A few weeks ago, in lecture, I was posed with a question that has since taken up a little piece of space in the back of my mind. I was asked how I would incorporate visual literacy into a history classroom. Now while historical context can often be enhanced through visual aids, the first thought that came to mind were the films often screened in high school classrooms.
Having considered this throughout class, I started asking some of my fellow history friends if they had been shown films in class. Some of the films tossed around seemed common, particularly for grade 10 history classes, Passchedaele, Saving Private Ryan, Swing Kids, The Pianist, Schindler’s List, The Untouchables, Cinderella Man, The Great Gatsby, and Elizabeth were all tossed around. Now this list is not compiled to question the screening of these films, or others like them in class. Instead we will discuss how, if choosing to utilize these materials, how the key to using them successfully, lies in the way in which they are explored through both fact and fiction.
Take for example the classroom that screened Elizabeth. The students were instructed to view the film with a very loose historical accuracy, rather instructed to use it to immerse themselves in the era itself. Likewise, another classroom may choose to screen only the scenes of the arrival on the beaches of Normandy from Saving Private Ryan in order to best immerse students into the violence, grime and terror of the Second World War, while not dealing with the fictional quest for a missing soldier. Although these dramatized histories are often loosely based on experiences, they have the potential to interfere with learning, putting a gloss over historical events.
However, if this dramatization helps to enhance student comprehension for a unit, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Shortly after this question was posed to me in lecture, I began to see the film Selma turn into an educational opportunity for students. A number of theatres across the United States began to screen the film for free for students, particularly those in grades 7-9, an initiative designed to raise awareness and empathy for the history of the Civil Rights Movement amongst students.
Almost simultaneously however, there was a wash of articles about the historical accuracy of the film, with even a quick Google search for “Historical Accuracy in Selma” yielding over 208,000 results from publications including the New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vanity Fair. Amongst this rush of articles however, it became clear that, regardless of the accuracy, students were becoming actively involved in learning some history thanks to the film.
While the accuracy in the film may not be complete, if a student is more receptive or excited to watch the documentary footage in the latter video after having seen Selma (or the attached trailer) it would appear that learning is being encouraged through a new twenty-first century medium.
Video One: Historical Bloody Sunday Footage/Interviews
(This content is not embeddable and also contains footage which should be viewed with discretion)
Video Two: Selma Trailer
Until next time,
A. Gallacher
Certainly visual literacy can help in history. I think we probably have a visual picture in our minds when we get really immersed in a historical story. And when we have read a book first we are often disappointed in who plays a certain character because we have visualized the person to look differently. How important is it to get the facts straight? I think it is quite important. I have not seen Selma but read that the film does not portray LBJ accurately. Ron Howard says that this is the film maker's licence - to make a dramatic film one must play with the facts. But historically the film does not do justice to LBJ's legacy. A catch-22 really. In what other ways would you use visual literacy? Other literacies? What does historical literacy actually mean to you? Knowing the difference between fact and dramatic license?
ReplyDeleteI love the use of the term catch-22 with regards to these situations. I agree that fundamentally, Ron Howard's theory holds true for most biopics and historical recreations and it now seems to complicate the facts with the desire to engage students. But I also think visual literacy should also not be restricted to videos. Artifact examinations and analysis of historical footage (such as that included above) both serve as alternate ways in which to incorporate visual literacy, also serving as an example of the number of activities which can incorporate anything from global to media literacy in the history classroom. Media literacy could even be used to enhance discussions between fact and dramatic license but also to analyze old news footage, propaganda and other media. To me, historical literacy symbolizes that students are able to understand what the facts are as well as their importance, but also to understand the era as a whole and be able to reflect on the events of the past in a way that is both thoughtful and productive, connecting between both historical events and the headlines of today. A complicated balance to be sure, but one that solidifies the importance and relevance of historical studies in the 21st century.
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ReplyDeleteI think the use of film and other visual aids in history is similar to the argument that Dean Shareski made in the OSSEMOOC webinar regarding the use of technology in the classroom. It is not IF you use it, but HOW you use it. Films or technology should not be used as a gimmick and I do not see much value if the only teaching decision is to "just push play". Rather, films and the use of technology are only effective tools if they actually enhance student learning. So, as suggested, having students recognize fact or fiction by comparing the film to other historical sources may be a valuable learning experience. In a few of my history classes, we would often use fiction novels that are placed in a historical context as a means of identifying historical themes, interpretations or inaccuracies. We would often use these novels in conjunction with other primary and secondary sources in order to learn and develop the skills involved in the historical inquiry process (i.e. formulating questions, critically interpreting sources, applying findings). As such, I believe films can play a similar role in a history class.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it is important to portray historical accuracy in our classroom settings; however, I agree with jfoley that using visual literacies which are inaccurate can be an important learning opportunity for the students to use critical analysis. If you show a movie such as Selma and it is not historically accurate than perhaps it is a chance for the students to show what they have learned by speaking to the truth within the film and showing what is missing. This can be done in a variety of ways from having them write a comparative paper between the film and the historical truth as we know it, to a creative writing exercise where they re-write a portion of the movie that they find significantly inaccurate. This can also be done simply by class discussions. I believe that visual aids, even those that are historically inaccurate can help the students understand underlying themes and tones of our history. Using them is beneficial, you just have to make sure you use them in the right way in order to ensure we are teaching our students the right things.
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