Leveraging Multimodality in the ELA Classroom from a Postcolonial Perspective: A Case Study on Dune

• In Event: Bringing a Postcolonial Perspective Into Secondary Education Teaching: Race, Language, and Gender in Education

Abstract

Objectives and Purposes
In today’s increasingly restrictive teaching environment in the K-12 classroom in which our democratic ideals are challenged, there is a pressing need to incorporate teaching tools that not only meet state standards but also resonate with the diverse cultural backgrounds of students. Films, as inherently multimodal texts, offer a unique opportunity to engage students in critical inquiry about complex societal issues. This presentation examines the use of the film Dune Part 1 (2021) by Denis Villenueve as an entry point for exploring postcolonial perspectives as a critical literacy tool in the secondary English Language Arts classroom. As such, this movie is a powerful tool to help students engage in critical discourse analysis and discussions about coloniality, thereby meeting educational standards and enhancing cultural relevance in teaching.

Theoretical Framework and Modes of Inquiry
Bhabha (2004) posits that fixity is the rigid and unchanging definition imposed upon colonized people creating a paradoxical representation of difference conveying both stability and disorder. Most often associated with stereotypes, fixity is a “force of ambivalence that gives the colonial stereotype its currency…[and] informs its strategies of individuation and marginalization” (p.95). Simply put, fixity illuminates how the colonizer maintains power via othering and fetishization which, in turn, is used to justify conquest.
From a pedagogical perspective, Ladson-Billings (1995) culturally relevant pedagogy works towards the decolonization of curriculum by empowering students to develop a critical consciousness that disrupts colonial biases, including fixity and fantasy. In this way, students can confront oppressive norms which encourage active engagement for a more equitable and inclusive society that counters marginalizing colonial narratives.
Results and conclusions
This utilizes a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2021; Machin & Mayr, 2012) framework coupled with Hull and Nelson’s (2005) multimodal approach to transcription to analyze the film Dune Part 1 (2021) for an in-depth examination of how various modalities—such as the visual, dialogic, and gestural modes—convey postcolonial themes. Preliminary findings suggest that Dune provides complex postcolonial ideologies through its multimodal composition. For example, when a leader of the colonized people asks (linguistic) those in power to not seek their homes or trespass on their lands, the colonizer re-establishes that he is given control of the planet by the emperor while physically shifting his weight (gestural) revealing a visible discomfort or unease (visual) about the request. The film’s narrative and aesthetic elements, then, serve as catalysts for postcolonial discussions about how the assertion of power is used to maintain the status quo between the colonizer and colonized; a fixity mindset that reduces the colonized to an object intended for suppression and enslavement; and grandeurs of fantasy on controlling the marginalized people group.

Significance
This proposal aims to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on critical multimodal literacies (Cappello et al., 2019; New London Group, 1996) and postcolonial studies in education, providing practical approaches for teachers seeking to enhance their instructional practices. This case study on Dune Part 1 (2021) underscores the importance of adopting innovative pedagogical strategies that promote critical thinking as part of a just educational renewal in the contemporary classroom.

Author

• Holly C. Matteson, University of Iowa