‘Was this his first ever thought?’: High school kid doesn't understand how movies work and thinks Leo DiCaprio’s version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was a recording of the actual event of the 1500s

You see what teachers have to deal with on a regular basis?

A teacher on Reddit expressed his concern about one of his students for not understanding basic facts of life. On r/StoriesAboutKevin, he explains how they were in English class, watching the 1996 adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, starring Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. One of his students was flabbergasted while staring at the screen, not understanding how it was possible for Leo DiCaprio to be alive during the 1500s, when the original play takes place. The teacher tried in a few different ways to explain that it was a movie, an adaptation of the play, a fictional story, and that Leo is an actor, but the kid never got it, leaving the teacher flabbergasted as well. 

Aside from the obviously hilarious occurrence and how ridiculous some kids can get to be, this sounds strangely worrisome and a little sad. The question is: where are we heading as a society if our younger kids cannot possibly differentiate an actor in a movie from a real person, and a fictional story from a real one? Why did this kid not know how movies work? And how did he not realize it was a modern adaptation of the classic play? They drove cars, for heaven's sake! 

It is a rare case; it doesn't happen often, so probably there's not much reason to be alarmed. But still, it is not alright. I had a teacher who said that "common sense was the least common of senses," and boy, was she right. It's becoming more and more usual to hear, maybe not things like that, but of a similar tone. Obvious things are not obvious anymore, and what we usually treat as common knowledge might not be so common. It makes sense now to hear teachers complaining about having to explain absolutely everything. Yet, we don't want to lose our ability to reason and think critically, even in the most basic of ways. 

Scroll down to read all about the teacher's perspective. How do you think you would have handled the situation?