So, while Rye and I were taking the day off awaiting the impending hospitalization that was sure to come any minute from the swine flu, I decided we should engage in a time-honored tradition in our house. I pick out a movie that I like and force Rye to watch it with me in a “oh, you will be exposed to other parts/ideas/cultures of the world as long as you’re living under my roof, buster” kind of scenario. Anyway, hesitant though he was to this activity at first, over time we’ve really come to enjoy these movies together and he has actually learned quite a bit as we usually watch documentaries.
In this particular instance, though, we were short of options due to being housebound so we settled with a movie I had recorded earlier, “Footloose”. Ok, I know, hilarity ensues upon hearing this name but if you really think about it this actually is a great study of the culture and fashion of 1980’s rural America. I mean honestly, the first thing out of Rye’s mouth when the intro was rolling was “Oh man, what are those things on their legs?’’ That’s right – he didn’t know what a leg warmer was. It was incredible – how could he not know? So there – the movie already served a purpose. It’s important to know what leg warmers are.
Anyway, as we continued to watch, I discovered an even more significant gap in Rye’s cultural knowledge. And this one ranked as catastrophic. It went like this…
There is a scene in the movie where some families are on a porch talking about book banning. Specifically, they are discussing the fact that the public schools should not teach the book “Slaughterhouse Five” but instead should teach “Tom Sawyer” because it has better moral values. Now, here’s what Rye says to me.
“I don’t understand, what’s the issue here? How is ‘Tom Sawyer’ a more moral book? I mean, Tom Sawyer is a rock star with a Rush song about him. How is a book based on that any better?”
“Ummm, what???” I say.
“You know,” he says, “the Rush song, ‘Tom Sawyer’. How is a book about that guy any better?”
Oh dear God, I think. I’ve failed him. I’ve really failed him.
“Well, the thing is,” I say, “the song ‘Tom Sawyer’ is actually a reference derived from the classic book ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain. The book’s a classic, Rye, about a boy growing up in the South during the antebellum era.” And then, of course, I had to define antebellum.
“Oh,” he says, “Well, I had no idea. Interesting. Is the book good?”
“Well, yes, yes it is, we will just have to read it and you’ll see,” I say.
Next order of business, read “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” together. And see, I thought he was the only one learning something in our time together.
