As an actor, an improv artist, and a teacher of high school English, Jim has steadfast opinions regarding literacy. In fact, one form of literacy impacts all three of his pursuits: cultural literacy. Foley asserts that artists must keep abreast of what is happening by considering all information that one can assimilate. Authors Selfe and Hawisher (2014) agree, “We could not hope to understand any literacy or language use – print or digital – until we understood the complex social and cultural ecology, both local and global, within which literacy practices are situated” (p.188).

 

Foley contends that the wealth of information available via digital literacies makes today’s audience knowledgeable, and aware of the current climate. He asserts, more than once, that one cannot “do art in a vacuum.” This is reflected in his improvisational performances, where audience members shout out characters, occupations, or situations pertaining to current events. The improv troupe must utilize these “shout-outs” within their performance. Their enactments reflect what Linda Brodkey describes as “cultural ‘tropes,’ and thus, serve as ‘cultural Rorschachs’ that provide a historically situated snapshot of what specific cultures and subcultures mean by literacy’ (as ctd. In Selfe and Hawisher, 2014, p. 193).

 

Trebuchet, an online magazine, a platform for non-fiction writers, and a venue for writing about “cultural intersections,” presented an article that discusses a study by Ohio State University. The topic centers around Bertolt Brecht’s often quoted argument: “Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it” (as ctd. In Trebuchet, 2012). The study infers that experience-taking is more effective than perspective-taking. So, the author asserts that artists should find their hammers; art should be experienced. Through the ages, art can be seen as rhetorical. Connecting it to the climate of the time gives it meaning. James Foley seems to be making this connection --

using comedy and improvisation as his hammer.