Chocalat: A Conversation

The Magic of Chocolate: A Conversation Diane Knapp; SibongileMtshali-Dlamini; Kevin S Harvey; Hongyu Wang JCT; Fall 2004; 20,3; Research Library pg. 157 Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, Fall 2004 157 be ~ a g i ofc chocolate: A Conversation Diane Knapp, Slbongile Mtshali-Dlamini, Kevin S. Harvey, & Hongyu Wang Oklahoma Stare University Introduction This writing is a collaborative effort' in analyzing the film, Chocolat (2000, Miramax), as the result of class discussion, individual writing assignments, and continuing conversation on the topic. We were reading literature related to psychoanalysis, gender,aesthetics, and curriculum theory in a doctoral seminaron Advanced Curriculum Research Strategies. The instructor initially intended to show episodes of the film so that students had an opportunity to "practice" theory. This particular film was chosen because of its textual richness in inspiring various theoretical analyses. However, our fascination with these episodes led us to watch and "read" the whole film, followed by a recorded class discussion and voluntary individual writings about it. It is amazing to see how both the film and the film analysis fit so well with what we had talked about in the class-including the discourses of Julia Kristeva, Carl Jung, and Michel Foucault, among other f i e o r i s b a n d each class member's unique theoretical lens enriched our conversation both in and out of the class. So we decided to produce this writing together to elaborate on "the magic of chocolate": Isn't the writing itself, as a spontaneous process, also magic? Both resonant and dissonant voices are woven together in our conversation about this film. To engage the dialogue in its polyphony (Bakhtin, 1984), we coauthor curriculum and our own selfhood through the "loophole" (Wang, 1997) of chocolate. The multiple layers of "a complicated conversation" (Pinar, et al., 1995) resist final closure, so we do not attempt to converge to any coherent conclusion. Instead, we invite you tojoin thisjourney through the wonder ofchocolate to unfold a curriculum leading towards the "moreness" and "beyondness" of life (Huebner, 1999). After introducing you to the scene of both the film and the writing, we will engage you in our conversation. Thc film Chocolut (2000) takcs place in a small town in France, a town with a Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. IS8 The Magic of Chocolate - . strong value on tranquility and ordcr. At the center of the town stands a huge ~ t i l t ~ ~ ~ ol' its first mayor. J-le is said to havc been the one who chascd out people who wcrc against the town'snorms. The current mayor ofthc town, Comtedc Rcynaud (I'aoI), li)llows his niodel seriously and the majority of townspcoplc follow thc mayor's stcps, n~ediatcdby the Church. Yct there are outcasts- -strangers among thc lownspcoplc. Armande, thc landlady, docs not obey the rulcs and thcrcforc is painfully scpi~ratedfrom her grandson (Luke) by her daughtcr, Caroline, who is il filithfi~lfollower of Paul. Josephine, an image of hysteria, is physically and emotionally abused by her husband, Sergc.Thc town is perfectly structured until the slrangcr first a woman, Vianne with herdaughtcr, who opens a Chocolalerie, and latcr Roux, a (iypsy who leads thc band of"riverrah" - conics in to unsettle its color (grcy), its shirpc (stable), its voice (quiet), and its motion (slill). Onc Sunclay morning, thc whirling snow and the ominous north winti blow into lliu town two figures in bright red cloaks: Vianneand her daughter, Anoux. They rent ;I patisscric from Armand and turn it into a Chocolatcrie right bcforc the time for I .cnt. So colncs a fdscinating and hilarious story about how the magic of'chocolatc louches and tl~nsformsthe whole town. Socomes our convcrsation, non-convergent hut intcrtwining voices pondcring possible new spaces opened up by chocolalc.. . Conversation 1 l i ~ ~ Knupp: ne Iloor, blue door, brokcn door ofdreams. Old fixturcs, ancient symbols moan undcr the weight of generations, genclations of projected salvation. I3cyond, beckoning, the siren song of chocolatc; prilnorclial ooze of unconscious contcnt, calling 1111 to thc carnival of encounter. Let the gamc begin! I face the Shadow, the icy, stcel-eycd image in the mirror. Who can attract thc bird? A peacock struts toward her, then Icaping, lands on her shoulder; too great the weight, the burden of excess. 