Learning through Popular Culture: International Day of Commemoration

Before reading, it is good to define what I mean by popular culture: I had a big discussion on this once, and what we all agreed on, is that popular culture is something we all share and it has markers that connect us in our discussion. It is not anchored in time, it changes - from high to low culture -, but it entails an understanding that is not defined by language. Think of a meme, and how many people it can bring together, simply by adhering to certain norms and behavioral patterns that are present in many cultures. 

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For over four years now I have been dealing with popular culture in higher education. I was a founding member of a research group, and have held classes on the topic as well. Actually, I am going to hold one this next semester. There was something that always drew to me to the topic, I watch so many movies and so many shows, they stay with me, make me think, help me write. I really enjoyed looking for the academic side of it, to see how I can use these as teaching tools, how to use them to break the ice with my students and start conversations. 

It is one thing that I am now using it as a teaching tool, but pop culture was also used to teach me. After so much time, I still remember the films that I watched with my class and the impact they had. 

I grew up in Italy, and each year on January 27th the whole school would take part in programs instead of being in class. We either met with other schools, listened to conference talks, or we went to the movies. This sounds fun and all, but in reality, the movies we watched were on the topic of the Second World War, leading up to the Holocaust. January 27th is the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust (International Holocaust Remembrance Day), and one of the ways we were taught about the horrors of the Second World War was by taking part in larger programs directed to helping us understand what happened. 

Two movies really stuck with me, some 20 years later thanks to a random search, I managed to find them again, their English titles and their imdb page. The first one I remember was Monsieur Batignole (2002) directed by Gérard Jugnot, it tells the story of a butcher, who takes in Jewish kids, and as he tries to get them out of the country, he realizes that he has to do it himself. Facing this difficulty sheds more light on the horrors of the nazi army, who up until then were loyal customers of his. I remember him realizing that these children will not have a future unless he helps them. It was both heartwarming, many risked their lives to save others. It was also heartbreaking, to know the extent of this disgusting genocide, that happened barely 80 years ago. 

The other movie did not really have a happy ending. It was The White Rose (1982), directed by Michael Verhoeven. It is the story of a small group of students from the University of Munich, who start to question the decisions of the Nazi government. It was incredibly powerful, as this was not the first, nor the last time students led rebellions in European history. I honestly hope, that it will happen over and over again, and governments will be held responsible for the pain they cause their people. 

These are less known, since they did not necessarily make it into "major" award shows, but they are nevertheless very important, and I wish to invite my readers to watch them.

And of course, there are classics from Hollywood. Over the past couple of years I had to realize that certain stories should only be told by certain movie-makers: people of European descent who share this trauma. On the one hand, it is great that wider audiences have movies like The Pianist (2002) by [controversial director] Roman Polanski, or Schindler's List (1993) by Steven Spielberg. But despite the fact that European movie-makers do tell the story of World War II and the Holocaust, not many received the kind of recognition they deserve. It is no wonder that there are "holocaust deniers" and people who romanticize nazis. It is disgusting to see where the world is going and I wish that we truly did study history to learn from it, as opposed to fashioning it into yet another topic that can become a question of "belief". Being a scholar of American culture, I can tell you that it hurts me every single time I come across someone who questions our history. It sounds disgusting, but I guess some need to learn certain lessons in person and do not have the ability or the empathy to learn from others.

There is one famous movie that broke out of its pre-set European audience, and it was because it received Oscar nominations. That was none other than La vita é bella [Life is Beautiful] (1997) which was directed and starred Roberto Benigni. A beautiful and heartbreaking story of a man trying to play games with his son to protect him from the horrors of the Jewish concentration camp they find themselves in after Italy is invaded by Germany. This movie became a classic for all the right reasons, and it came out only 25 years ago, but should be taught in classes and definitely included in history classes, to start serious conversations on the topic of the Holocaust and the experiences of concentration camps. Another that made some way thanks to its nominations is a Hungarian film, Saul Fia [Son of Saul] (2015), directed by László Nemes. Another story of another father and son, here, Saul wishes to hold a proper burial for his son, while imprisoned at the concentration camp. It is another heartbreaking story, but I am glad it got made, and more so that Hungarian movies got noticed, as we have fantastic historical films.

But popular culture does not end with movies. 

I would say that it begins there, as it is the one medium that shares more viewers than any other: more movies are translated and made available - now even more through streaming - than TV shows. It is the same with books: the more languages it is translated into if it becomes successful, the more people will read them. A great example is the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. Becoming a Pulitzer-Prize winner, Maus was translated into over 30 languages, and it deals with serious topics. Of course, concentration camps and the feeling of nazis slowly but surely tightening the noose around one's neck is the main theme; but the plot that really got to me was the main character's relationship with his father. This two volume graphic novel is a perfect example of the hardships that follow when one grows up in a family that has gone through such an incredible trauma in their lifetime. It was a beautiful story that was hard to read at times, but because of that it was even more important that I finish it.

This graphic novel came back into discussion when "Maus was banned from an eighth-grade English-language-arts curriculum by the McMinn County, Tennessee, school board" (original article by Hillary Chute in The Atlantic). And this is ridiculous at a time when people can easily download anything... we are past the point where you can ban anything, and quite frankly, it showcases perfectly the little brain some people have that in centuries they have still not learned that banning something only makes it more interesting. But let's be grateful that they don't understand, at least this way these incredible pieces, these classics retelling the stories of the most important moments in human history never ever fade away. 

I actually have a bucket-list of books that were once banned and I am going through them one by one. I am a rebel like that! (And whenever I can I include them in the syllabus.) Always ask yourself why something was banned, take part in discussions, do not allow for cancel culture to just be THE thing we do, talk about things, the more uncomfortable the better: understand banning, understand cancelling, say things out loud! Learn! Strive to learn!

The reason I wanted to write about these today is for two very simple reasons:

1. I hope that more people will share these films, books, graphic novels, music, tales, anything you can think of to dismantle the disgusting notion of denial when it comes to the horrors of the holocaust. Talk to your grandparents, aunts and uncles, your parents: talk to them while you can and keep sharing their stories.
2. I do believe that popular culture is an incredibly important subject. It is interdisciplinary, it is available in any language, it is about a shared history that connects us all. My students don't always remember and academic text, but they always remember a movie we watched together, just because of the flow of the discussions we had afterwards.

Take a moment to remember this dark period in humanities' history, to ensure that we never get there again. 

Take care of each other.