I always had an ambivalent attitude towards the standardization of having to read “classics” throughout most primary education English courses. While on one level, the novels preserve and represent historical and contextual time periods, and account for much of literary culture, the immediate effects that these enforced readings normally result in turning of more students from reading. Yes, we have transitioned alongside the standardization of technology, so it would make sense for more people to switch to viewing other forms of text through digital screens, but the wealth of knowledge contained within physical representations of authors is not yet fully accessible online.
I feel like much of the of the negative stigma students place upon language arts stems from the attitude these methods of learning instill. Instead of reading for enjoyment, we are doing it to fulfill a task, whether it is for a comprehension quiz, formal essay, presentation, or any other assignment.
When I was in high school, I was one of the students who embodied these sentiments about the English department, which is why I had to remind myself that I comprehend information in order to learn, grow, and most importantly, seek enjoyment.
And that was when I discovered the Overly Sarcastic Productions (OSP) YouTube channel. I was in the middle of reviewing for a review quiz on the first part of Beowulf, and I just happened upon a recommended video that summarized the classic. I was met with hand drawn animations of the channel’s persona, Red, which provided a visual contrast that enhanced the excellent and succinct review of epic poem.
Yet after additional exploration, the channel also espoused videos about varied ancient mythos, discussions concerning apparent literary tropes, and globe spanning world history run by Blue, a co-creator who also uploads incredibly informative content. All videos are accompanied by seamless transitions, imbued passion and personality, and fluid animations of both channel artists. More importantly, however, upon discovering this channel, I greatly reevaluated and improved my attitude towards history and language arts, two of the subjects I struggled with in school due a combination of a personal lack of interest and limited attention span.
From then on, I was able to excel in those subjects with a newfound individual passion for both literary and historical analysis. Instead of viewing classes as a burden, I sought to uncover the thoughts and truths of the past and evaluate them on my own volition. Since then, I have continued to approach new topics for learning with an open minded attitude, as I truly believe that inquiry and continual innovation are essential to mature as an individual, and one of the major contributing events to this development was the discovery of two content creators who sought to pursue their passions to help views appreciate the classics.
Check out the channel!
I personally enjoy reading classics however, sometimes I really question why they are classics since some can be so dry and tiresome to read through. This youtube channel greatly interests me because I feel like it will be able to add to my experience as an avid reader of classics, it will help me appreciate and and understand them in a new way. I will definitely be looking up this channel in the coming weeks stuck at home.
I also enjoy reading the classics as long as they provide for a good read. I will not read something just because someone says it’s a must-read. As someone who likes to go back in the past and feel the nostalgia, I would probably enjoy this channel. I might just have a look to see if there is anything that I’m interested in, or perhaps maybe brush up on something that I’ve seen before.