In contrast to change, transition is psychological. Transition is the "inner reorientation and self-redefinition you have to go through to incorporate those changes in your life. Without a transition, a change is just a rearranging of the furniture." (William Bridges in Transitions) Transitions are manifested in new behavior and new identities.
The question is, how well do we take advantage of change? Change can lead to deep change via the transition process. The opposite of deep change is slow death--meaning we have a tendency to become detached from what is important in life, and when we do we keep making choices--thinking we have no choice--that zap our vitality.
Why should we take advantage of change? Because it is key to our development. Because I believe God uses change to give us the choice to connect back with him. The purpose of transition is to help us find our voice--an echo of God's voice to the world.
To make the ideas of change and transition concrete in IDIS 495, we are watching movies.
On May 6 we watched the Dead Poets Society. What did we learn?
High school is a time of change--for students, teachers, and parents of students. Will it be a time of transition? In the movie, the parents did not transition, and none of the teachers but one transitioned. And only a few students transitioned, among them Todd Anderson, Knox Overstreet, and Neil Perry.
The students transitioned when they changed the values and beliefs about education. Education is not about knowledge, but development. Neil Perry led the re-formation of the Dead Poets Society, a secret society that met in a secret place in which the students could experiment with their identities. Knox Overstreet was one of his followers, and eventually changed his name to Nuwanda. Todd Anderson held back, at least initially.
Mr. Keating may have been one of the founders of this secret society. In the movie, he was the priest of the education as development worldview. The spiritual center of this worldview were the great writings of the poets, in particular Walt Whitman.
Only one teacher transitioned, and that we the Latin teacher. Mr. Keating remained steadfast in his behavior and beliefs, even allowing himself and encouraging others to call him "Captain," the name Walt Whitman gave to Abraham Lincoln in one of his poems. The school principal was not Mr. Keating's pal, but rather his antagonist. That too remained constant during the movie.
The parents did not transition. All sided with the school principal: before, during, after the suicide of Neil Perry. Students were to do and become as they were told. Mr. Keating was made the sacrificial scapegoat.
The suicide was a significant change event, especially for Todd Anderson, Nick's roommate. Todd became a leader, expressed when he led a group of students to stand on their desks in protest to the principal's treatment of and in support of Mr. Keating and his worldview.
On May 7 we watched The Devil Wears Prada. What did we learn?
College graduation is a time of change. In the Devil Wears Prada, four friends are experiencing life after college in the City of New York. One character, Andrea (Andi), lands a "temporary" job for the assistant of one of the most power women in the city, a person who influences the external appearance of millions around the world. All of the main characters in the movie experienced change, including Andrea's friends and co-workers. But all of the main characters except Andi merely rearranged the furniture.
The movie brought out the tension between getting ahead on the job and sustaining relationships. The soul of the former value was the magazine Runway, controlled by Miranda Priestly (yes, priestly), who was the queen of the fashion world and who also was going through her second divorce, yet convinced all the world wanted to be her. Another character in Miranda's world, who successfully seduced Andi had the ironic name of Christian. The seduction culminated in a one-night stand. The movie seemed to say this was one of the peak experiences for a runway girl. The other peak experience was to be recognized as a somebody based on outward appearance and pleasing the right people.
The plot of the movie is how Andi transitions from writer to "runway" girl who succeed by not disappointing her boss. Because of her strong desire to please Miranda, Andi deceived herself into believing she didn't have a choice but to meet Miranda's demands. And Miranda took full advantage of this dependency. Yet in the process, she disappointed all the people she had good relationships with. Her desire to please Miranda let led Andi to change her life and worldrobe to gain acceptance on the job, eventually earning the opportunity to visit the heaven of the fashion world, Paris, France.
But while in Paris, with Miranda's help, Andi discovered she was becoming Miranda, who treated people as things in order to stay on top of her world. This was the turning point. From then on, Andi reversed her transition and again became a writer who cared about relationships.
After viewing the movie we also discuss Prof. Jackson's commencement address, which spoke about the relationship of our values and beliefs and our calendars. We can value work and relationships together, but sooner or later we have to decide which comes first.
