The Five Obstructions

Am I indulging my own taste for obscure indie films? My students probably think so. I showed my composition class the von Trier and Leth film, The Five Obstructions, last week and the response was largely one of drudgery. Slow moving? Perhaps. Not what they're used to? Most likely. Drudgery? Anything but. I got the impression from some of the grumbling and from a few outright comments that many found the film to be "stupid" and a few found it to be "painful." I actually had one student who chose not to return to the next class because he couldn't bear to watch the rest of the film. How strange. I remember, back in my early years of school, how watching a movie of any kind was a welcomed change and felt like some kind of special treat, so to speak. I'm getting old. Student expectations have changed.

Perhaps the film was too "intellectual" for a bunch of 18-year-olds. I try to avoid such thinking, believing that students should be invited to read (and view) more sophisticated texts in college. Too often we dumb it down or just don't give our students the chance to enjoy a text that raises more questions than answers. The sad thing, I think, is that this kind of treatment has made students comfortable with being spoon-fed simple answers and irritated and put-out when asked to struggle with ambiguity.

Ahh, I'm not taking enough of the blame here, I know. Perhaps, I should have spent more time prefacing the film--preparing them for it and setting their expectations. Perhaps, more time discussing it after viewing. Instead, I used it to set a larger context for acts of revision the class was engaged in--hoping it would help the students reconsider what revision is and what it can be. Perhaps I put too much faith in the text itself and in the student's willingness to be confused and to struggle with something they don't immediately understand. Many, however, dismissed it as being stupid or not making sense, when what they mean to say is that they didn't understand it. Again, I take the blame for this. I didn't work hard enough to assure them that it's actually good if they don't immediately understand and that that, in fact, is part of the point.

I know students would "get" the connections between the various texts, activities, and ideas I bring to class (and some indeed do), if they would just trust me and have faith in the process. It's hard though to build a class on trust and faith in things that will come in time when people are accustomed to immediate gratification. Perhaps the obstruction I offer my students is one of waiting. Wait for it. Trust it. It will come. I suppose, though, I have to figure out a way to make the waiting more bearable.