At the beginning of the podcast, Dr. B stated that entertainment has never been just entertainment. This struck me because I knew that but have never fully admitted the phrase. I am someone who does say to my friends that entertainment is entertainment meaning that it is not always real. I am someone who will add some perspective of the fact that it is just used to add some excitement to our lives or distract us from our own problems for the moment but also do not provide much benefit to our lives. Now benefits or particular roles that literature and overall entertainment play is more than just entertainment. Dr. B mentions that there are lessons that come from them whether they are complex or not varies, but there are lessons that are conveyed through narrative form or through some kind of median. The morals taught do not have to come from just one story. There can be multiple perspectives taken that convey the same moral or lesson. It is interesting to think how we can learn so much from various literature and that I can learn the same lesson as someone else even if we read different stories as the root of the lesson remains the same. The literature I read may be different than what my children will read but that does not mean we will be learning completely different things.
As Dr. B started to discuss symbols, it made me think about how interpretations can change depending on the persons own understanding of a word or the symbol itself. As symbols are put together, the order matters. Order can change the whole meaning of the narrative whether it is intentional or not which makes a difference. I wonder how current literature could have shaped our world differently if the slightest words were flipped or changed. How could our lessons have changed? How different would out perspective of the world be?
I also thought it was really interesting that interpretations can change depending on the person and their understanding of the world. I think also how someone is raised and the world they are surrounded by can affect these interpretations.
I agree with what you said about how order can change the entire meaning of certain things. What we learned in high school history is completely different than what we learn now in college, and I think a lot of that has to do with the order and nature of the history curriculum. It completely shapes how we see the past.
I think it’s interesting how you say that you can learn the same lesson as someone else even if you read different stories as the root of the lesson remains the same because while that is definitely true, I think it is also true that you can read the exact same story as someone and perceive it your won distinct context and take something away from it completely different from someone who read the same words.