It's Oh So Quiet (Music Video)

“Earlier in my career as a teacher, I would keep a few activities on standby for those days--usually Fridays, natch--where it was clear we had all hit a wall and needed a break from the usual. Showing the Spike Jonze video for Björk's rendition of "It's Oh So Quiet" (1995) and then having a discussion around the broadest prompt possible of "What does this mean?" (must cite "textual evidence" to support your claim!) was a slam-dunk sure thing (okay, fine, usually sure thing) to pull us up from the mid-semester doldrums (while still touching on core standards..seriously!). It had been a favorite music video from MTV's rotation when I was younger, so I figured it was incumbent upon me as an educator to pass along the joy and the knowledge. Student interpretations of the video's meaning have ranged from rediscovering a sense of wonder in life to casting off societal norms imposed upon women and just about everything in-between (and, occasionally, also from miles away); from a take as uncomplicated as Björk rejoicing after her mechanic informed her she didn't need to get that repair done on her car after all, to one as deep-sigh inevitable as suggesting that her edible was hitting. On more than one occasion someone would propose that we should recreate the video's full choreo sequence, costumes and all, for our final assignment that semester. That made a great segue for when I could step out of those brief 30 minutes of being "a fun teacher" and assign the next chapters to read for homework.”