I wanna talk about my new guilty pleasure- those cloying inspirational videos from Dhar Mann and the like. These things are like the social media digital versions of an EC Comic. They're full of melodrama. The antagonists in their actions are beyond reproach. And there's always a twist ending that is completely unexpected. I think it's the twist ending that keeps me watching. I'm always trying to figure those plot twists out like it's an Encyclopedia Brown mystery. Though, the horrible acting and bad dialogue might have something to do with it as well.
I was first introduced to Dhar Mann by my Culinary I students. We were discussing good customer service and what not to do with a rude customer when several of them asked me if I had ever heard of Dhar Mann. Knowing my love of comics, I thought they were trying to waste class time by talking about an unrelated subject. But it turns out that Dhar Mann's videos actually can help teens make connections with the culinary industry.
I'm all for alternatives to traditional educational procedures in order to make a connection with my students. Thanks to them, I learned that Dhar Mann Studios's YouTube channel of shorts covers all kinds of life lessons. From rude customers to hosts being racists or ageist at the customers, I can actually show these videos in class and get some sort of reaction. As much as my students laugh at the over-the-top acting and dialogue that sounds like it's written by an undercover cops trying to buy weed from a bunch of high schoolers, my students will actually provide some well thought out feedback.
The studio that bears the name of the entrepreneur Dhar Mann isn't the only manufacturer of such videos. There's Paradigm Studios, REIDframed and something called Storytrender. There's a varying degree of quality to them. I actually think Paradigm is better. They just don't have the catalog of Dhar Mann.
Like Dhar Mann, the videos from all these franchises all have sensational headlines like 'Karen is Rude to the Wrong Customer' and I guess you can call them all a sort of video click bait. They all seem to capture the attention of today's teens. And I have to admit that I'm guilty of giving my fair share of clicks to these vids. Especially now that I discovered that they're now available on Facebook Reels. Yet, I also can't deny the almost hypnotic effect that they have on high school students. Next year, I intend to start adding some of these to my lesson plans.
I can use all the help I can get to capture just a few minutes of today's teens. Especially when in the classroom setting. My teaching just can't capture a Gen Zers attention like their phones can. So, it can't hurt to try... No matter how corny these mini morality plays are.