1 turn, reaching toward heavcn; a sparrow lands in my hand, quivering with imagination. Gcntly I carry it away, through the brokcn door, and t'ccd it chocolatc. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Knapp, Mtshali-Dlamini, Harvey, & Wang 159 Hongyu Wang: The calling. The calling from the stranger, near yet distant, intimate yet inaudible, is echoed in the magic of chocolate. Vianne, a foreigner, an outsider, travels with her daughter, carrying the secret of mother-made chocolate. The very touch of chocolate disturbs the townspeople's quiet life. The returned memory of "the semiotic'-in Julia Kristeva's (198411974) term-brings townspeopleback in touch with the "feminine" flow, a flow through the smell, color, shape, and texture of chocolate, a flow irresistible with a laughing spirit, a flow carrying people beyond the boundary. This attention to our shadow is crucial for us to cultivate a fuller and more creative self. How can education be truly educative if we cannot touch children's inner selves?Children's imagination is a rich fountainwhich nurtures and creates life. When the refreshingfountain spurts, children's desires and feelings flow out to connect with words. The magic of chocolate not only brings what is hidden but also connects, connects people who are different from each other. Kristeva (1 991) says that we need to confront our own ghosts ifwe want to relate toothers in an open-minded way. The stranger within is the bridge connecting self and other. As a foreigner standing at the edge ofdifferent worlds, I not only feel more connected to my own past-the individual and the collectivepast-but also connected to others with a strongersense of compassion. Thejourney of encounteringthe alterity of the stranger is intertwincd with the process of opening to the otherness within the self. This is what happens to the townspeople, who are initially shocked by the stranger but gradually become closer to themselves at a deeper level because the influx of strangemess exposes an richer inner life than they were allowed to experiencebefore. The challenge from the woman with her red shoes is a call to re-experience self and life. Sibongile Mfshali-Dlamini: The magic of the chocolate unlocks hidden yearnings. Everybody in this town at the beginning of the film seems to be affected by some sort of tranquilizer, motionless, colorless, and voiceless. The buildings are solid and gray in color, with curtains that make it easy for people inside to see what is going on outside on the streets. Widows cover their bodies with long black dresses. The pressure of surveillance (Foucault, 199511975) over the lives of the people is easily felt. But chocolate stirs up the lost imagination of the townspeople, and Vianne's magical formulachanges the color ofthe town. Even thestatue has tears before the film ends. The control from which the people in this town suffer is similar to that which Michel Foucault discusses in his book History of Sexuality (199011976). Sex is legitimateonly when serving the purpose of reproduction, and confession of desires is one mechanism of social control. Yet where there is power there is resistance too. After tasting the luring chocolate, the townspeople are no longer able to go back to the usual way of life. The dress code against exposing the body is lifted first by Josephine, who breaks the tie with abusive relationships, and then by more people Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I 00 The Magic o/'Chocufate . in tlic village who begin to exprcss themselves and their fcelings opcnly. 'l'his process speaks to Foucault's insights that power is cxercised,not possessed, and that rcsistmcccxists simultancously with the circulation ofpowcr rather than outside of il. I:vcntually chocolatc triggers lovc and passion among thc townspcoplc. 1)ocsn't rllc tradition of Valentine's day as a Chocolate's day symbolize chocolatc as a ~lictaphorof lovc'? Kcvin / I ~ ~ r v y y : Chocolate is about rclationships, relationships with others in a communily and rclt~tionshipswith theself. Takc the mayorasan cxample.'l'hc relationship bctwccn Ihc Mayor and his csh-anged wife shows alienation and isolation on thc part ol'thc Mayor and rcsistanceon thcpart ofthc estranged wifc.'ficclothcs the wik wcars Icll in Lhc closet at the mayor's liousc -are bright, which illustrates hcr rcsislancc against thc mayor's values and the town's culturc. Tlic mayor-community rclationship is onc ol'centralized control. 