Why are the curtains blue?

Thoughts on humanities, critical thinking and media literacy

In 2015, Robyn N Hill wrote a blog post that basically boiled down to a rant against literary criticism. In his blog post, he tells the story of when an author was invited to speak at a small college and how most attendees kept asking her “Why are the curtains’s in Sarah room blue?” because I assume there had been heated debates on why the curtains are blue in English class. The author had to finally point out that the curtains being blue meant nothing. His point in the blog post was to read for enjoyment instead of reading to find nuance. Stop wondering why the curtain was blue because the writer saw it in her head. To quote Hill “So right here, right now, I make a plea to my future readers and critics. Do not do this to my books. There is no deeper meaning, I promise you. Kai’s eyes are blue because that’s my favourite eye colour.” Hill’s point is ultimately to read for fun not try to find deeper meaning in everything.

I have always had a soft spot for the arts and humanities. I have probably been involved in one too many arguments about how the humanities are very important and how a lack of humanities education is very bad for society. I am such a defender of humanities that I have been mistaken for an art/humanities student. In another life, I probably would have been an art student. We had this very odd thing where we did all the subjects for arts, science, and commercial classes. Can’t even lie, I deeply enjoyed my art classes. The only reason I didn’t go to art class was because the adults in my life insisted I look at my employment prospects.

 The sciences get a lot of attention (which they rightly deserve) because they build things. I believe art/humanities are important for society’s development. I do sometimes get both sad and disappointed by the derision towards the humanities. 

Since 2020, it has been pretty obvious there has been a noticeable gap in critical thinking, media literacy etc. This is not to say it didn’t exist before but it was really obvious because of the covid era. From people believing 5g conspiracies to the new world order conspiracies and so on, you could see people were struggling to sift through the deluge of information they were suddenly experiencing. I am of the belief that one of the explanations for this decline of critical analysis is the decline of the humanities.

Anyone that has ever attended a literature class or a more than basic English class would be aware of the practice of analysing literature text. English teachers are always asking why is the protagonist here? Why are they saying what they are saying? I think that practice helps in developing skills useful for critical thinking, cultural analysis and media literacy.

In some ways, I am a bit sympathetic to the notion that we should just read for fun. Not every story has to have a grand message. As a defender of the arts and a reader, I can admit that I don’t want to read “heavy and serious” books every time. Besides, some of these books are complex and do feel elitist. When I was in primary school, I tried to read Shakespeare in the old English he probably used and all I would just say is I didn’t enjoy that reading experience. I think  of books just like any other form of art such as music, movies and so on. Just like all other forms of art, I don’t just want art that is serious and makes me think. I want art on “ridiculous” topics, art is supposed to make you think but it’s also supposed to be enjoyable. Art doesn’t exist to just be a lecture

The thing is questions like why are the curtains blue? Help in developing skills needed for media literacy, cultural analysis and critical thinking. Like yes, maybe the author may not have intended for something to be important but I do kinda find there is some validity to the thought that the meaning of a text isn’t just determined by the author’s intentions but by the reader’s interpretations (The Death of the author by Roland Barthes). I don’t believe literature only exists to tell us what the author explicitly says. The question on why the curtains are blue isn’t really about the author’s intention, it is about the reader specifically developing critical thinking and analysis skills. When a reader is asked why are the curtains blue? Why do they have ceiling fans instead of standing fans? And so on, it is to force the reader to think critically about what is presented in the text. What messages (either implicitly or explicitly) can you get from the text?

Take for example of an excerpt from Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie 

“Papa sat down at the table and poured his tea from the china tea set with pink flowers on the edges. I waited for him to ask Jaja and me to take a sip, as he always did. A love sip, he called it, because you shared the little things you loved with the people you love.”

From that excerpt, you could glean they are at least middle class. There  is a  sign of a sizable income with the mention of China tea set. You can also guess how the father in this passage expresses love. His expression of love seems very “African traditional” i.e it’s a patriarchal family where the father has the final say but he does believe in giving his children things. Now, from that phrase see all I have been able to get from it. You may come to a different conclusion which is fine but ultimately the goal is to think things through. Critical analysis like this may not seem important when you are learning it because there is a prevalent view that if a skill isn’t making money, it’s useless.

I would just like to point out that one of the usefulness of this skill is being able to sift through information in news and media. You are a bit less susceptible to propaganda, falling for reactionary  reporting/journalism and so on if you have developed critical analysis skills.

For example, you see a news report that describes illegal immigrants as a “rampaging horde of illegal aliens”. This is not a defence or support of illegal immigration but you as a reader should be asking questions, such as:

• Why are illegal immigrants who are not usually equipped with weapons described with words synonymous with an “army”?

• Is there a racial component to this description? How does this publication talk about illegal immigration from different countries with different ethnic and racial groups?

• Why are they coming? Are they asylum seekers? Because if yes, asylum seekers have certain allowances that the usual migrant may not have.

• This is clearly supposed to elicit fear and anger from me, why does this publication want to get those emotions from me?

This knowledge could apply to assessing the information you come across on social media, in movies, while listening to podcasts, and while watching YouTube. These skills help you to understand things like priming and framing.

Priming is the process by which the news emphasises an issue to prominence publicly and activates previously acquired information about the case or similar cases from people’s memories. 

Framing involves emphasises certain parts of a problem while ignoring other elements

Ultimately, when skills like this are taught to a reader (in this case children), you are asking them to use their imagination and critical thinking skills to build thoughts of their own. 

If you enjoyed reading this essay, kindly share with your friends and family. Also, let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

 Till I write again, bye.

References/Sources

• But why are the curtains blue? a rant about 'literary criticism

• Why the curtains are never just blue

• Why the curtains are blue: The implications of being uncritical