Classroom Hollywood
Some of the movies are too long to show in the classroom, but even showing clips from the films are enough to keep your students entertained, especially if you have the time to show clips for pure entertainment between the lessons. Some are good to assign along with outside reading.
Most of these are geared to the college classroom, but high school teachers might find some of them useful. My classes are always reading, paper, & debate heavy so keep that in mind if you're planing on using any of these, some don't work without the proper texts.
There's also a "showmanship" style to the way I handle my classes, comedy is huge, but I'm not above dressing the part, screaming & yelling, crying, kicking over trashcans, whatever is needed is usually done. I think if you're not willing to go over the top in your classroom, using a lot of movies will probably work against you.
Most of these are geared to the college classroom, but high school teachers might find some of them useful. My classes are always reading, paper, & debate heavy so keep that in mind if you're planing on using any of these, some don't work without the proper texts.
There's also a "showmanship" style to the way I handle my classes, comedy is huge, but I'm not above dressing the part, screaming & yelling, crying, kicking over trashcans, whatever is needed is usually done. I think if you're not willing to go over the top in your classroom, using a lot of movies will probably work against you.
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- DirectorMel BrooksStarsMel BrooksGregory HinesDom DeLuiseMel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.Let's face it, 101 is your bread & butter, furthermore a lot of early history has too few documented facts to really teach. I like to use the first few sketches to bring us up-to-date before we get into the subjects that are not covered based on assumption & conjuncture. And, if you open with Mel Brooks, you get the "unexpected & unorthodox" label from your students & that is a priceless classroom tool. PS, wearing corduroy jackets with arm patches helps as well. Teaching is showmanship with a point, right?
- StarsAdrian PaulStan KirschJim ByrnesDuncan MacLeod is Immortal, and must live in modern society, concealing his true nature while fighting other Immortals.There's an episode in Season 5, "Archangel," maybe, where Methos proclaims, in an argument with Joe & Duncan, that thinking one man can change the world is the ultimate in human arrogance. I use it to start nearly every non 101 class I teach. Is he right in this argument? Then I use it again at the end of the class? Has their views changed? Why? Give examples. This is the high point of being able to assign papers rather than take tests, you can show a movie on the last day
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsJack LemmonSissy SpacekMelanie MayronWhen an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.I always show it in class, along with assigning "A Nation of Enemies" to read. They make a good match. If you couple these with Kissinger's order to kill Charles Horman--to be read after the film--you'll actually get to physically see their world view change.
- CreatorsGraham ChapmanEric IdleTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseTerry GilliamThe original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.Yeah, yeah, it's pointless but the Philosophy Football match is great to watch directly before you're about to cover heavy philosophical lessons. I've always believed that good history teachers run heavy on the philosophies of the time as it illustrates how people thought & interpreted the world at the time.
- DirectorsLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossFreedom fighters Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation.It looks like an odd choice, but you start with kung-fu for fun, then you use it to teach convergent philosophies in the Reformation, specifically Calvinism & predestination, then, if there's time left, you finish with more kung-fu, for more fun. Let's be honest, most 101 students want to be their as much as you do.
- CreatorsJames L. BrooksMatt GroeningSam SimonStarsDan CastellanetaNancy CartwrightJulie KavnerThe satiric half-hour adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.There are far to many to list, but "The Simpsons" have covered just about every philosophical movement the thinkers of the world have generated. Clips make a great introduction to EVERY philosophical topic you will cover.
- DirectorPeter H. HuntStarsWilliam DanielsHoward Da SilvaKen HowardA musical retelling of the American Revolution's political struggle in the Continental Congress to declare independence.Two birds with one stone. 1) It's a great Representation of our Founding Fathers. 2) It teaches students that musicals are NOT as bad as they think. And I still get a kick out of it, so we'll watch the entire film in class.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsOrlando BloomEva GreenLiam NeesonBalian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the Crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people.It's brilliant to illustrate the value of compromise & it makes the Dark Ages look cool.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleKatharine HepburnAnthony Hopkins1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.I like to use this for political struggles, in order to drive home the point that Aristocracy faced the same party problems as Republics.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsPaul NewmanDwight SchultzBonnie BedeliaThis film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret WWII project, and the first atomic bombs designed, built, and tested in Los Alamos.The best movie about the atomic project out there, & short enough where you can watch the entire film.