'l'hc mayor's relationship to himsclfcxctnplilics the "rational man" who is in control of his passions- an itlcal which is an csscntial part o f the Wcstcrn tradition alrcady retlectcd in I'lato's tliscoursc. Julia Kristcvi~ ( 1901) bclicvcs that "the tranquility of reason" nceds lo bc disruplcd by Llic slnlngcncss OF the Other. Shc further claims, "wc know that wc arc Ibrcigncrs to oursclvcs, and it is with thc help ol'lhat sole support that wc can tlttclnpt to live will1 olIicrs"(p. 170).It is prcciscIy sucli a n~ovcn~c~il 53111011g scI I.,other, and tllc o d ~ c r ~ ~ c s s wiiliin that is blocked in the mayor and in thc town. The trt~nsfomativefunction of chocolate mcdiatcs through what is blocked and rcnews people's capacity fbr conslruclivc rclationships. .Sil)on~ileM~shali-L)lrmini: Spcaking about crnotions, the spinning plate that Viiinne inhcritcd Scom hcr Mi~yanmother is a powerful tool to get in touch will1 the cmotio~isthat tllc lownspcoplc liavc been dcnicd Ibr a long time. As customers cnter the Chocolalwic, Viannc asks Ihctn to spill thc platc and tell her wliat thcy scc. Through the imagcs [hat comc into the person's mind, Vianne is able to intuitively "know" tlic type ol' chocolatc that each person prcfcrs. Through articulating wliat thcy "scc"on tlicpliitc in circular movements, pcople show their inncr selfthrough fantasics. 'The platc is connccted back to the mythsofthe Maya and is capableofindividual,psychological nlovcmcnts. Vianne's insightfi~lreadings with the helpofthcplatealmost always fit ci~cliperson's specific needs, which bring a magical molncnt for pcoplc who arc "hit" by the sudden rcalixation of what is (unknowingly) inside thcmsclvcs. I ) i ~ n eKnapp: 'I'hc circle is symbolic in many diffcrcnt ways. To usc psychological terms, it is tlic palh ol'individuation or thc cycle of life, and the symbol of psychic coding is Ihc lnazc of' thc cilclelplatc. When thc image or symbol prcscnts ilsclf in the ~~nconscious ~nind,thc process of psychic healing can be initiated. The town ant1 its Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Knapp, Mlshali-Dlamini, Harvey, & Wang 161 inhabitants are frozen in a gray, cold logic. Even the Priest is denied the possibility of breaking free from the sterile "ancient symbols" that "moan under the weight of generations ....of projected salvation." Salvation cannot provide the healing it promises because of this weight. The "circle" Vianne provides is a symbol not just ofthe wholeness that is sought in individualsalvation, but also ofthe wholeness that can restore the relationships within the community. In the classroom, the unconscious can be "startled" awake through imagination. Through the imagination of both teachers and students, new symbols can cmerge to point to alternative ways of relationship and community. The cold logic behind the metanarrative of a modernist curriculum seeks to deny the symbols and metaphors of literature and the arts because they are ambiguous and open to interpretation. But the tolerance of ambiguity is the first step in the acceptance of difference and otherness. Ambiguity provides a space for empathy, which is so necessary to the healing of relationships ripped apart and frozen in the "old fixtures." Kevin Harvey: The spinning plate in its rotating rnovcments brings people closer to their feelings and desires. The dog, Charlie, which is susceptible to the magic of chocolate, actually manifests the suppressed emotions of the old gentleman, its owner. The passion symbolized by chocolate is what we need to bring into the classroom. The emotional lies at the heart of learning and is essential for fully experiencing our humanity, our existence, and our being. We learn through "trans" or transformation when all the senses are wide open. Teaching through and by emotions is not something we "do" as such, but is something that we "areT'andthat we envisage as we enter into pedagogical situations. All ofus bring not only joy but also fears, anxiety, and vulnerabilities into the classrooms, which ask for a tactful sensitivity to both the potential and the risk of being awake so that both teacher and student are willing to venture towards opening up more possibilities. Such a transformative pedagogy makes it essential for educators to challenge themselves, to