The Grapist Revisited

I apologize for the lack of blogging last week! When I wasn’t involved in personal body safety puppet shows on the coast I was part of two spectacular awareness day events for high school students. My topic in the high schools, naturally, was sexual assault. As I typically do, I discussed the societal roots of sexual violence, dispelled myths about rape, and played this video:

I use The Grapist as a teaching tool. To see how I break it down, check out one of my earliest blogs: The Grapist

When you’re talking about sexual assault with high school students you have to be prepared for the interesting things that can (and will) happen. I wasn’t prepared for what happened Thursday afternoon. My first two sessions were excellent. One alert student totally got my point when I asked, “Does The Grapist make fun of rape?” His response was, “It depends on your perspective.” Talk about foreshadowing (you’ll see what I mean in a minute)!

So, like I was saying, the first two groups were awesome. My afternoon group? It was just awful! Turns out that word of The Grapist video spread during the lunch break and people started watching it before arriving for the third session. So, when that third group came in, they just wanted to watch The Grapist! Since the video doesn’t come until the end of the presentation, my message was, largely, lost.

::sidebar:: In hindsight, I should have said, “Now, if you’re good, we’ll have time for our video” like I do with elementary school kids… Oh wait! I don’t have to do that with elementary school kids! Sad…

Disappointed in the lack of participation and attention the students displayed, I reluctantly showed The Grapist. That’s when I realized something startling… the students in the third group laughed more, louder, and at different times than the previous students.

Now, I’m the kind of person who likes to think that things happen for a reason. In all honesty, something wonderful did come out of this experience. I saw proof that my message usually does have a positive impact and is, truly, changing peoples’ perspectives.

Talkback: I challenge you to watch The Grapist and see if you can guess where each group did and didn’t laugh. Some are easier to spot than others! i.e. “Look what she’s wearing?!”