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Back to the
films discussion
Suggestions
for using film in the classroom
from Wendy Wilson
-Presentation outline
-Films for world history
-Films for American history
Presentation
at the National Council for
the Social Studies
History on the Screen:
Using Feature Films in American
or World History Classes
Presenter:Wendy Wilson, Lexington Public
Schools, Lexington, MA. 02421
email: wwilson@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
I. Why Use a Moving Image source at all
in teaching history?
II. Why use a feature film?
III. Frameworks for using Feature Films:
Film as a factual record of the past
examples: Return of Martin Guerre, All Quiet on the Western
Front, A Bridge Too Far, Gandhi, Glory
Film to convey historical atmosphere
examples: Tale of Two Cities, Oliver, The Last Valley, Cromwell,
Germinal, Hester Street, The Patriot, Grapes of Wrath
Film as an analogy or allegory
examples: Khartoum, Soldier Blue, Nasty Habits
Film as a lesson in historiography
examples: Lion in Winter, Dances With Wolves, Braveheart
Film with Multiple Uses/Meanings- example:
Alexander Nevsky
IV. How to use a Feature Film in teaching
History
Always preview film first for appropiateness
You do not have to show entire film -- DVD's make it easy to
"sample"
As an enrichment activity
Tie film to instruction in order to conform to copyright laws
V. Critical Viewing/Visual Literacy while
viewing Feature Films
To make history logical and to conform to a limited time span,
films often do the following:
-collapse the number of character and events (or even create
totally fictional ones) through which the action takes place.
-telescope the duration of time and the time between events.
-over-rationalize and over-simplify the motives, events, and
results.
-pay more attention to the accuracy of visual details than on
historical accuracy. ("they got the shoes right!")
-cast motivations, characters, and events in familiar, often
stereotypical molds as a kind of shorthand to insure viewer comprehension.
-show historical characters as too well manicured and clean.
Suggested Films for World
History Units
Prehistory and the Origins of Civilization
Documentaries
Ancient Greece
Film: Ulysses (1955)
Ancient Rome
Film: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
The Middle Ages
Film: The Lion in Winter (1968)
The Renaissance
Film: The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
The Reformation
Film: A Man for All Seasons (1966)
The Crises of the 17th Century
Film: Cromwell (1970)
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Film: Napoleon (1927)
The Industrial Revolution
Film: Germinal (1993)
Imperialism
Film: Zulu Dawn (1979)
World War I
Film: All Quiet on the Western
Front (1930)
The Russian Revolution
Film: Nicholas and Alexandra
(1971)
The World Between the Wars: The Decline
of Colonialism
Film: Gandhi (1982)
The Holocaust
Film: Conspiracy (2001)
World War II
Film: A Bridge Too Far (1977)
World War II: The Home Front
Film: Hope and Glory (1987)
The End of the Twentieth Century
Film: Xui-Xui: The Sent Down Girl (1998)
Suggested Feature Films for
American History Units
The Colonial Experience
Film: Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1986)
The American Revolution
Film: The Patriot (2000)
The Expansion of the New Nation
Film: Amistad (1997)
The Civil War
Film: Glory (1989)
The West
Film: Dances with Wolves (1990)
The Immigrant Experience
Film: Hester Street (1975)
World War I
Film: Shoulder Arms
(1918)
The Twenties
Film: Matewan (1987)
The Great Depression
Film: The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
World War II
Film: Air Force (1943)
The Cold War
Film: Dr. Strangelove or:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The Civil Rights Movement
Film: The Long Walk Home (1991)
Life in the Fifties and Sixties
Film: American Graffiti
(1972)
The Vietnam War
Documentaries
The End of the Twentieth Century
Film: Nightbreaker (1988)
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