see themselves as change agents, and to tap into students' creative potential. Diane Knapp: To look at the effects of chocolate through the spinning plate, we may need to understand how change is made possible through analyzing characters in the film. Tlic cncounlcr with dw Other and its iliipact on lhc perso~ialu~~conscious is dramatic in the case of Paul (the mayor) and Josephine. To use Carl Jung's language, the anima, as personified by Vianne, finally brings Paul into the world offeelings while Vianne represents the positive aspects of the shadow for Josephine's realization of her own creative Self. Vianne represents the joy and laughter that Paul shut out of his life, and she "shocks" him into the awareness ofthat loss. With her arrival in town, "the stage sets collapse" (Greene, 1995, p. 24). Paul's efforts to lock out the world of feeling have been in vain, and he collapses in exhaustion. "Weariness comes at the end of a Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Magic of Choculute-- - . ~llcchanicallife, but at thc samc time it inaugurates thc impulse of consciousncss" 1905, p. 25). This "impulse of consciousness" is demonstrated when Paul br~ilksinto Vianne's shop and begins to destroy the chocolate. His initial impulsc toward dcslruction is unexpcclcdly transformed by his (unconscious) longing for chocolatc, which "steps" in to reed his soul and his imagination. After Paul's "dark ~ligl~t,'' tlie anima plays out its role in opening his hcart. Here healing is initiated by an cmptying of the cgo, or a loss of control. In a pedagogical context, perhaps wc nccd lo bc able to IcL go, or loosen up conlrol in order to be rcccptive to other possibilities. I'erhaps it's time to Ict go of tlie metanardtivcs of absolute knowlcdgc and rccognix olhcr forms of knowledge such as that gained through artistic encounters and knowlcdgc realized by thc body, through the sensuousness of chocolak. Like Paul. Josephine is locked by the rigidity of a stcrilc lifc. I Icr abusive lil~sbandand her lack of self-estccm doom hcr lo a life of unrcalizcd potcntitll. Viannc's arrival also makes her realize her lost dreams and inspircs hcr to the "surprise [that] comes along with becomingdiffcrcnt co~isciouslydifl'crcntasone lintls ways of acting on envisagcd possibility" (Grccnc, 1995, p. 20). 13ccoming tlil7'erent has important pedagogical implications. Like Viannc's shop, the classroom can become a place of "surprise," and a place where the cncountcr with the ()thcr leads lo new possibilities orself-discovery. (( irccnc, .Sil)origile Mrshuli- L)lutnini: Thc dramatic change in thc mayor is particularly intcrcsting in light of the shill in the authority relationship. I le watches the peoplc in the village vigorously and t~l~nost cvcry step of every pcrson is under his controlling gazc. Viannc is thc first pcrson who tlares to challenge his authority. His confidence that he is going to win diminishes whcn moreand morc people are attracted by thc Chocolaterie. His belicts and values arc scvcrely challengcd especially when Serge confesses to him that it is not God but Scrgc who set the Gypsy's boats on tire. He no longer can hold o n to his authority position with thc calm he had before. 1,osing control of the town, hc loses control of himself too. At the verge of total li-ustration, he brcaks inlo Lhc ('hocolatcric. But the slightest taste of the chocolatc in his mouth spins him in an uncxpcclcd direction. H e starts to eat the chocolate likc a crazy person, with both Ii~uglitcrant1 tears. Thc priest finds him sleeping soundly among the (broken) chocolate on Easter Day. That is a crucial turning point for him. Hc is n o longcr so sure, and during the Easter homily, he looks puzzled, sad, and yet a bit rclicvcd. I'aradoxically this awakening helps him to movc on with his new life: six months i~iicrthe chocolatc festival he has the courage to date Caroline. Does this giving up (hc ovcrbcaring authority-both his and the Law's .bring him back to lilc'! Thc relationship betwecn thc mayor and the people in the village also rcllcct t:oucauIt's notion of power not as an overarching str~~cti~rc but as a fluid network. (Jnder the watchful cycs ofthe mayor, butalsoundcr the control oflhe givcn and the cslablished, the peoplc in thc village live a predictable and quict life. Yet when the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Knapp, MMtshali-Dlamini, Harvey, & Wang 