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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"Kenzi's right that a lot of our stuff is depressing," Marshall agreed, "but we're kind of into humour, as well? There's this one Canadian musical group," he explained, "that has a song about the war of 1812 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7jlFZhprU4) that talks about how we, like, burned the White House down. Twice. So I guess it depends on the war, or something?"

[Mmm, Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie. Although Marshall's probably one of those people who think it's the Arrogant Worms.]

"Why do you think that is?" Cindy asked. "Why are some wars presented as dark and gritty, while others as fodder for humor?"

Marshall stopped to consider that. "You know, I'm not even sure it is about which war it is," he corrected himself. "Which probably makes the answer more complicated, right? I mean, I guess it depends on who's talking about it. Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie* is kind of a comedy musical group in general, so anything they talk about is going to be made into a joke?" Way to sound certain there, Marshall. "And they make it a song about Canadian superiority over the US. Because we're on top, y'know? But someone else would be talking about the war itself, and maybe looking at it in terms of individual people who are affected by it? Which is going to be darker, right?"

[*... yeah, I couldn't even bring myself to type it with the wrong band name.]

Cindy nodded, enjoying Marshall kind of talk his way through it. "Can you think why some people might consider it one way, and someone else consider it another?"

Stream of consciousness is the only way to talk!

"Maybe because they're trying to make a different point about it?" Marshall suggested. "Like, they're talking about something in a given way because that's how they want people to think about it? So you have Three Dead Trolls who are using the War of 1812 to talk about how Canada is awesome and better than the States, so they're not even really talking about war at all, and then you've got ~~the aforementioned meta for~~ Passchendaele which is actually trying to make people think about war, so it doesn't even really matter what war they're taking about, because they're saying, 'War is horrible!' and it could be anything. The point they're trying to make isn't about that war at all, just war in general."

Ooh, smart boy. Bonus points for him.

"So, you're saying that in your culture, war can be used as a metaphor for a lot of things," Cindy said, nodding. "How much would you say war is present in your cultural consciousness? How much focus is war--either real or metaphorical--is war given in everyday life?"

Sometimes Marshall said not-dumb things! ... Sometimes!

"Can it..." He hesitated. "Can it be there, even if it's not being talked about? Or even really thought about? Because, I mean, I don't think I'd be actively thinking about it normally, when I listen to Three Dead Trolls, and watching a war movie might get me talking about it with a friend afterwards," if Corinne made him, "but it's not something I think about every day. Is there a cultural subconsciousness it could be a part of? Something always there, even if we're not all, 'War war war!'?"

"Absolutely," Cindy said. "It can be as simple as just listening to the way people talk, describing things in terms of wars and battles and fighting, even when they're really talking about crime or business or music."

"So even something like a 'Battle of the Bands'?" Marshall asked. "I mean, that's not talked about like a war, but it's definitely like fighting. Or thought about that way, anyway. I've been in a few of those, but I've never really realised how we talk about it."

"Exactly," Cindy said. "So, yes, cultural subconscious is probably a better word for it. Can you think of other times we use martial vocabulary when talking about every day things?"

"... Sports?" Marshall suggested. "I mean, there are team captains, and that started as a military rank, didn't it?"

That was a guess, yes, but Marshall hoped it was a good one.

"And then there's 'tournament,' and those totally started as a test of fighting, right? When there wasn't actually a war going on, to keep knights sharp and engaged and stuff?"

"Sports are definitely up there," Cindy said. "How often are teams told to 'destroy' or 'annihilate' the competition? And you're exactly correct about tournaments. I'll be looking forward to hearing you participate in class, Marshall."

"Thank you, Professor," Marshall said, flushing a bit. Normally he really only got praise for SKIENCE. "I hope I don't disappoint."

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

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