A Conversation Between Strangers on the Train

A Rough Transcript:

JaVonna: Is that an iPhone?
Abby: Yeah.
JaVonna: Oh, do you like it?
Abby: Yeah, I do. A lot of people don’t, because they say it’s not compatible with certain email servers, but I don’t have any problems with that. Sometimes it’s a little slow, though.
JaVonna: Is it hard to text?
Abby: No, see- you just touch this and the letters pop up. It’s pretty easy.
JaVonna: But you can’t feel the buttons? I text when I drive, I know I shouldn’t. I’ve got a Razor; I know what the buttons feel like.
Abby: Yeah, that would be dangerous because you really have to look to find the letters. You can’t feel them at all with a touch screen.
JaVonna: Does it come with a stylus? I’m looking for a new phone.
Abby: Umm?
JaVonna: You know, to text with? Isn’t it hard to use if you’ve got long nails? (Shows perfectly manicured, very long, fake nails).
Abby: Oh! I don’t think it comes with that. My nails are usually pretty short, so I’m not sure. But if you’re looking for a new phone, you should check it out, anyway. The new one that’s coming out is supposed to be about half the price and three times as fast as this one.
JaVonna: For real? What do you need for that, AT&T?
Abby: Yeah.
JaVonna: Cool, I’m looking at the Dare- the whole outer face is touch screen, but there’s a keyboard inside, too. It’s got free incoming.
Abby: Cool.
JaVonna: Alright, thanks.
Abby: No problem!


The participants of this dialogue were an African American woman in her mid- to late twenties and myself. I took a seat next to her on the New York City-bound Metro North train from New Haven, Connecticut. I am reading this conversation from the perspective of a North American, middle-class, twenty-eight year old, well-educated, Caucasian woman. Within this reflection, I am critiquing a dialogue of which I contributed to, and in effect, I become both the ‘reader’ and the ‘writer.’ This is a unique viewpoint for me.

After having this conversation with JaVonna, I was struck by the disconnection that I had with her question regarding the stylus. I know what a stylus is, but had no idea as to why a touch-screen cell phone would require one. This bewilderment must have shown on my face, because JaVonna was compelled to explain her question, while showing me her nails. I realize that this moment of confusion was a result of the difference between JaVonna’s Discourse and my own. I get manicures fairly often, but my nails are always kept short and rounded, with one solid color. I believe JaVonna’s nails were ‘wraps,’ or false. They were long and curving downward, with squared tips. I don’t quite remember the hue, but I noticed that each nail had tiny designs painted towards the top. I have always been opposed to having wraps put on my nails; I feel that it would convey an invalid message about my culture. Long nails are not something that I value, or regard as being of high importance; however, JaVonna might have felt marginalized by my response and by the prospect of a cell phone that is marketed without a stylus. If this is something that the Apple Corporation did not consider, then they are excluding quite a large audience for their product. In effect, the company (and my side of the dialogue) empowers most men, as well as women of cultural groups that view very long nails as highly significant.

This leads me to wonder about other passengers on the train, who may have been listening in on our conversation. People who might feel most comfortable engaging within this discourse would probably be of middle- to upper class, or of a socioeconomic status that would allow them to afford a more expensive cell phone. Those excluded from this dialogue may include citizens of underdeveloped countries, or individuals who have not received a higher education. Those who are very knowledgeable and interested in the new technology of cell phones would certainly have a great deal more to contribute to the dialogue than those who don’t, leading me to believe that this conversation also marginalizes senior citizens.

Individuals such as JaVonna, who are knowledgeable within the field of cell phone technology, must truly value instant access to communication. On both sides of the discourse, this notion is portrayed as the norm. The cues that lead me to this belief are the high concern about text messages. While ‘texting,’ one can send and receive messages at almost any given time. JaVonna’s devotion to communicating with friends, family, and work colleagues comes in the way of her own safety: she admits to using the text feature while driving (which is both illegal and dangerous). Instant access to communication is important to many people, but not everyone views it as essential; or have much of a background knowledge of the new science that provides it. I think this may reflect cultural differences, which crosses both generational and socially embedded gaps.

For example, while my eighty-year old grandmother might be interested in looking at new phones to learn what they do, I’m sure that she would feel disconnected while listening to our conversation. My grandmother, and most others who are of her generation, have not used text messaging as a form of literacy. This may be for a variety of reasons, one of which being that text messaging is a relatively new tool for communication. It is a medium for the younger culture. In order to participate within this practice, one must be somewhat dexterous (to accurately press the intended letter buttons), thus making it difficult for citizens of very old generations to use. The lifestyle represented by this dialogue is that of the fast-paced, young, financially successful North American.

Lori's Comments:

I enjoyed your conversation on the train and your textual analysis of it. I wonder about how often we do not even consider how we privilege certain abilities and access to such technology. I now do belong to a group that feels fairly comfortable online and communicating with social networking sites. I just recently had a conversation with a slightly older cousin breaking how a certain social networking site works for her to understand what her kids are doing there.

How would you use such textual analysis of conversations or other texts with your students? How would you have them analyze their assumptions?

Response:

I teach fourth grade, and I think that my students would really benefit from having a shared class experience, which might drive the point that any given text makes assumptions regarding the reader.  I can only imagine how my grandmother may have felt if she were sitting on the train next to me: possibly inadequate, marginalized, or maybe even a bit lonesome within the mindset that everyone else around her is 'in the know.'  Keeping this in mind, I think it would be interesting to script a short reader's theater.  It could be a conversation between two people within a specific context which is unfamiliar to the class.  A few students (or teachers) would 'act out' the dialogue, and then we'd assess our feelings as listeners. 

For example, I might take a dialogue from ER or Grey's Anatomy- it would have to be rich in medical terminology.  I'd ask my students to envision themselves as doctors, and imagine that they will be expected to contribute to the conversation.  The two or three actors would read the text, which would be full of unknown vocabulary and references to things that most people (who are not in the medical profession) have never heard of.  Then I'd ask for volunteers to respond.  I'd most likely receive a room full of raised eyebrows and blank stares.  We could launch this experience into a discussion regarding the assumptions of the text, and how it made the 'readers' feel.  This is an authentic experience that would serve as a good example to support future lessons regarding critical literacy.