163 resistance begins to spread through the magic of chocolate, the rigid symbolic structure fails to keep confining the destabilizingmovement ofchange. This network of resistance not only transforms the village, the people who become willing to change, but also affects the center of authority in the village in a surprising direction. Hongyu Wang: Two children's changes are quite interesting. Anoux, who moves around with her mother, Vianne, from one place to another place, cannot really have any stable connections with the outside world, only with Vianne. Her outcry to her mother: "you are hurting me" when embraced too hard by Vianne, and her "accidental" breaking of mother's box inherited from grandmother are symbolic. Her final rebellionagainst the traumatic experience ofhermother's decision to leave the town, although eased by the very accident of breaking the box, takes a crucial step in rebalancing the mother-daughter relationship. Does the endless act of leaving lock Anoux to her mother's world in an opposite yet similar way to that in which Luke is locked up by his mother's rigid discipline and order? The boy, artistic and sad, is separated from his grandma, who can bring him laughter, humor, and the joy of life. Not even being able to bicycle, since it is "dangerous" according to his mother, he finally slips out ofhis mother's house and joins in grandma's birthday party to taste the forbidden chocolate and dance happily together with grandma. The death of grandma at the end of the party not only enables the boy to initiate his own path but also forces Caroline to reconcile with her own emotions. The cycle of death and rebirth is not (just) an individual event but is also an interconnectedcircle, provoking a chain of change and transformation. Both Anoux's and Luke's reclaiming their own sense of the self from their mothers, inhibited or mediated by their own grandmothers-in memory or in reality-tell the tales of love negotiated between connections and independence. Julia Kristeva (1996) aftims that love must be sustained by both "leaving" and "being together," and that a successful maternal relationship approaches the childthe other-as a subject. She also insists that a dynamic relationship between the semiotic and the symbolic not only exposes us to the feminine flow but also invites us to utilize the flux for transforming the social structure. The forbidden chocolate as the unconscious semiotic destabilizes the static social law in the town, yet the return ofthe semiotic does not completely do away with structure but rather brings the body back into language, and turns sociality into a modality more open to differences. To claim their own independence, the boy rebels against the rigidity of order and the girl rebels against the wrapping of flux. Kevin Harvey: As I reflect upon our discussion in the class, I am shocked by the silence of the group on the issue of sexuality and chocolate. We fail to discuss chocolate's explicit representation of sexuality. What is the nature and meaning of this silence? Why are the emotions of the people controlled and suppressed in the first place? What are the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 64 .- The Magic of Chocolate --....---- i~nplicationsofthissilence for critical dialogues on images ofrace, sex, and gcndcr'? 'I'l~cinstitutional structure and culturc representctl in the class through the prcscncc ol'thc professor and classroom space imposcsthc"powcrol'survciIlancc"(I~oucault, 1905l1975)upon students and prevents them from going bcyond the boundary. My silcncc was a compromisc, an attcrnpt to avoid thc possibility of' people sccrcotyping me with the "black male sex crazc" stigma prcvalcnt in society. As a lictcroscxual African American male studcnt at a predominately whitc institution, Iny racc is 21 viablc part ofmy idcntity; so is my sexuality, and now my "voicc" in the i~cademy.I am aware that in a mi~lc-dominatedcullurc where whitc middlc-class viilires arc imposed, justified, and institutionalized as normalcy, my idcntity as Ihc opposite racc cannot coexist as "sameness." To simply talk about the hiddcn yearnings without rethinking the complicatcd control mcchanism and its diffcrcnt impact on cach person is a bitter-swcct rccipc which troublcs thc physical-biological aspects of "human bcing" and thc spirilualmcntal aspects of "bcing human." Chocolate, in thc filnl and