How to Teach History Through Movies
- 1). Choose an appropriate film for your study of history and begin by explaining a brief background to the time surrounding the film. Never begin a film without a background lecture going into it, assign reading or have a class discussion on the topic ahead. For example, before watching Robert Mulligan's "To Kill a Mockingbird," discuss the antebellum history after the Civil War and lead into the civil rights era.
- 2). Ask the students to take notes during the film to remind them that it is an assignment and that they are in fact learning something. Pause the film every 30 minutes to ask if there are any questions.
- 3). Choose films made in a time period as well as movies based on a time period. For example, when teaching about the Cold War, movies made in the 1950s can be just as effective as movies based on the 1950s. Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" is a cinematic example of a Cold War-based film on theme and plot and effectively shows the national scare of nuclear fallout. However, many Western films of the time period such as Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon" are just as effective at understanding the cultural impact of the Cold War even though they do not directly portray the Cold War. Ask questions relating to "why would this film be made at this time?" and make reference to relevant sources and contemporary events that parallel the film's making. Understanding that the rise of lone-warrior cowboy heroes is an allegory of the American role as a "cold warrior" is just as effective as watching a film themed on the space race.
- 4). Have a class discussion based on the facts and fiction of the film. A great exercise for any level student (whether grade school or college) is to have the students maintain a list of fact and fiction during the film. More often than not a Hollywood film contains fabrications not true to history; however, this does not make the film useless, as catching historical fallacies can be just as beneficial as recognizing historical facts. For example, in Oliver Stone's 2004 movie "Alexander," there are myriad blatant historical misrepresentations; however, there are also many beneficial scenes such as the recreation of a Macedonian phalanx in battle. Have the students make lists and compare those lists after the film to find out who spotted the most fact and fiction.
- 5). Assign relevant questions or essay topics based on the historical happenings in the film and not on the plot. The plot and characters of a film should and can be used as examples, as should other secondary research sources, but they should not be the main focus. Ask questions concerning what other events were happening in the time period and what specific historical events take place in the movie. The focus of the exercise is the history, not on the cinematography or acting. Treat the film as a source, and have the students supplement or question it using other relevant historical sources.
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