Not that we have a strong opinion on the topic, but to be a casual English language grammar prescriptivist is to be complicit and prideful in systems that, by nature, devalue cultural and colloquial flexibility in the use of language (lookin’ at you, AAVE) by maintaining that only those selective demographics who have dominated the academy, or been deemed valuable by the academy, have the license to create language to suit their communicative needs — Big Academia only affords the grace of words to the voices of a specific demographic (generally, in the West, the well-educated, affluent and predominantly white members of society). Perform a mic-dropping slam poem highlighting the value of eschewing prescriptivism and embracing dynamic, evolving forms and dialects of grammar. You may not USE any language variance that’s currently in use (like AAVE) to do this item as it may be appropriative or racially or technically insensitive, depending on the speaker… instead, you must perform it in academic English. Hypocritical? Yup.
Videos
Item 118 – 10 Random Acts of Kindness
(MONTAGE – UP TO 2 MINUTES) This year marks the 10th year anniversary of GISH! To celebrate, we’re hosting a GISH blowout anniversary celebration: Complete 10 random acts of kindness. And because the 10 year anniversary is commemorated with ‘tin’, we expect you to be wearing your most fashionable tin(foil) hat as you complete your RAOKs. Get creative (Random Acts has some great ideas!) and compile a video of all your acts. (Different team members may complete the 10 items).
Item 114 – Kris Kringle Protest
Let’s face it, besides being totally real, Santa Claus is our way of preparing kids for a lifetime of annual performance reviews and merit-based bonuses. But the kids have had enough and now they’ve unionized. Show at least one child under 10 on strike at Kris Kringle’s house, protesting the meritocracy and demanding parity in presents for all children.
Item 111 – Tree Stump Speech
Give a stump speech about the dangers of deforestation while standing on (or sitting next to) a tree stump, just the way the Lorax would have done.
Item 105 – Police Brutality Protest Song
(UP TO 60 SECONDS) Write and sing an original protest song about police brutality, and the racist foundations of the United States’ criminal justice system.
Item 102 – Politician Lip Sync
(UP TO 60 SECONDS) Give Sarah Cooper a run for her money lip-syncing Trump or any other politician you think deserves this presidential treatment.
Item 95 – Supernatural Shelter-in-Place
(UP TO 1 MINUTE) The Supernatural final episodes got delayed due to COVID. Show us what Dean, Castiel, and Sam are up to while sheltering in place due to the pandemic.
Item 83 – Blood from a Stone
They say you can’t get blood from a stone. Prove them wrong: draw blood from a stone.
Item 79 – Bagpipe Balloon Inflation
(TIMELAPSE) Use bagpipes to inflate three balloons (over the drones).
Item 71 – Momentous Time in History Interview
(UP TO 2 MINUTES.) Interview someone who was there for a momentous time in history at least 50 years ago: D-day, the dust bowl, Depression bread lines, Pearl Harbor, Woodstock — you get the idea. Check out StoryCorps for examples, and Story Corps Questions for ideas on conversational prompts. #MyGISHStory