socicty, has long bccn it tool for exploring our sexuality and our scxual rantasy. Yct, the shadow of the strangerwithincontrolsand limits ourcapacity tounscttle the hcgcmonicstateol'thc society. This mutc-like voice of the "other" becomcs a clitrion call. Ilongyzl Wl~ng: As the instructor oftheclass, I havc to askmyself: Docs my prcscncc in thcclass ~~rcvcntstutlcritsfro~nspcakingaboutsexuality dircctly?Culturally, in general, thcrc is;~siIe~iccaboi~tsexualityinCliina whcrc lcomc from(a1though it ischanging now). Sexuality is simply not something people talk about. Both Michel Foucault (I 900) i~ntlJulia Kristeva (1 996) at'firm this part of so-called Eastcrn or Chincsc tradition, inlcrcstingly,with acertain apprcciation. Actually it is related to thegeneral cultural ~cndcncyof privileging writing over speech and action over words. Love and sexuality miiy haveprovokedall kindsofdiscourscs in thc Wcst, yet on the otlicrside ot'thcshorc. they clreaspcctsof lifc whichareconvcyd by smiles, touchcs,gcsturcs. ti~citundcrstanding, and the actions oftaking care ofonc another. Flowcvcr. cultural leboos rcgartlingsexuality in different contextsarepreciscly what we need to rcllcct o n critically. Confining sexuality to the private rcalm (hcrc in the US.) or thc ullspcakablc rcalm (in China) prcvents us from undcrstanding the social construction of scxuolity. What is provocative for me hcrc, fi~rthermorc,is to qucstion whcthcr discussions can be opcncd up precisely at the point about which thc ~nslructorfails to speak. What kinds of pedagogy docs this "beyond" provoke'?I low tlocs thc tcaclier utilize hcr gctting lost to hclp lead stutlcnts out? Whcrc can thc ~~iutual challenge between tcachcr and student take us in educational situations'? /)itme K n u p ~ ~ : Perhaps the most scnsuous scenes in thc film are those that portnty the Inany slcps in the making of chocolate. Thc breaking apart by hand, thc languorous swirling and slirring and rolling are mostly donc in silc~lcc.'rhcrc sccms to be a Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Knapp, Mtshali-Dlamini, Harvey, & Wang 165 hushed reverence for the acts of creation. The sensuous acts of breaking up and mixing produce something new and beckoning: "the siren song of chocolate." The silent indulgence in the chocolate, mirrored in the scene at the birthday party where everyone relishes the chocolate in silence but conveys satisfaction through various non-verbal ways, represents a return to a pre-verbal, semiotic communion with the archaic mother. This same semiotic moment occurs when the mayor devours the chocolate Venus. These scenes could lead us to pre-verbal, semiotic sexual desire-desire that precedes language. Hongyu Wang: The ending ofthe film is unsettling. When the stranger is gone, is the norm reestablished,the norm o f father," mother, and daughter (the child)-symbolized by the union of Roux, Vianne, and Anoux? When the whisper of the north wind is not answered and the flow of the water no longer carries away, will they be able to live happily ever after? Can the elusive and moving semiotic ever be grasped by the familiar? With a typical Hollywood happy ending, the disturbingpower ofchocolate quietly ebbs away. The challengeto the gloomy norm is ended with a cheerful norm, appealing to the stable aspect of the psyche, nevertheless. Deborah Britzman (1 998) believes that conflicts in the process of our working through pain and alienation will not go away but that the role of education is to transform our capacityto respond.janjagodzinski (2002) affirms the unknowability of the other, which cannot be controlled, grasped, and mastered, and calls for a pedagogy responsive to the radical alterity of the "stranger." Ifwe allow ourselves to be lured by the magic of chocolate journeying together with our students, our responsibility is to assure students not that everything can be mastered but that everything can be renewed. Thejustification for introducingmusic or other arts and literature into schools to improve the standardizedscores is a fantasy of educational excellence confined within the logic of the known, the manageable, and the expected. Can we lead our children into the wonder, awe, mystery of life by joining in chocolate's own movement? How can we make it possible that the pedagogical travel out is also accompanied by Anoux's yearning for an intimate network'? Can we create a loving