why i love teaching

Part 1: the set-up

earlier this week a student in my film appreciation section stayed after class to ask me some questions. he's a bright student, thoughtful, and one of the only individuals bold enough to take on a political topic in his first paper. i was expecting either:

1) a music-related question (the topic of the week)

or

2) clarification on my diatribe concerning the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and doppelgängers in High Noon:

Helen Ramirez and Amy Fowler Kane

thankfully it was neither of these things.

the young man is a member of one of the fraternities on campus, and next week they are performing in a campus step competition called Stomping on the Moon. he gave me a brief plot synopsis:

"we're going to be the first seven Black astronauts on the moon - because no Black man has ever walked on the moon - but on the way there, we get sucked into a black hole and end up on the Planet of the Apes... we're not sure what happens next."

at this point, discussion and brainstorming ensue. i tell my student that, as an undergraduate, i had worked as a lighting designer for some step shows in Chapel Hill. this being the case, i had some familiarity with the form and tone.

"who's your sister sorority?" i ask.

"Alpha Kappa Alpha."

"Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated?"

"yep."

"they're the pink and green, right?"

"uh-huh."

"the ones that go, 'wheeeeee!!!!!'"

"you bet."

"i'll send you an email."

Part 2: the (unedited) email

M______,

On the drive home it occurred to me that maybe, arriving on the Planet of the Apes, the astronauts could run into Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. She is some sort of dimensional space/time traveler now, and has magic sparkly pink shoes (of course). She offers to send the guys home with three clicks of her heels.

The astronauts say "Where's home?"

She responds, "Kansas."

The astronauts look at each other and then say,
"Kansas!?! Forget about it!"

She asks, "Well... where do you want to go?"

They answer "the moon."

She says, "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place...

I'll show you how."

Dorothy then breaks into some elaborate step sequence demonstrating that to get to the moon, you have to really have skills (as opposed to the three lame clicks that end you up in lame Kansas). The boys join in, and then - presto! You become the first seven Black Men on the moon.

Hope this helps, as ever,

J_____