Jack Priest (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bitten_notshy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2013-04-03 10:11 am
bitten_notshy) wrote in fandomhigh2013-04-03 10:11 am
Entry tags:
Supernatural Studies, Wednesday, Period 1
Jack looked slightly smug and more than slightly rumpled as he dashed into class today.
“Right,” he said. “I apologize for last week. This week I’ll try not to blurt out every thought that passes through my skull. Which is for the best.” No one needed to know what was in Jack’s head right then.
“We’re discussing djinn,” he continued. “Genies, in the vernacular. In Islamic tradition, they are immortal invisible spirits made of fire who have free will and can be good, bad, or in between – just like people. There’s even a tradition of personal djinn, known as qarīn, who pass along evil suggestions – think of them like guardian angels in reverse, or like the devil on your shoulder.”
“But in popular culture, djinn are known almost entirely for getting trapped in bottles and granting wishes upon their release. They usually subvert the wish in some way – for example, wish for your own weight in gold and it may fall from the sky and crush you. Typically stories like that end with the wisher, if he or she is benevolent, either wishing the genie free or wishing to undo all their previous wishes and returning to normal life, sadder but wiser.”
“Today, we’re watching an episode of a television series that tells a story exactly like that. When it’s over, we’ll discuss what we would do with three wishes.”
And then he pressed play on the DVD.
“Right,” he said. “I apologize for last week. This week I’ll try not to blurt out every thought that passes through my skull. Which is for the best.” No one needed to know what was in Jack’s head right then.
“We’re discussing djinn,” he continued. “Genies, in the vernacular. In Islamic tradition, they are immortal invisible spirits made of fire who have free will and can be good, bad, or in between – just like people. There’s even a tradition of personal djinn, known as qarīn, who pass along evil suggestions – think of them like guardian angels in reverse, or like the devil on your shoulder.”
“But in popular culture, djinn are known almost entirely for getting trapped in bottles and granting wishes upon their release. They usually subvert the wish in some way – for example, wish for your own weight in gold and it may fall from the sky and crush you. Typically stories like that end with the wisher, if he or she is benevolent, either wishing the genie free or wishing to undo all their previous wishes and returning to normal life, sadder but wiser.”
“Today, we’re watching an episode of a television series that tells a story exactly like that. When it’s over, we’ll discuss what we would do with three wishes.”
And then he pressed play on the DVD.
Re: Discussion [4/3]