Poshdeluxe

first of all, thanks to everyone who commented on friday’s post and was willing to shame themselves cinematically as well as literally (LITERALLY).

i had a great time compiling the results via a spreadsheet, cos i am a nerd. seriously, though, organizing data can be fun!! esp. when it means you get to analyze the cultural habits of yr friends and consequently discover trends amongst our generation, blah blah blah.

in putting together these results, i became less interested in shaming people (there’s enough blogs doing that already) and more interested in *why* we regard these books and movies as “classics.” this isn’t exactly new territory, but i found it fascinating in the context of pants world.

first, though, here are the results! keep in mind that i tabulated everyone’s responses based on the info they gave me, so some people just mentioned one book while others responded in full (i.e. this is not rocket science, and i’m ok with that, cos rocket science is hard, and i don’t get paid for this).

* * * * books * * * *

books almost everyone has read, i.e. homecoming king & queen: “great expectations” and “hamlet.”

the only person who hasn’t read “hamlet” is moody.*

*moody, i know you haven’t read any of the books, but i didn’t feel like i could remove yr response from the list due to data purity concerns, etc.

besides moody, the only person to escape high school without reading “great expecations” is kristen. KRISTEN. how were you an english minor without reading this book?!! NO, “a christmas carol” does NOT count cos that’s, like, something you read for the holidays so everyone behaves and doesn’t act bratty when they don’t get the present they want cos tiny tim can’t even WALK you guys.

the book that eats lunch in the bathroom stall, i.e. NO ONE HAS READ: ulysses.

i am totally ok with this.

books that would never win the vote for student council president: jane eyre and catch 22.

in case you’re curious about who read the most books on my list, here’s a rundown (the number in parenthesis is the number of books they HAVEN’T read):

sofia (2), celina (3), jessica & john & sarah (4), olivia & kristen (6), jen (7), matt & becky (8), trish & randy (9), moody (13).

* * * * movies * * * *

here are the movies that everyone has seen, i.e. the homecoming court:

wizard of oz, big, star wars, titanic, jurassic park, matrix

yeah sorry i’m too lazy to use quotes anymore.

the movie that sits alone at the cafeteria: taxi driver

only three people have seen it. even though this film is like, an american icon, i can see why people haven’t seen it (myself included). it came out before most of us were born (1976), and it has “mature” themes, meaning it’s not really junior high slumber party material.

the movie that might get beat up if taxi driver isn’t there that day, i.e. one point above it: clockwork orange.

i think it’s funny that the two movies (this one and taxi driver) that inspired about 75% of the posters i saw in college are the two films snubbed by pants world. ooh maybe i should have asked you guys about scarface. i bet that would further prove the inverse relationship between Dorm Room Poster and Pants World Viewership.

a (little) shame spotlight:

becky is the only one who hasn’t seen *any* “lord of the rings” movies. which makes sense, i guess, since she claims “art geek” status versus regular “geek” status.

olivia is the only person hasn’t seen E.T. OLIVIA. come ON. i don’t need yr childhood excuses. this movie has a cute alien! reese’s pieces! adorable tiny drew barrymore! put down yr high class russian literature and BE AMERICAN.

olivia and sofia are the only folks who haven’t seen ANY of the harry potter movies. because they obviously hate magic and awesomeness and everything good about this world.

here’s the list of people in order of who’s seen the most movies (remember, the number is the movies they haven’t seen):

jessica (1), brian (2), talena & sofia & kristen & celina (3), moody & randy & sarah (4), jen (5), matt & olivia (6), becky (7), trish (8).

trish, i’m sorry to tell you that sing-alongs don’t count as “classic” films. but that’s ok, cos they’re awesome.

* * * * scientific conclusion and further questions * * * *

first, i want to ask all of you if there really is a book or movie that you are *truly* ashamed of not reading/seeing. obviously this is a subjective thing, and i’m curious about why you might be embarrassed if you haven’t seen, say, “the royal tennenbaums.”

i am honestly embarrassed that i haven’t read “anna karenina.” i guess this is due to the fact that i haven’t read ANY russian literature, and that makes me feel like less of an intellectual.

second– as mentioned previously, i wonder why we, as a society, hold up certain movies and books as classics. why do we teach these books in school? my guess would be that these books gives us a greater understanding of the history and culture of various time periods, not to mention literary techniques.

but are there better ways, better books, to teach these things?

based on the responses, a lot of you didn’t seem to particularly enjoy some of these books. if you didn’t like them, does that mean you didn’t learn anything from them?

what books do you think *should* be on high school reading lists?

personally, i actually do really love some of the classics, like “les miserables” and, forgive me, “a tale of two cities.” i’m glad i read them (more than once DORKTOWN), but i’m also glad we read more contemporary books in school. “the house on mango street” comes to mind as a well-written book that sheds some cultural insight while addressing adolescent issues.

but i would also add more recent, well-written YA books that focus on important aspects of life and growing. isn’t part of the point to get kids interested in reading? to show them that a book can be exciting and understandable and not just something to wade through in order to pass a test?

the other (brief) rant i wanted to include concerns female authors. on one hand, i don’t care if guys like jane austen or not. everyone has their own taste, as evidenced by this survey. BUT… do girls complain when they’re forced to read hemingway or really, any book told from the perspective of a guy, which is like, most of the high school curriculum? i don’t think the girl equivalent is nearly as common. is it jane austen’s female perspective that turns guys away? this issue really bothers me… the “issue” not limited to jane austen but more to a lack of female writers in english curriculums.

anyway

this entry has no pictures so i hope you guys made it all the way through.

also please answer my questions! i am a serious researcher seeking the truth.

thus ends my SCIENCE FOR THE DAY.

LINKS

dude. this list of 20 abandoned buildings/places is creeeepy. the amusement park? the BRAIN LAB? EEEEEEE.

did you know there are pyramids in china?!!!

more movie news from comic con (looks like “wolfman” is gonna be good, “spirit” not so much).

remember that 12 year old fashion blogger i linked to the other day? and i wasn’t sure if she was totally for real? well, looks like we’ll find out via her upcoming interview with the NYT (thanks to trish for the link!).

speaking of trish, homegirl has a preview of the new pixar movie on her blog!

have you guys seen the trailer for oliver stone’s “w.”? um… wow.