- StarsScott GrimesDamian LewisRon LivingstonThe story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.It's shorter than "Schindler's List," and the episode where the soldiers liberate the camp is priceless.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsDavid StrathairnGeorge ClooneyPatricia ClarksonBroadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.I assign "The Crucible" to read--don't bother showing them the movie, they will hate it as much as you do--then I show this film as a supporting piece to keep them entertained.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn 1944 Spain, a girl is sent to live with her ruthless stepfather. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks.Again, assigned with outside reading "The Battle for Spain," with the singular point that sometimes the losers get to write the history.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerBruce GreenwoodShawn DriscollIn October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.It's not hard to drive home the point that a nuclear holocaust is a bad thing, however, America's "Brinkmanship" Strategy of dealing with the USSR is as hard to teach as it is to believe. There are clips in here that show that strategy in all it's idiotic action.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsKelsey GrammerCary ElwesViola DavisStory of a cover up in the military.I think it's funny, so we'll watch the entire film in class, but if you ever wanted to teach how bureaucracy works this is the movie to watch, and then open up the classroom for debate on the system in general & how to correct it's short comings.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.I wasn't alive for it, but the Library of Congress listed it as a great way to understand the '70's so it works as an "assigned watching" item.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsTaylor NicholsChris EigemanTushka BergenAn American working in Barcelona, having sworn off beautiful women, is forced to be host to his playboy cousin in this witty comedy of good intentions and mixed signals.It's great for US Foreign Policy as viewed from the outside. Either clips in the classroom or watching accompanying Pierson's book.
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsNicolas CageEthan HawkeJared LetoAn arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.Here you have "The Arms Trade," "Child Soldiers," "Blood Diamonds," "Post Colonial Africa," "Globalization," & "US Foreign Policy." Pick a point for your lesson & use this to drive it home.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJames WoodsJim BelushiMichael MurphyA burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.Most of my non 101 classes deal with Latin America. I like to Assign this to watch with reading by Archbishop Romero & books dealing with The School of the Americas. Sometimes, for sick fun, I'll make them read Clinton's NAFTA bill, then we'll watch this, as a surprise, rather than discussing the reading.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsGerard ButlerLena HeadeyDavid WenhamIn the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.Let's face it, re-teaching history to freshmen is an ugly necessity, ancient history doubly so, sometimes you just need to break the monotony in the classroom. They don't want to be there any more than you do. I just use clips & just for fun.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierStarsDorothy ShortKenneth CraigLillian MilesCautionary tale that features a fictionalized take on marijuana use. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.I'll threaten this movie on the first day, everyone thinks I'm joking, & then we'll watch it halfway through the semester when discussing propaganda. Or rather, we'll watch clips.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsTom CruiseTim RobbinsKelly McGillisThe Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School is where the best of the best train to refine their elite flying skills. When hotshot fighter pilot Maverick is sent to the school, his reckless attitude and cocky demeanor put him at odds with the other pilots, especially the cool and collected Iceman.It's not something I show in the classroom, but I add this on the assigned viewing list for the "propaganda" topic.
- DirectorPeyton ReedStarsEwan McGregorRenée ZellwegerDavid Hyde PierceIn 1962 New York City, love blossoms between a playboy journalist and a feminist advice author.I do like musicals, I like showing them in class, I also liked "The Taming of the Shrew," so it makes sense to use this for teaching Women's Liberation, & it's a lot of fun.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.As a rule, for purely mechanical reasons, subtitles never appear in class room viewing. But "Downfall," will appear on the required watching list, people, especially 101 students tend to dehumanize Hitler to something otherworldly, it's necessary to drive home the point that Hilter was just a man like everyone else, otherwise he becomes unbelievable, & that harms the way people view history's monsters & allows them to believe that "it won't happen again."
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsWill FerrellChristina ApplegateSteve CarellIn the 1970s, an anchorman's stint as San Diego's top-rated newsreader is challenged when an ambitious newswoman becomes his co-anchor.It's only one clip, but it's brilliant for driving home points on women's liberation.
