 Introduction
Using film in
the classroom is a very important medium, children are huge
absorbers of the visual medium for learning, as are adults
in this current world and the medium of film both "secular"
and "religions" can be very important in the process
of teaching RE. Like other art forms, film is a medium through
which humans seek to explore, explain and rationalise our
place within the world. It is incredibly rich and diverse…
a single film may reflect multiple traditions, values and
cultures
Why use
it?
-
We all like
to watch movies and this includes the children in your classroom
-
Filmic and
Cinematic materials are effective ways of stimulating and
transmitting knowledge, ideas and concepts
-
Film is more
than story it can help is to explore meaning, response,
ideas and concepts about life. You react to a film as well
as watching it
-
The topics
of films cover all the topics you will ever want to teach
in RE
-
It can be
used as a starter or stimulus for a lesson
-
It can be
used alongside other activities
-
When used
well it can engage, deepen reflection, develop ideas, deepen
spiritual responses, allow metal and emotional response,
offer different perspectives and viewpoints
Films
come in a number of "flavours"
-
There are
films which are "representations" of religious
ideas, themes, concepts, people, texts etc... Religious
narratives provide rich picking for filmakers and there
are many, many films which take the narrative directly from
the religious, though these will not necessarily be "faithful"
representations, e.g.:
-
Little
Buddha (1993, PG)
-
The
Miracle Maker(1) (2000, U)
-
Gandhi
(1982, PG)
-
Moses:
The Prince of Egypt (1998, U)
-
Jesus
of Nazereth (1977)
-
Jesus
Christ Superstar (1973)
-
The
Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
-
Joan
of Arc (Jean d'arc) (1999)
-
There are
films which develop, exploit or explore religious materials
which are situated within the faith community, or explore
ideas of faith communities - remember however that filmic.
like poetic, license mean that members of the faiths concerned
may not easily recognise the religions in the ways that
they are portrayed, e.g.:
-
Priest
(1994, 15)
-
Bend
it like Beckham (2002, 12) (Sikh)
-
East
is East (1999, 12) (Muslim and Christian)
-
The Messenger:
The Story of Joan of Arc (1999, 15)
-
Signs
(2002, 12A [cinema], 12 [DVD])
-
Ghost
(1990, 15)
-
Fiddler
on the roof (Jewish) (1971)
-
Yentl
(Jewish) (1983)
-
Anita
and Me (Hinduism and Christian) (2002)
-
Bhaji
on the Beach (Hinduism) (1993)
-
Bride
and Prejudice (Hinduism) (2005)
-
The
Passion of the Christ (Christian) (2004)
-
The
Last Temptation of Christ (1998)
-
Schindler's
List (Jewish) (1993)
-
Seven
Years in Tibet (Buddhist) (1997)
-
Shadowlands
(Christian) (1993)
-
Sister
Act (1992)
-
Whale
Rider (Maori) (2002)
-
Other films
depend for narrative coherence upon concepts that originated
within, and are given meaning by, faith communities but
that, in their portrayal may have little to do with those
living religious contexts, e.g.:
-
City
of Angels(3) (1998, 12) - link
-
The Devil’s
Advocate (1997, 18)
-
Constantine
(2005, 15)
-
Dogma
(1999, 15)
-
Jesus
of Montreal (1989, 18)
-
Bruce
Almighty (2003)
-
Contact
(1997)
-
Flatliners
(1990)
-
The
Guru (2002)
-
Seven
(1995)
-
Signs
(2002)
-
Stigmata
(1999)
-
What
dreams may come (1998)
As you are able (see below)
to copy sections of film [as long as you own a legal copy]
and the use of computers allows clips of films to be fairly
easily transferred to a central store or archive and then
embedded in presentations or placed on the VLE for access
for later use you can fairly quickly access clips for classroom
use.
There are no absolute rules
but generally choose clips which are 3-7 minutes long and
which have a self-contained messages or idea, or one that
you can easily explain.
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 Getting
children to be film-makers
As well as showing the
children movies you should be encouraging the children to become film-makers,
using the tools that have become cheaper and cheaper - in fact many
of the children in your class may be carrying video cameras around in
their pockets which combined with system / free or very cheap software
allows them to create simple films very easily.
There are a number of genres
of film that you could be making in your classroom:
-
Adverts:
Key aspects of a belief system / advert to become a member of a
faith ...
-
Documentary:
An exploration of the faith groups in a particular area
-
Using
Puppets: RE-telling of a traditional religious story
-
Newsbroadcast:
You could consider how an event within religions or religious history
might have been presented ...
-
Interviews:
Collecting opinions on the question, "Does godhttp://www.youtube.com/
exist?"
-
Talking
Heads : What does it mean to do the right thing?
-
... and more
If you are interested
in these ideas why not book Paul Hopkins
to come and run a course in your school. |
