Education through Movies - Essay Example

Overview As globalization has lessened the boundaries of communication, contacting within region or across countries become more quickly, easily and affordably. In communicating between different cultures, there is inevitable conflict, as the world is diversified by race, gender, social class and ethnicity. These issues need to be addressed and placed on high priority as they are sensitive as the differing attitudes in life pursuits often emerge as the causes for socio-cultural struggle. Media has since been proliferating and still growing in providing substantial influence to the way values and knowledge are gathered. The assembling and interpretation of information permeating through media power appear to have evolved into popular culture (Giroux, 2002). Human, thus begin to apply social meanings from the way messages are delivered by movie makers. At times there were debates on whether cinematic experiences ought to be perceived as entertainment instead of educational component. However this notion becomes critically challenged when what is seen as popular and prominent genres from Hollywood studios such as sex, power and intimacy resonates with real-life desires or anticipations. Among some, the prevailing issues of gender, class and racism are nevertheless at the top consideration list when box-office profits are concerned. To name a few, films like Norma Rae, Schindler’s List, Far From Heaven and Waiting to Exhale warranted merits on their entrenching themes that ingeniously depicted historical and contemporary social dilemmas. There are various factors in which these successes are founded. Firstly, films act as essential tool in disseminating characteristics, values and information, be it cultural or gender-based (Shefrin, 2003). Along with the storylines, they unveil many implicit issues which we may have failed to acknowledge or rather chose to remain oblivious in our everyday encounters. In the process of apprehending the show’s contents, we experienced, be made aware or even learn to empathize through the informal lessons or other challenging issues hidden. Furthermore movies proffer a powerful artistic experience. Possibly for these reasons alone they are effective education utensils that require careful analysis of each film’s psychological concepts and thus help spectators engage in critical thinking. Hence, when studied carefully, film provides us with pertinent elements of knowledge within the realm of social education. Education through Movies Addressing the complex issues of class, ethnicity, race and gender in a classroom encompasses a large subject area that a teacher’s knowledge base can only supplement. To know the entire history of a country and analyze why discrimination existed and how the generations past overcame them entails in-depth research into history, geography, psychology and politics. A picture is worth a thousand words and may be more. And films on race, class, ethnicity and gender can be used as tools for learning from happenings of the past, helping them to understand history better. The visual media becomes an effective chronicler of history, though with additional elements of fiction added to it to keep the audience. The fiction can be separated from fact, and the life and times of characters involved can be compared to the real life of people in a particular period in history. Central themes of movies are identified, relevant questions are noted down, the historical perspective is researched upon and a movie is dissected thoroughly to explore issues of discrimination that a class might be dealing with. An analysis of sample movies Truth is often stranger than fiction. And the debate has been going on forever – is the media reflecting the society or the society reflecting the media? Look at ‘All the President’s Men’ or the ‘Fahrenheit 9\11’, both movies that reflect the US government policies; one is based on true incidents, while the other is inspired from a true incident. Or look at promotional or awareness documentaries, which focus on a specific problem and target a particular audience. Or even family movies like ‘Moms on Strike’, that though fictional, portray a relevant issue in the society. Every director has a goal in mind when he sets about making a movie. It could be profit, be promotion or social development. The film has been a powerful media that has been exploited by makers to make a point. Each director tries to bring years of research into the forefront, make it a movie and tell the audience how things are in the society. So far, movies that have brought to light dormant issues in the society have not just received much acclaim from the critics, but have been major hits at the box office also. ‘The Bridge Across the River Kwai’ is still considered a classic. Set in the World War II scenario, this film sketches the struggles of British prisoners of war in a Japanese camp and won seven Academy awards out of eight nominations. Many English films have predominantly dealt with themes of race, class, ethnicity and gender- films that have grappled audiences and forced them to look at issues which they would have otherwise conveniently ignored. There are powerful movies in other languages also, which address these concerns in ways that would drive the truth home. ‘Bandit Queen’ in the Indian language Hindi is an example, and deals with the dacoit gangs in one of the deep jungles in north India. It is essentially a women-centric movie, and the lady leader’s tragedies depicted in the movie are inspired from true life incidents. The real-life dacoit was shot down in front of her house by rival groups a couple of years ago. Also, though inspired from a book, the legendary ‘Godfather’ is a deep insight into how the mafia functions in the United States and gained much acclaim from critics as a contemporary movie. ‘The Truman Show’ from Peter Weir starring Jim Carrey is a powerful social satire, and a striking example of this genre. The film depicts representative characters that seen today, but seldom realize how much men and women today resemble the characters in the movie. It concerns the grip of the media in the American society and has