Film Folks,
I like to change the films that I use for my classes on a regular basis. I'm starting the process of thinking about what films to show, and this list below is where I'm at right now. Comments, criticism, etc, are appreciated.
In no particular order:
American experience and Introduction: Not sure. I've used In America in the past, but maybe something different this time around.
Veterans: First Blood (Yes, that one.)
Ageism: Harold and Maude
African American representation: Do the Right Thing
Asian American representation: Eat a Bowl of Tea
Latino representation: Zoot Suit
American Indian representation: Smoke Signals
Gender: ....? Need to think about this one.
Class: ...? Last semester were Citizen Kane and Bulworth, need something new...
GLBT issues: Milk - Don't know how I feel about this.
Religion: Arranged - Seems to be my go-to film for this topic.
Disability: Murderball - Used this for the first time last semester, fantastic film, and great discussions afterward.
Thoughts / Comments / Criticisms appreciated!
Thanks,
Alex
[Added July 4th]:
I've gotten some commentary from other sources, and I'm considering a few changes...
For American Experience, I'm considering a soccer film called _Pelada_... I'm thinking about using it to try to discuss the American place in the global diaspora.
African American experience: I need to see _Fruitvale Station_ and think about it. Also _The Soloist_ is under consideration.
Gender needs to be broken into gender identity, and women in film. Thinking about _Thelma and Lousie_, but I'm coming up against a need to find more and more modern films. They (students) just don't relate as well to older films and don't find them as relevant. _Miss Representation_ is a possibility there... Gender Identity is hard because most of the really good films on this topic aren't American.
[Added July 5th]
I had forgotten about _Win Win_ for Masculinity. Also, perhaps _Hannah_ for women in film, and something else for gender ID.
Also forgot about _Walkout_ for Latino. _Reel Injun_ for Indian.
Gaaaah, it ate my comment! I will try to reconstruct it.
ReplyDeleteVeterans: Born on the 4th of July may be worth checking out.
Gender: Miss Representation, too advanced for your audience?
GLBT issues: Ma Vie En Rose (1997) in French, but great movie about trans issues in society.
Religion: Jesus Camp? Too advanced? heh
My prior comment was much more eloquent and wonderful, please just imagine this one as a better more insightful comment. Thank you.
I'll think about _Born on the 4th of July_.
ReplyDeleteCan't do non-American films, so Ma Vie En Rose is out.
I hear lots of good things about _Miss Representation_, I'll see if I can get a hold of it.
I've tried Jesus Camp once, it was seen as being too one-sided.
Thanks for the ideas!
Hi! I'm a graduate student tasked with leading an Introduction to Cinema class in the Fall, so I stumbled on your blog while poking around for other people's movie lists for inspiration and I had two suggestions that veer towards documentary, but both are American!
ReplyDeleteFor gender you might consider "A Hero for Daisy," I actually saw it in an Undergraduate class years ago about female rowers at Yale in the 1970s (this is the trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDKk9qjX4Es).
ALso for LGBT issues: I really prefer "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" instead of the fictional treatment, just something to think about.
Good luck!
Hi Simone! I love the terminology of "leading" a class versus "teaching" one - I find that I really lead them towards their own conclusions rather than "teach" them. Where are you studying?
Delete(BTW, my Intro syllabi have film lists on them, and are available on academia.edu)
I watched the "A Hero for Daisy" trailer - I'll see about getting a copy. It looks like a good choice for gender.
I hesitate with "The Life and Times..." for two reasons: first, we have a tendency in our department to overwhelm students with documentaries. Part of the course is recognizing depiction issues specifically in narrative filmmaking - which dovetails into the second issue, that part of our discussion of LGBT films inevitably runs into the issue of how GLBT persons are often portrayed by non-BLGT actors. It's dicey - we have a transgendered colleague in our department, and when I've asked her about accurate and accessible depictions of the reality of transgender persons in American film, she tells me that there *are none*.
Thanks again!