Why make a webseries in Latin?
Recently, I have been posting five minute episodes of a bizarre, essentially plot-less miniseries to the YouTube channel I share with my friend and teacher, Mr. Borri. I am well aware of the artistic failings of this venture. We are not particularly good actors. I film with my smartphone. Sometimes I forget to use a proper microphone and don’t bother to rerecord. The project is not a particularly serious one from the perspective of cinematography, nor to I care much.
My goal is not to become famous for my nonexistent filmmaking skills but to create something similar to dialogues or short videos I have found in courses for modern languages, albeit with something resembling a plot to encourage people to keep watching. Alas, I have not decided what that plot should be, aside from perhaps involving a love triangle (we shall see). Although the plot, whatever it might turn out to be, isn’t the point of this very goofy project.
I wish to demonstrate the use of authentic Latin words and phrases, many of which are drawn from the authors themselves (particularly Plautus, whom I have been reading lately, and Apuleius), through a fictional story set in a familiar, contemporary context which is, it must be said, significantly cheaper that attempting to film an existing work which requires us to build a vast historically accurate Roman city or even something out of the Renaissance, which would require expensive costumes.
Written dialogues certainly exist, as do plays, and indeed in much better Latin than I am able to produce, even with the help of Mr. Borri. There are already dramatic readings of such works on YouTube. Yet I hoped that by taking matters a step further and creating something resembling a television series, with (eventually) a larger cast of characters with different personalities, many props, multiple locations, and so on, so that any words the viewer had not heard before watching the series will stick more firmly in the memory. I hope that by showing various objects in the videos and incorporating them into the dialogue, their Latin names remain with the viewer. The second episode, in which I name many items of clothing while waving them around in a goofy manner, is a particularly obvious example of this. I also hope that the humor or silliness of the videos will make them and, by extension, the words or phrases found within, significantly more memorable. Things which provoke emotion tend to be more memorable and I would prefer to provoke pleasant emotions, such as amusement.
In the videos, I chose to include mentions of modern items of clothing, for example, and technology, to teach the sort of modern words one might wish to know in order to speak Latin in the classroom context. Obviously these words are less important. I’m not sure if they are worth memorizing. If people are going to be speaking Latin even in a mere classroom context, it is helpful for them to know them, but maybe the focus should be elsewhere.
It must be said, I struggle with the levity of this project. Latin is learned for the purpose of reading literature. The best way to learn Latin well is to read as much as possible, ideally while paraphrasing what one has read out loud in a discussion group or with a tutor. Writing and speaking are not generally the goals of learning Latin, but both a method and side affect of gaining a deep knowledge of the language. Listening is very helpful, but it is much better to listen to the authors themselves, for example the letters of Cicero which I have recorded myself reading for my own private study. I’m not sure if I am wasting time that could be spent reading by creating these videos. Thus, I don’t know for how long I will continue to produce them.
We shall see!