Practical Applications to Pedagogy

Abstract

“Be quiet,” I say to myself as the person next to me wolfs down another handful of popcorn and then gulps what sounds like a gallon of soda. I’m trying to concentrate on the movie. On the screen, Vito Mortgenson is standing in front of a gang describing and explaining who he is. Eastern Promises is one of the movies that impacted me in a dramatic way in the past few years. It is an example of just how much our conception of language and discourse has changed. In the scene I am referring to, Mortgenson takes off his shirt and reads the tattoos on his body to his audience, a group of gangsters. Each tattoo is a cautionary tale and each tells more about him than any written description ever could to this audience. Each member of his audience is familiar with the discourse, knows how to read it, and accepts its authenticity. The meaning of the narrative, however, is discussed and negotiated.