humourously depicted the couch potatoes who are totally engrossed in the illusions of the television media. It is yet another educational movie, though very subtle in the messages it has to convey at times and at others, strikingly revealing. The influence media has on today’s society, and the citizens’ faith in the truth of whatever appears on air, is something almost unworthy of the rational, logical thinking that mankind is proud of. The movie analyzes the effect of the visual images and how a good percentage of the viewer ship is content just to watch and enjoy rather than strike out against the injustice done to one man. Jim Carrey plays Truman, who is born and brought up in a gigantic TV studio without his knowledge and the all the men and women around him are actors. The movie has been used in many classes on ‘Media Ethics’ and ‘Media Studies’ classes to analyze the influence of media on the society. The objective of a module on discrimination, most probably will be to create awareness among the students to any patterns that might follow in different types of inequality in the society and also compare the world history to perceive how different nations have treated their citizens during the course of time. This essay deals with five movies that can be effectively used in classrooms to discuss concerns about racial, ethnical, gender and class discriminations in the United States of America. These movies can act as supplements to lectures, discussions and debates in classrooms. A Long Walk from Home The film takes the students right into the African American struggle for equality during the 1950s, when Martin Luther King was inspiring thousands of his fellow men to boycott the American system that was deeply rooted in racial discrimination. The movie is a true-to-life depiction of the attitudes, loyalties and lifestyles of people in the first half of 20th century. It’s about a white woman’s decision to fight for the rights of the black African American population in her city. Despite all odds and stiff resistance from her family, she decides to join the carpool that shuttles the black people during the bus boycott. The movie starts with the arrest of a black woman following her refusal to give up her seat in a bus to a white man. Inspired from real life, where this triggered the famous bus boycott movement under the leadership of King, the movie sets to sketch the the two protagonists of the movie, Miriam Thomson (Sissy Spacek) and her maid Odessa Cotter (Whoopie Goldberg) are torn between duty and equality. The story is set in Montgomery, Alabama, where the discrimination was at its worst, and the Cotter family, inspired by their neighbours, decides to join the bus boycott. The simple offer of picking up and dropping Odessa twice a week changes Miriam Thomson’s life forever; and when she joins Odessa’s neighbours at the carpool headquarters, she crosses the very visible line between right and wrong in her society. The nine mile walk that Odessa takes everyday to reach the Thomsons’ home just so that she can get to work, symbolically represents the kind of commitment it takes for a cause to be won. The film, directed by Richard Pearce and released in 1991, has a strong historic bend to it, and has made a bold attempt at recreating the struggles against discrimination during a particular era. The two families of Thomsons and Cotters provide the powerful contrast that is absolutely necessary; the one family affluent and privileged while the other is caught at the edge between poverty and livelihood. My Family This movie is again about the rampant racism in the United States and traces the lives of three generations of a Mexican family that migrated to America. Getting adjusted to a new country is not easy for the Sanchezs. Jennifer Lopez plays the first Mrs. Sanchez, who makes the difficulty journey from Mexico to California with her husband, pursuing the American dream. Life is not easy for them, during the first half of the 20th century, and as Jose and Maria struggle along, they are careful not to let their dreams die away. A generation later, they see their son not finding it easy either, and the movie takes twists and turns down the alleyways of the family’s small triumphs, big joys, bitter disappointments and personal tragedies. The title is all about the way an immigrant’s mind works, namely his\her ambitions, dreams and plans for the family and how to make them work. It is all about providing a better life for ‘My Family’ anyway. Yet, the portrayal of the underworld and crime and how the once-hardworking Mexican family is drawn into it by their dream for a better life is indeed an eye-opener on the discrimination faced by immigrants during the 1950s. The film is clear about what it wants to convey and splits the narrative into three different segments; chronicles the different periods of American history. MULAN Discrimination often is by gender. Link history with fiction and it can be seen that the protagonist Jo, of ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott, though bright and enterprising, does not attend college, but finds other ways of educating herself. And it is not very long ago that women did not have voting rights. Though an animation movie from Walt Disney Productions, ‘Mulan’ has a strong underlying theme of gender equality and is based on Chinese folklore. Mulan, the heroine of the story is something of a 20th century young girl, completely bold, true to herself and fearless to speak her mind out. The movie depicts the typical Chinese family, who think the right future for their daughter is making a good match. When Mulan's elderly father Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) volunteers, she objects. He warns, "I know my place. It is time you learned yours." (New York Times Movie review). But Mulan has other plans. Absolutely against letting her aged father fight the war against the Huns, steals his drafting to the army and sets off to the war dressed up as a man. Her heroic exploits that has every man awe-struck, is egged on by her guardian dragon and a friendly cricket. Though humorous in many scenes, the storyline is clear- a woman can do all that a man can and much