The Usage of Films

The power of the image goes much deeper than does the power of the word.

(Tognozzi, 2010, p. 72) As we explore the world of teaching, there are various methods of instruction we can implement to illustrate the learning materials. Film watching is rarely used as it takes a lot of precious time, but extremely valuable to illustrate themes we would usually discuss in a conversation or reading materials. Showcasing specific events, figures, topics, cultures, and races with the help of visual media is a fantastic tool to present the learning material in a compelling way. We can identify with the characters we see in a film more easily as we “inhabit the image of what we see”. With their visual representation they show more than writing does, audio input adds to pronunciation learning, students get familiar with different cultures and people, as well as their traditions, behaviors, and values. “Images do, in fact, let us experience, reflect, and add our subjective experience to them in order to understand their meaning” (Tognozzi, 2010, p. 72).

21 While films show the events, characters, historical happenings, and various storylines, there is more to the films than just the story and characters’ development. Constanzo (1992) claims that “movies are best seen as products of a whole society, reflecting values so ingrained that even those who make and view the films are unaware of them”

(ibid., p. 62). By this, films illustrate the entire society and present different cultures as the producers and directors might not have intentionally intended. For example, a film can include a Black character carrying a gun, being violent or being arrested, and while the intent of the director was not to be racist, it promotes stereotypes which are then ingrained in the minds of the viewers as something ordinary. This furthermore facilitates the negative stereotypes the minorities have been trying to part with for decades.

Keeping these hidden stereotypes in films in mind, students need to be made aware of what to look for while watching films. Showing the film Precious in his classroom, Prof. Brookfield states:

Students watching the film [Precious] for the first time (many watch it more than once) don’t initially see or think about the ways in which dominant ideologies are perpetuated through skin color. For example, all of the heroes in the film are light-skinned people of color. Neither do students reflect on the fact that this particular film celebrates individual acts of compassion but doesn’t attack structural inequities or show paths of resistance.

(Brookfield, 2018, p. 245) Even the film Precious (2009) that celebrates the Black culture, relies on the skin color to differentiate between good and bad characters, albeit the majority of characters being Black, those who are lighter-skinned are claimed to be the protagonists, again indicating that the darker the skin, the less trusted the character should be. Due to these deep-rooted stereotypes and misconceptions, “[m]any students (even students of color) buy into the idea that people of color are more likely to be poor because of personal characteristics or failings – things that they can ostensibly control. So, finding films and other multimedia sources that challenge this idea is critical” (ibid.). Reminding students to stay critical while watching films is crucial for the development of critical thinking and assessment of how films present and harbor racial ideologies and beliefs,

22 which in turn helps to either promote or reduce the stereotypes. Brookfield lists some films which are important to reducing racial stereotypes against Black people and could be used in the classroom to teach about racism and racial injustice: I Am Not Your Negro (2016), Fruitvale Station (2013), Junction 48 (2016), 13th (2016), Which Way Home (2009), and Do the Right Thing (1989). (ibid., p. 245) More of the appropriate films to use during the lesson dealing with racial issues are available in appendix A.

As racial issues have been present in the world for centuries, even millennia, they are definitely topics to be taught in History and Sociology classes, however, as EFL classes deal with not only just literature and grammar, but also the cultural significance and the history of English-speaking countries, themes such as racism and discrimination are to be mentioned during English classes, especially because these issues are still extremely prevalent in English-speaking societies. “History or social studies curricula that use film accounts as a pedagogical tool for inquiry-based learning activities are beneficial for students” (Woelders, 2007, p. 146). The usage of films is important to represent both past and current issues, as well as historical people, because it aids to a better understanding of the topics, eases analysis, and helps to interpret and showcase the problems. It can also provide a break from the repetitive and routine use of textbooks and lectures (ibid., p. 145).

The cinematic representation of events provides an excellent opportunity to compare students’ previous knowledge to what they see in a film; viewing of a film enriches the learning process as students evaluate different acquisitions of information and how they connect to or differ from each other. For example, if the current learning material is slavery in America, students are already familiar with the facts, but viewing a film from the perspective of slaves and how they truly experienced it, students gain a new point of view that can be rarely achieved by traditional materials – textbooks and lectures. The aesthetic, visual and audio inputs provide more information – and despite them being fabricated, they still represent the best insight into the time and space which no longer exist (Weinstein, 2001, Marcus, 2005 and Seixas,1994, as referenced in Woelders, 2007, p. 146).

As students gain the ability to analyze and research the information presented to them through various sources, including films, they also gain the ability to develop

critical-23 thinking skills as well as critical-thinking habits “transfer into their leisure activities, such as watching the latest blockbuster film” (ibid., p. 146). Students learn to examine the information provided to them, by comparing film scenes to real-life events, analyze conflicting sources, and look beyond the surface. As students examine the perspectives of characters and their actions, they can draw their own conclusions, which is easier to do while watching a film due to visual cues and receiving reactions simultaneously as the character’s actions are performed (ibid.).

While racism is a prevalent issue in today’s world, students are not likely to investigate and read about it in-depth on their own. With the recent Black Lives Matter protests in the US, following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, students are surrounded by the Civil Rights Movements, both in school and on social media, as well as on the news, and by protests all over the globe. By exposing students to films dealing with those issues, they do not get overwhelmed by the constant flow of information. By exposing them to films, however, we need to be careful that films offer an accurate and valid representation of the culture, people, events and problems.

Woelders states that “media – whether created for films or television, educational purposes, or entertainment – are the places where students are most likely to encounter the authentic application or misapplication of historical knowledge” (ibid., p.

146). Ensuring students can identify authentication or misapplication of information provided by films, Woelders suggests that students “compare films with other sources of information before confirming their ideas and opinions about historical people and events” (ibid., p. 147). This can be done by finding and recording at least two other sources that would confirm or deny the information provided by the film (ibid.).

As previously stated, watching a film makes it easier for students to empathize with the characters and understand their actions. On the other hand, films offer a safe space to analyze and criticize characters’ actions. Watching and observing the actions and behaviors of people they do not know eliminates the personal experience and connection. This, on one hand, helps students to understand how the world outside of the classroom works and get familiarized with practices outside of their known environment. On the other hand, because students do not personally know the characters, they are more likely to criticize and analyze them fairly. When students are

24 asked to examine their peers and friends, they tend to see and mention only the positive aspects, however, given the freedom of examining strangers, fictional at that, the students are welcome to share their true opinions and reach their personal conclusions objectively. This way, students are more likely to point out racist behaviors they see in a film than call attention to their peer’s behavior. Students may also disagree with protagonists and freely explain why they believe their actions were wrong or inappropriate; they may even sympathize with the antagonists, trying to understand why they did what they did. Freedom to express opinions teaches students how to communicate and coexist in the real world, evaluate people and their actions, as well as stand up for themselves and be critical towards what they believe is wrong (Brookfield, 2018, p. 224).