I was intrigued to read about Annette Harris Powell’s use of films in her class. I have watched films in history classes and theatre classes before, but never in a writing course. I have watched films and clips from films that are the movie version of a particular novel being read in a literature course, but never thought of this approach in a writing course. I, however, think the idea is a very good one. In two history courses I took we watched movies dealing with issues discussed in the course then were asked to write responses to the movies, focusing on certain areas. This is a form of writing I do not think we do very often, but is very important. If you are responding to something in a book or an article, such as we do weekly in this blog, you can go back and look over certain passages, but in a film watched in class this becomes much harder to do. Your students will need to pay attention while they are watching the movie so they can provide answers later.
As Harris points out, the majority of the time people “critique” films they simply say if they like the film or not and why. When critically analyzing a film for class students identify with characters or situations and relate. The point of these film studies is not to provide your opinion on the film itself, but what is happing within the film. With films, as Harris says, comes an opportunity for students to engage in pop culture activities. Most books students read do not touch on pop culture and how important it is. By selecting the right movies, we can engage our students in topics that are important without boggling them down with extra reading. Showing a film will also help visual learners because they can see events and people in action as opposed to reading about them.
After writing about a film, as Harris shows us, we can open the activity up farther by having students discuss the film. When responding to characters and situations in films, students are relating to these, and since each student has their own personal experiences to share, they can come to class and discuss how they personally relate to the film. I like that Harris puts her students into smaller groups so they feel more comfortable sharing their opinions. She also gives them questions to think about as a starting off point for the discussions. I think that is important for freshman, not just in a film discussion, but any discussion, because it helps initiate their conversations.
While a film is a very different type of “text” and not one many would think to use in a writing class, I think it provides a valuable tool for student writing and response.
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Jenn-I was also intrigued by the use of film in the reading from "Practice in Context." I mentioned yesterday during group time that I just recently experienced this in a graduate course--Research and Pedagogy (the required course for MAs), and although at this point in our education, we simply can't help ourselves from thinking critically about, oh, everything we come into contact with, it still solicited a huge response. We were assigned to watch Crash during our discussion of Social/Cultural Theory, and I really think that the film fleshed out concepts that would have taken several readings as well as much time spent in explanation from the professor. That was probably the most animated class meeting that we had in that course.
In the case of first year writing students, I suspect that this effect would be even more pronounced. I would not hesitate to use film in a course. Actually, I would probably not hesitate to structure a course theme based on film. (So I guess in response to your thread title I'd say "Not only in a writing class, but as a writing class") In my opinion, it would make a good theme because film is likely to be something that everyone in the class can relate to, that almost everyone has experienced on some level or another and something that, chances are, has had a big impact upon the students lives outside of school. I see this as a way to bridge a gap for the students. I think it's a good idea to begin with things that students not only relate to, but experience on a regular basis and not in such a way that it has been forced upon them, and use that to move into the areas of critical thinking.
I love Annette Harris Powell's idea of having students evaluate different characters. I think this is the point where you begin to get into the real area of critical thinking and engaging students with questions that do not respond to binary either/or types of inquiry. Whether they realize it at the time or not, they have been led into thinking critically, which is clearly our goal.
You know, Jenn, I called dibs on the film idea first.
Just kidding. But seriously, film is one of my main areas of interest and (hopefully) one on which I'll be doing a lot of work. I think it's interesting that it's rarely considered in the same sense as novels, though it's a much more accessible medium. Maybe it's the accessibility that makes snooty academic types devalue it somewhat? In any case, a good movie can be just as important as a good book.
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