more! This can be an effective comparison between women in American and women in Asia and the similarities and differences in the way they were treated in the different continents. It explores the common myth about a woman’s weakness and perceived inability to excel at anything that involves ingenuity and physical strength. Billy Elliot All about a young boy who decides to pursue what he likes best - which happens to be ballet. The son of a miner, Billy’s passion is understood by few and appreciated by none. Boys are supposed to be boxing or pursuing boisterous pastimes, not wear satin slippers and glide along in a ballet class. The movie by Stephen Daldry starring Julie Walters, Jamie Bell, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Nicola Blackwell, has strong undercurrents of preconceived gender roles that each person carries, even unawares. The movie also strongly depicts the class distinctions that play a central role in deciding gender roles. It is not 2001, but 1984 and the miners are on strike. Society is not broad-minded enough to let each person pursue his\her dreams. People around Billy have definite ideas about what will make him happy, very conveniently overlooking what makes him happy. Very often, when the society determines how a girl should be, it automatically determines how a boy should be. This is very commonly reflected in notions like perceived weakness when boys cry or take care in their appearance. An extended portrayal of the established gender roles has been attempted in Billy Elliot’s love for ballet dancing, which he discovers while innocently on his way to a boxing lesson. Billy realizes he has to fight for his dreams and his passion; convince his family about chasing his dreams, not theirs. Far From Heaven Released in 2002, this is again a movie that is set in the 1950s in United States of America and is about an ideal housewife whose life turns topsy-turvy by one act of unfaithfulness from her husband; with a man at that. Directed by Todd Haynes, the cast includes Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid and Dennis Haysbert and revolves around the unwitting friendship that springs between the housewife and her gardener who is African American. A website on movie reviews comments “An exquisitely designed and performed melodrama, ‘Far From Heaven’ earns its viewers’ tears with sincerity and intelligence’. The movie explores a variety of complex themes that include racial tensions of the period, gender roles and the family concepts of the era. Her friendship with the gardener Raymond takes Cathy nowhere, she thinks, but opens up a hitherto unexplored area of her relationship with husband Frank. When slavery is fiercely fought against in their country, the couple tries to keep their marriage together but fails as the truth about Frank’s preferences come to light. ‘It’s time to stop hiding from the truth’, says a tagline from the movie title, and the trio is caught between duty and honesty. The film portrays the brave steps taken by three people in difficult times and their efforts to be true to themselves despite the concerns of race looming large over them. It has all the elements of a sentimental melodrama, but addresses issues of racial concerns and conveys that it is okay to be friendly with a person who does not have your skin colour. Conclusion The five movies discussed in the essay are representative samples that show how much research goes into a movie production and how they can be used as effective tools to understand race, ethnicity, gender or class. Films can be used to convey messages on social reforms as well as much-needed critic on the society at times. Education in films can be purported to address issues on class, ethnicity, race and gender; the instructors can use the movies as tools for addressing and analyzing issues that are presented in the movie. To make sense of the violence, discrimination and war happening in the world today, films become an excellent platform; a way to analyze critically what has happened and to find ways of approaching discrimination in ways that will completely eradicate it in the future. Links to reviews A Long Walk Home http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=5040 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_n17_v113/ai_18311727 My Family http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/FilmReviews/mi-familia-mcalister http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=133610 MULAN http://www.dvdmoviecentral.com/ReviewsText/mulan.htm http://www.jackasscritics.com/movie.php?movie_key=556 Billy Elliot http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/reviews/billy_elliot.html http://www.splicedonline.com/00reviews/billyelliot.html BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Goodman, S.(2003).Teaching Youth Media: A Critical Guide to Literacy, Video Production, and Social Change. New York. Teachers College Press. Gerster, C., and Zlogar, L. W.  (Eds.).  (2006) Teaching ethnic diversity with film: Essays and resources for educators in history, social studies, literature and film studies.  Lanham, MD: McFarland & Company. Cortes, C. E. (2000) The Children are Watching: How the Media Teach about Diversity. New York: Teachers College Press. Denzin, N.K. (2002). Reading race: Hollywood and the cinema of racial violence. SAGE Publications. Artilces Champoux, E.J. (1999). Film as a teaching resource. Journal of Management Inquiry. Thousand Oaks: Vol. 8, Iss. 2; p. 206 Cinemedia Screen Education Unit (2000). Exploring diversity and difference through the screen Anwary, A. (2003). Teaching about South Asian women through film. Teaching Sociology. Beverly Hills: Vol. 31, Iss. 4; p. 428 Giroux, H.A. (2002). Norma Rae: Character, Class and Culture. In H.A. Giroux (Ed), Breaking in to the movies: Film and the culture of politics. pp 19-28. Blackwell Publishers. Rogers, E.E. (2002). Waiting to Exhale: African-American women and adult learning through movies. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Adult Education Research Conference (43rd, Raleigh, NC, 24-26 May 2002) Simmons,G. (2005). Paradise Lost: Far from Heaven. 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