social space along the way to persistently support our students (and ourselves) in our adventure into the unknown? Diane Knapp: There is almost a sense at the end in which the alterity of the other is co-opted, which according to Kristeva (1991) and Levinas (196 1) is never possible. There is always a tension in the encounter which cannot be reconciled, but through which "I become reconciled with my own otherness-foreignness" (Kristeva, 1991, p. 182). This makes possible a space for creativity. For example, part of the imagery in the opening poem was from a dream I had at a time when I found myself in an irreconcilablesituation.The tension and the ambiguity were almost unbearable, but ironically, a creativcspace was opcned in which I could imagine it as otherwise. Part Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I 60 - -.. The Magic of Chocolate ~ l o utask r in education is to help students hold onto the unknown and uncxpcctcd, bcar with thc ambiguities in lifc, and allow those creative spaccs to occur. I-longyu Wang: Water drained river Lady in the woods Blessed by trees and birds His exiled home Her laughter flows in the air Building a wood cabin He is locked by the shadow Tears are hidden The snlell of chocolate Tears hidden, milk is bitter Is so far away, untraceable A flower lover The taste of chocolate She does not know how to balance Sunshine to grow her own flower Is unreachable, forbidden The tyranny of the permitted Without the spinning plate The lure of the unknown The alchemy of chocolate is gone Tern of candle Lighten the path Traces of birds' songs Linger the urge to fly beyond The magic of chocdate Through teacher's NowPshingwor(l)d Spinning play Opens fountains inside of children Now out Cries, laughter And a new language (Wang, 2004, p, 87) (Resisting) Conclusion You have hcard our divcrgent voices-our articulations of the imagcs wc scc ~ h r o ~ the ~ g hIilmarcnot thcsame. Just aseachcharactcr in thc tilmsccsdiffercnt imags on the spinning plate, we analyze thc film from our own desires and precxcupations, om own scnscs of the self. The theoretical frameworks we adopt for our analysis iIrc vi~rious:Although Jung's and Kristeva's discourses arc both situated in psychoanalysis, thc rornlcr focuscs on the collective unconscious whilc the latter focuses on the irltlividual unconscious. Foucaull's discourse as it is uscd here is about powcr rcli~tionships(within and) betwccn the individual and the social. Our own intellccl~~al alliliation with differentdiscoursesis intimately rclated to csch pcrson's own idcnlily i111tl personal meaning-making proccss. Diane's yearning for meanings out ofambiguily; Sibongilc's search for communal transformation through re-circulaling powcr; Kcvin's conccrn with racial, gcndcred, and sexual identity;and Hongyu'sattcntion to thc psychic life are distinctive voices that cannot be reduced to the same. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Knapp, Mtshali-Dlamini, Harvey, & Wang 167 However, the metaphor of the stranger is a central thread weaving our different perspectives together. No matter ifit is the Kristevian semiotic stranger, the Jungian stranger embedded in the collective archetype, or the Foucaultian Other who constantly resists the norm, the stranger refuses to be incorporated into the established order but calls us to step towards new realms of life. To recognize this stranger, as the townspeople in the film eventually are able to do, is to move closer to vibrant rhythm of life and thus to the self. In this movement, the alterity of the strangerkeeps eluding the closure ofbeing assimilated into the same: The Kristevian semiotic keeps destabilizing the symbolic; the Foucaultian Other keeps subverting any static subject. At the crossroad of encountering the stranger, the psychic transformation meets the social transformation through shiftingpower networks. As xekavesggnh the f % h # & m m s p e @ ~ t ~ Wamespa-ksr5otlithF innertransmutationofthe selfand the social change in the whole town. Here psychic analysis through the notions of the shadow and the semiotic and social analysis of going beyond "surveillance" in a contexualized way illuminate each other, even though these theoretical differences are irresolvable. Through conversation,we not only see through our own lens, we also see through each other's lenses to reach a deeper and richer understanding of both text and