The Teacher in Me Says "I Love Netflix"

I love Netflix.

I can hear some of my teacher friends and fellow parents screaming or groaning already.

Netflix. That hole that keeps kids from doing homework.
The Siren that hides below the desk top on a cellphone pulling them away from those lectures.
That desert that leads young people to damnation with "Watch Next Episode in 3...2...1..."

Yes, that Netflix. 

You see, Netflix is making me a better teacher. Since the day a young lady named Sydney let me use her account because she wanted me to watch Dexter, I have enjoyed watching what the streaming service has to offer, and I have enjoyed even more talking to people, usually students, about what we've watched.

Netflix gave us a conduit, a connection, a common ground. Once you have that, well, conversation is bound to follow. And with conversation comes thought. And with thought comes understanding.

This weekend, I have a conversation, through text messages, about Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Sam and I discussed the storytelling technique the film uses. We also discussed the themes of the film that he had thought about, in particular, those related to drug use and the desire for control in people's lives. A similar conversation had taken place in one of my English classes last week. Students were talking about the film as the bell rang, and we took the opportunity to carry that on after class started. We touched on the irony of making choices that seem to be so wrong, but are in fact the only choices that can lead to a positive outcome. My kids got into the concept of control and making decisions, the idea that maybe no one truly has complete freedom to make decisions for themselves, uninfluenced by outside forces.

I don't know what good could come from talking to 16 year-olds about feeling like you have little control in your life. What relevance is there in that discussion?

We may have even had one of those "mind blown" moments. It was neat.

It goes beyond Bandersnatch. Over Christmas break, multiple students messaged me with ideas about Bird Box. They connected it literature we had read. They examined symbolism and character development. They dove into theories they had about theme. We discussed themes about anxiety and depression, about parental protectiveness, about hope for the future, and how these themes and concepts were expressed in film. Heady stuff.  On their time. During a vacation. And I don't even have these kids in class anymore (although they are still my kids).

One summer, a student sent me a recommendation for the Black Mirror series. He thought it connected with Fahrenheit 451 and felt I would like it. I did. And it gave us another way to discuss the "pores" we can find in pop culture literature, the texture that adds depth, not just to literature but to our lives, to society, and to our experiences.

In short, I love that Netflix gives another way for people to think, to see themselves in a variety of ways, to find those windows and mirrors and sliding glass doors that make literature of all kinds, GOOD LITERATURE of all kinds so valuable and worthwhile.  

Yeah, it can be a distraction. It can get in the way sometimes. It's not all hunky-dorry. But nothing is. And if it can create another connection to students, a way for them to talk about what they think and feel, a way for them to learn, especially on a higher level, a way for me to get a little clearer glimpse of who they are, well, I'll take it.