Escapism

Today we began talking about escapism during the Great Depression - mentally removing yourself from reality into an imaginative state. We talked about a bunch of different forms of escapism but focused mostly on famous movies of the 1930s.

To help organize their thoughts on the movies, I made a handout/worksheet that had columns for setting, characters, plot, year released and so on. We talked about Gone with the Wind, It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Wizard of Oz, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Before we started talking about escapism, I passed out the worksheet with "Escapism of the Great Depression" written on the top.

Right away:
Student: You spelled escapade wrong.
Me: No, it says escapism.
S: I see that, but you spelled escapade wrong - it's supposed to say escapade.
M: Sorry, but no. It says escapism for a reason. It's supposed to.
S: Escapade and escapism are the same thing. You should have written escapade. Escapade is like escape - getting whisked away somewhere. So that's supposed to say escapade. You did it wrong.
M: The two aren't the same thing. We're going to be talking about escapism today and what that really means.
S: Escapism isn't a word - it sounds like something that you made up. It should say escapade.
M: Escapism is different from escapade, and it is a real word.
S: Oh, then what is escapism? Why was it part of the Great Depression?
M: That's what we're doing today.
-- then the class started.