ourselves. Just as the townand townspeople are transformed because ofthe encounter with the stranger, our classrooms also can be turned into sites for creative transformation of curriculum if we dare to embrace differences in ourselves and in each other. The notion of curriculum as a complicated conversation (Pinar, et al., 1995) becomes important here. The multiple layers of our conversation unfold as we read the film among other lenses as a gendered, sexual, racial, intercultural, autobiographical, psychoanalytic, aesthetic, and post-structural text. While patterns of rcsonance emerge through our conversation, our nonconsensual differences do not reach any overarching agreement. Responding to Maxine Greene's call for imagination, we envisage curriculum differently. A conversation when it is complicated enables polyphony and cacophony, which leaves the room for further dialogue. Resisting conclusion and refusing to weave multiplicity into one thread, we invite you to experience chocolate in your own lifc and create new words in the classroom together with your students. Let the circling plate spin, bridging our inner self and social life. Let the magic of chocolate play, the magic of love, courage, and compassion for the other both c thin a n c l Y r r i t h a u t l & t k e r n a g ~ & g e g ~ Wlewingthe , windinpurse of curriculum, between the semiotic f l u and the symbolic structure, to compose a shared poem about the mystery of life. Note I The collaborative nature of this writing defics the tradition of authorship order in academicpublications. We wish we could claimourco-authoringin a circle rather than a list. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I OX The Magic of Chocolate Wc wish lo thank our class mcmhers Elaine Durand (cspccially for hcr iliilial parlicipalion i n our writing), Vicki Sandcrs, and Stan Sanders for joining in our conversation. Si~cq~lclinc Bach's critique and suggcstionwere particularly hclpful for thc revision ol'our Ixlpcr. All of Ihcm are doctoral sh~dentsat Oklahoma Stalc Univcrsity. References Itilkhlin. Mikl~ailM. (1984). Prob1em.s r?fDo,sfoevsky:s poetics (Carylc Emcrsor~litl. i~ntl Trans.). Minncupolis, MN: Univcrsity of Minnesota I'rcss. I3ri~~man, Ilcborah. (1998). Losl slrbjcct.~,conte.rled ol,jecLs: I b w d a p.sjchocmtr/y.slic inquiry oflearning. Ncw York: Statc Univcrsity of New York I'rcss. ( irecnc, Maxi~ic.(1995). Releasing the imagination: K.v.suy.s on duculion. the crrts. und soc*iulchtrnge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publislias. I;ouci~ult,Michcl (1990;: /fislory r~.swuulity.(Vol. I) (Kobcrl I lurlcy Trans.). New York: Vintagc Itooks (Original work published in French 1070) I;oucauIt, Micl~cl.(1995). Di.scipline~md~~unish: The hit./hr?fthcl)rison. Ncw York: Ilantlom I louse (Original work publishul 1975) I l ucbricr, Ilwaync. ( 1999). 7he lurr t~l'thetranscendent: (,'ol/cc:fed essuy.s ly I > n ~ ~ y I<. nc~ t1uehnc.r (Vikki H illis cd., William F. Pinar collected ant1 in~rociuccd).Mi~hwah.NJ: Lawrcncc lirlbaum Associalcs. i;lgod.~inski.,ii111.(2002). 'rhc c~hicsof the "rcal" in I.cvitias, I.acan, antl Itutltlhism: I'alagogical implications. Educ:trtional 7'heory. 52 ( 1 ), X 1-90. .lung. Carl (i. (1964). Approaching thc unconscious. 111Carl (i. Jung (Ed.), Mun and his sytnboLs(pp. 1-94). London, IJK: Aldus Books. Krislcvil, Julia. (I 984). Revolution inpoefic language(Margarc1 Wallcr Trans.). Ncw York: Columhii~Univcrsity I'ress. (Original work publishcd 1974). Kristcva, Julia. (1991). Sfrangers to ou~relves(Lcon S. Koudicz Trans.). New York: <:olumbi;l Univcrsity Prcss. Krislcva, Juliir. (1996). Julia Kri.stevcr: 1ntetview.s. New York: (lolumbia Univcrsity I'rcss. I .cvil~as,limmanoel. (1 96 1). l'ofalify tcnd infinify: An cssuy on c*.rteriori/y. 'Trims. A. Linyis. Piltsbtlrgh, !'A: Duqucsnc univ&?iity Press. I'in;~r.WilIia111F., Reynolds, Williiim M., Slattery, Patrick, C 'I'aubman, Pctcr M. ( 1995). 0ndo:srrrnding c!urrictrlum: An introduction lo the study c~fhistorictrltrnd t:ontt?tnporuty crnrr.icr~lucndi.scourscs. New York: Pcter La~lg. Wmg, I longyu. (1997). Curriculuni as polyphonic authoring: A pcdagogy through thc "loophole." Joztrnal of Curric:ul~rtnTheorizing, 13 (4), 20-24. Wang. I longy~r.(2004). 'I'heculljiom thestranger on ujortrncy hocne: Cur+iculum in u third .sp:l.'trc.c.Ncw York: Petcr Lang. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.