the people who made it, but if it wasn't clear enough based on the actual tryouts last week, we were pretty much up for anyone who wanted to be here even a little."

"So congratulations, you're all cheerleaders!" Jessica said. "Before you leave today, we will need some paperwork filled out so we can get your cheerleader uniforms. There will be an option for skirts or pants if anyone specifically wants to go for one over the other. And.." Jessica sighed as she checked her notes. "It's been pointed out to me that if any dinosaurs want to contribute to team activities, we can order things in dinosaur sizes."

She looked back down at her notes. "Really? Wow, we have a good supplier. Anyway, today's going to be less action and cheering and more thinking. Because as you know, we only have a lacrosse team here at Fandom and I'm not even sure how often they play games. So, if anyone has any ideas for what kinds of things we can do and cheer for, we're open to brainstorming."

"A bake sale has been promised and a bikini car wash would be a terrible idea on so many levels, not the least of which being the lack of cars. We're shooting for something in between those two ideas. No idea is too crazy for this group."

Library [2/1]

[snarkyhealer.livejournal.com]

It was a slow day in the library, which meant Shira had gotten everything reshelved in record time, broken up a fight between a couple books, and was now just sort of randomly puttering.

And randomly mentally composing another letter back home. A genuinely uneventful letter, for once. She was pretty sure Ranon would appreciate that.

Fandom Invasions: A Survival Guide- Friday, Period One

[furnaceface]

This week when students filed into the classroom, they'd see Jono practically propped up against his desk, clutching for all he was worth to a mug of coffee as a second man sat in his chair, casually sipping at a cup of tea.

Because tea, that's why.

"This week," Jonothon said, not bothering to pause to introduce his guest, "I won't keep any of you any longer than necessary, as a few of you might have limited-time-only company, and it'd be cruel of me to expect you to sit here for long while our guests are on a timer." He glanced over his shoulder at his great-grandfather, who didn't look a day over thirty. Which was weird, yes.

This island.

"This week we're set to cover transportation across the island in case of a crisis situation. That is, if something attacks and simply walking from one side of Fandom to the other is out of the question. Back when I was a student, at least, there were usually a few classmates who were capable of flying, or of teleporting with a few people along for the ride. Obviously, hitching a ride with them would be your safest method of transportation if you absolutely need to get from one place to another, but you can't always rely on the powers of the people around you to get you through."

He nodded at the group. "If walking is absolutely necessary, don't travel alone. Don't travel after dark, and if you must, try to stay to well-lit roads. If the island is being attacked, ambush is not only entirely possible, but around here, terribly likely." Jono took another moment to take a sip of coffee. "For some of you, there might be alternate means of getting around. If they keep you out of the line of fire, bloody well use them."

He cleared his throat, and then waved toward the door.

"No assignment today in-class, because I want to get going and I'm sure some of you do, but your homework for the week is to attempt to cross the island sometime between now and next class without walking through the streets alone. That's it. Fly, teleport, go for a walk with a friend - you might even be able to do that today. If you're good at parkour, do that. If you're comfortable navigating the sewer system under the streets... all power to you, please shower before you come back to class next week. Class dismissed. If you have a loved one here that you thought you'd never see again, go and spend some time with them today. Second chances are so few and far between."

Well. Not where he was from, but...

[Open!]

Sex Ed, Friday, Period 2

[screwyoumarvel]

"Good morning, everyone," Steve said to the class once they were assembled today. "Thor unfortunately can't be with us today due to his player being almost done with school FOREVER other commitments, so you'll just have to make do with just me again." Such a tragedy. "Today we'll be talking about sexual orientation.

( Steve would like to remind you that assholes will be kicked out of his classroom )