Have you ever been hanging out with your homies and felt
like discussing the subtle nuances found in The
Stranger or maybe you were in the mood to converse about Animal Farm and it’s allegorical
meaning. No? Just me? Oh.
Well a new channel on YouTube gives viewers a chance to see
literary masterpieces through a more realistic scope. Thug Notes is hosted by
Sparky. This Gangsta with a Graduate’s lays down some intense retellings of
classics, while also providing thorough analysis of themes, character, and
symbolism.
What I like about this channel is that it is real. Sparky
literally keeps it real. He summarizes these works in a way that is humorous,
but also relevant to our 21st century voice and perspective. As he is summarizing, there are stick figure animations with funny dialogue and photos to accompany his narration. Every Thug Notes episode is different.
In
college all I wanted to do was sound academic and educated, now I steer away
from snobby academic types because I often get frustrated by hoity toity
dialogue and snobby conversations. I’d much rather discuss literature with
someone like Sparky because that’s much closer to the way I talk. I am older
now and confident enough in myself that I do not feel a need to show off or put
on airs anymore. Now it is all about the literature, not about me showing how I
understand the literature.
I am thinking of using Thug Notes in my classroom next year.
I will either incorporate it as an end activity to a novel. Wouldn’t it be cool
to have students create their own Thug Notes? That to me is better than a test
or essay, as doing a video of this nature requires complete understanding of
the readings and its underlying themes. Or I will simply use it to show my
students how to read. Did that sound snobby? What I mean is that most people
know how to “read” words off a page, but very few can find meaning in those
words on a deeper level. As an Enlgish teacher one of the hardest things to
show someone how to do is read between the lines. There are strategies and
lessons that I use and use with great success, but teaching someone to pick up
on the subtleties of literature is difficult. Thug Notes does that, and does it
in a way that is not intimidating or snobby. Here is one of my favorites.
Enjoy:
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