Moral arguments against technological change are seldom convincing. Die-hard traditionalists opposed the printing press in the15th century. Their 20th century intellectual descendants now despise the computer. But earlier this century movies and television drew the traditionalists’ wrath. All these technological advances were criticized for creating personal isolation and destroying community life.
One can at least partially agree with these insights while simultaneously noting technological change is usually irreversible and ultimately beneficial.
Some educators today are ambivalent about not only television and movies but also the VCR, a device which has greatly increased the ease and reduced the cost of using audiovisual material in the classroom. In my school the comic teacher caricature “Ditto” has been replaced by “Cecil B. DeMille”, who turns on a VCR tape for a half-interested group of students and relaxes for the entire period.
This curriculum unit begins with two basic premises:
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1. Films can be powerful educationally, but they must be chosen carefully and selectively.
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2. The objectives behind the use of films should be integrated into a unit’s overall objectives. While films can be used to reinforce the objectives of a teacher’s lectures, discussions, or print materials, it may be more effective to use films to complement other objectives.
The topic of this unit is ethnicity and race. I will discuss film selection and the integration of film into a two semester course based on Thomas Sowell’s controversial 1981 classic Ethnic America. Movie reviews for each film will be provided, along with a set of discussion questions. My target audience is college-bound high school students.
