Connecting to the Future
History & Hollywood
***Excuse my notes for this blog. I felt it more appropriate to just write down my thoughts as I was reading, in an attempt to keep my thoughts fresh. I thought it was the best way to get my “unedited” points across in the blog. ***
The two history films I remember watching in class, although there were plenty, are Thirteen Days and Platoon. I watched Thirteen Days in high school. My U.S. History teacher, Ms. Ryan, used to have Saturday school, which was optional. It was a way for her to cover topics she couldn’t thoroughly complete in class. Often time she would show films, film clips, audio clips, etc. I remember this film in particular because I was having a hard time remembering facts about the Cuban Missile Crisis, during John F. Kennedy’s time in office. We watched the movie and answered questions and critiqued the film, how Stoddard and Marcus suggest films should be used. After that lesson I had a much easier time remembering and recalling facts about that event. I viewed Platoon, while I was an undergraduate taking a course about the Vietnam War. Professor Shanley would show clips before class and present the lesson. On the last day of class he showed the film. In his class I think he used the film more as a grabber to get our attention for the lesson of the day.
Before we can hope for our students to be able to think historically, I think we must make sure our students are engaged and interested in learning the material. I believe that without “grabbing” a student’s attention they often fall by the waist side, drifting away in a day dream or doodling on a sheet of paper while we try to present a lesson. Film, that include a diverse cast, allows students to get different perspectives other than those presented in textbooks and gives them, especially for minority students, someone to relate to; making the learning experience something they can feel apart of. I have always had an interest in History and learning about my past and the past of others but I have also witnessed a majority of my minority classmates feel disconnected between what they were learning and what they were exposed to on a daily basis. There were plenty of times in class when I would hear a classmate disrupt the class and say “why do I need to learn about this,” or “what does this have to do with me.” The “right” films can get students involved and engaged in the learning process. By “right” I mean a film that represents all groups that were involved in that particular time in history. Although those may be hard to find, film I believe is a good tool to create critical think and historical thinking of the past and relate it to the present. Now, with that said Stoddard and Marcus make a good argument about how we, as educators, chose and use films in the classroom.
Burden of Historical Representation
I feel that the process they want teachers to follow when choosing a film should be the same process a teacher or a school uses to choose a textbook. We have that problem where students believe everything they read and hear in school and few, if any, question what their teacher or the textbook tells them as truth. Omitting or exaggerating information in films can have the same effect as a textbook. Students won’t be able to question and research the truth for themselves. Why would they question a film that has, what seems to be, accurate accounts of the past? After reading this article it is sad to see how much of an issue race still is. The fact that students of color are limited, in the classroom at least, in finding out how their history truly played out is appalling. I think it is our job as educators to teach our students of color the contributions their ancestors made and stop feeding them a washed down or “student friendly” version of the truth. And by students of color I mean African American, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, etc. I also think it’s the job of the politicians and stakeholders to realize that what we teach in the class needs to connect and be relatable to our students. We need more support from them to feel comfortable and safe that we can effectively teach students the truth about racism, classism, sexism, etc, without worrying about the ramifications of bringing up such topics. If we are to critique the films we use in class, as Stoddard and Marcus suggest, I think that critique should be extended to cover all material presented in class.
The two history films I remember watching in class, although there were plenty, are Thirteen Days and Platoon. I watched Thirteen Days in high school. My U.S. History teacher, Ms. Ryan, used to have Saturday school, which was optional. It was a way for her to cover topics she couldn’t thoroughly complete in class. Often time she would show films, film clips, audio clips, etc. I remember this film in particular because I was having a hard time remembering facts about the Cuban Missile Crisis, during John F. Kennedy’s time in office. We watched the movie and answered questions and critiqued the film, how Stoddard and Marcus suggest films should be used. After that lesson I had a much easier time remembering and recalling facts about that event. I viewed Platoon, while I was an undergraduate taking a course about the Vietnam War. Professor Shanley would show clips before class and present the lesson. On the last day of class he showed the film. In his class I think he used the film more as a grabber to get our attention for the lesson of the day.
Before we can hope for our students to be able to think historically, I think we must make sure our students are engaged and interested in learning the material. I believe that without “grabbing” a student’s attention they often fall by the waist side, drifting away in a day dream or doodling on a sheet of paper while we try to present a lesson. Film, that include a diverse cast, allows students to get different perspectives other than those presented in textbooks and gives them, especially for minority students, someone to relate to; making the learning experience something they can feel apart of. I have always had an interest in History and learning about my past and the past of others but I have also witnessed a majority of my minority classmates feel disconnected between what they were learning and what they were exposed to on a daily basis. There were plenty of times in class when I would hear a classmate disrupt the class and say “why do I need to learn about this,” or “what does this have to do with me.” The “right” films can get students involved and engaged in the learning process. By “right” I mean a film that represents all groups that were involved in that particular time in history. Although those may be hard to find, film I believe is a good tool to create critical think and historical thinking of the past and relate it to the present. Now, with that said Stoddard and Marcus make a good argument about how we, as educators, chose and use films in the classroom.
Burden of Historical Representation
I feel that the process they want teachers to follow when choosing a film should be the same process a teacher or a school uses to choose a textbook. We have that problem where students believe everything they read and hear in school and few, if any, question what their teacher or the textbook tells them as truth. Omitting or exaggerating information in films can have the same effect as a textbook. Students won’t be able to question and research the truth for themselves. Why would they question a film that has, what seems to be, accurate accounts of the past? After reading this article it is sad to see how much of an issue race still is. The fact that students of color are limited, in the classroom at least, in finding out how their history truly played out is appalling. I think it is our job as educators to teach our students of color the contributions their ancestors made and stop feeding them a washed down or “student friendly” version of the truth. And by students of color I mean African American, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, etc. I also think it’s the job of the politicians and stakeholders to realize that what we teach in the class needs to connect and be relatable to our students. We need more support from them to feel comfortable and safe that we can effectively teach students the truth about racism, classism, sexism, etc, without worrying about the ramifications of bringing up such topics. If we are to critique the films we use in class, as Stoddard and Marcus suggest, I think that critique should be extended to cover all material presented in class.
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