Connecting to the Future
Movies in the classroom
I can remember a few movies vividly that I was required to watch in school. One such film was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which I watched in a civics class. This movie taught me about corrupt politics as well as what a filibuster was. It was made in 1939. I looked up Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to see if it was still frequently used in classrooms today and it turns out that in 1989, the Library of Congress added it to the US National Film Registry. They did so because the movie was “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” This movie went through the process of legislation in the Senate as well as all events and persons who have the ability to influence legislation.
Mr. Smith can be used to help students understand the political system and the legislative branch of government. The film is also important because when if first came out it was deemed un-American and down right pro-communist due to its corrupt depiction of the American government. The film was banned from many countries during WWII. Reviewing the background of a movie and what affect the movie had on people could also be helpful in lessons. There are themes that can be determined from the background on the movie as well as the movie and its own historical significance.
One other movie that my Honors US History teacher used in a lecture that will forever stay with me is the Wizard of Oz. Many historians argue that the characters and places in the story by L. Frank Baum and the original art by W.W. Denslow refers to historical events taking place in the United States around the 1890s. Some people believe that the author and the artist were influenced by political cartoons of that era and that is where they gathered their inspiration from. While studying the time period at the turn of the century we focused on progressivism, political machines, and hardships facing the United States. An example is the Tin Man and his need for oil as it was relative to the Standard Oil Company at the time. The Lion was used in political cartoons to depict President Cleveland and even President McKinley as called a Wizard.
A lot of these themes have been studied and researched. The political cartoons by Puck and others depicting characters in the Wizard of Oz prior to the writing of the Wizard of OZ do exist. I would not recommend saying, “Hey we are going to watch the Wizard of Oz because it has some ties to politics at the turn of the century.” My teacher took the movie a step further and let us watch it while we listened to the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album so that we could see how they matched up. I might however, if I wanted to use the film, do the back research on which characters were depicted by who, what the yellow brick road or the Land of Oz were allegories for and use that as a unit long reference. It might be a fun and easy way for my students to recall information.
Mr. Smith can be used to help students understand the political system and the legislative branch of government. The film is also important because when if first came out it was deemed un-American and down right pro-communist due to its corrupt depiction of the American government. The film was banned from many countries during WWII. Reviewing the background of a movie and what affect the movie had on people could also be helpful in lessons. There are themes that can be determined from the background on the movie as well as the movie and its own historical significance.
One other movie that my Honors US History teacher used in a lecture that will forever stay with me is the Wizard of Oz. Many historians argue that the characters and places in the story by L. Frank Baum and the original art by W.W. Denslow refers to historical events taking place in the United States around the 1890s. Some people believe that the author and the artist were influenced by political cartoons of that era and that is where they gathered their inspiration from. While studying the time period at the turn of the century we focused on progressivism, political machines, and hardships facing the United States. An example is the Tin Man and his need for oil as it was relative to the Standard Oil Company at the time. The Lion was used in political cartoons to depict President Cleveland and even President McKinley as called a Wizard.
A lot of these themes have been studied and researched. The political cartoons by Puck and others depicting characters in the Wizard of Oz prior to the writing of the Wizard of OZ do exist. I would not recommend saying, “Hey we are going to watch the Wizard of Oz because it has some ties to politics at the turn of the century.” My teacher took the movie a step further and let us watch it while we listened to the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album so that we could see how they matched up. I might however, if I wanted to use the film, do the back research on which characters were depicted by who, what the yellow brick road or the Land of Oz were allegories for and use that as a unit long reference. It might be a fun and easy way for my students to recall information.
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