fandomhigh | Bringing Literature To Life--Through Violence! [Tuesday, Second Period]

Cindy was leaning on the desk when the class arrived, stirring a cup of coffee. More coffee and pastries were set off to the side for the class to partake if they were so inclined. “Morning class,” she greeted. “And welcome to those of you who are new. I’m Professor Cindy Perrault and this is Bringing Literature to Life--Through Violence.”

Max was standing at a loose sort of attention off to the side just a bit. Jeans and a slightly rumpled white button-down shirt were dressy enough for class, right? He grinned. "I'm Antillar Maximus. For this course you can call me Centurion." His grin broadened. "I suspect you can guess which part of the class is my forte."

Cindy raised an amused eyebrow at him, but didn’t argue. Not everyone needed to know about her weapon specialties, so Max’s statement could stand. “So, the way this class will work is pretty simple. The Centurion and I will be trading off classes; your classes with me will cover some famous battles in literature and then, in your classes with him, you’ll get to experience the way the actual battles and weaponry work.”

Hey, Max knew she could kick his butt, but that wasn’t part of her cover. And if he could help her build that up, he was happy to. “We’ll be doing some pretty physical stuff, so wear something you can move in. And let me know if there’s anything we should know about your physical condition.”

He grinned. “One of the things we’re hoping you can do is put together the two segments of these classes in your head. Understand how the reality of combat and the way it’s used in literature line up with each other. And how they don’t.”

“And we’ll get into all of that next week,” Cindy finished. “This week is for introductions and heaven forbid we skip tradition.”

Max nodded in agreement. “Yes. We’re very traditional in here, after all.”

Cindy snorted. “Damn right we are. So--introductions. First the basics: name, class, and where you’re from. Then the good stuff--tell us about how war is waged back home. Are armed clashed generally small battles, where everyone can see one another’s faces? Massive armies? Fleets of ships or tanks or what-have you? What kind of weapons are used? Or is warfare shunned entirely, and all problems are solved through diplomacy? Whatever you feel like sharing is fine.”

“At the same time, we want you to tell us a bit about how war is treated in stories. Is it a glorious example of individual prowess? Is it a warning against the horrors that people can inflict on one another? Are wars presented as glorious nationalistic narratives, or as a way of highlighting the evils of warmongering? Let’s all get a feel for how we think and talk about war.”

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"So, then, what changed?" Cindy pressed. "Why do you think we went from glorifying warfare in tales and traditions and moved to slogging through muck and dysentery?"

"Ummm..." Kenzi sighed. "Not sure? Well. Maybe wars lasted longer? Or something." She paused. "Maybe 'cause of bombs? BOOOM FOOOOSH doesn't have a whole lot of hero-time to it."

"With things like bombs and tanks, the entire face of warfare changed," Cindy agreed with an encouraging smile. "And I like that point about hero-time. Can you expand on that?"

"Welll..." Encouraged, Kenzi said slowly, "It used to be a skill. Like swords. Or being a really good marksman. Orrrr strategist. So you could take credit for what you did to win such-and-such battle. Like, proving you were brave, or smart, or tougher than someone else. But nobody wins against a land mine, so. Kinda moot. Except for how you crawled away without a leg and were real tough about it, I guess, but then we're back in depressing territory."

Cindy was nodding along as Kenzi spoke. "So, in the past, people were proud to be warriors and soldiers because it suggested they held some level of skill in the art of kicking ass," she said. "But now in the age of landmines and technology, we've lost some of that. If we're no longer conditioned to think that prowess in war is the same as personal skill, would you care to hazard a theory why war movies and games are still so popular."

"'Cause they're fun!" Kenzi beamed. "At least the shoot-'em-ups are. Zoooom adrenaline, pow pow pow they you win, or your team wins, or at least you get all aggressive and asskicky the way you can't in real life before you diiiiie." Kenzi crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, looking corpse-like.

Cindy could have told her that's not what most corpses looked like, but why go into all of that now? Or explain how she knew.

"Any last thoughts on a culture that turns war into a game for entertainment?" she asked, trying not to sound judgey. Heaven knew, she enjoyed shoot-em-ups just as much. But there was that whole 'making students think' aspect of her job.

...That she secretly enjoyed, shh.

"Bad, bad, bad," Kenzi said, solemn and joking at the same time. "Makes us violent. But, you know. Totally unavoidable now."

Bringing Literature To Life--Through Violence! [Tuesday, Second Period]

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