Serving both as a blessing and a burden, film is one of the greatest tools that we as teachers have at our disposal. Film can be an especially powerful medium in providing visual representations of abstract and distant historical concepts that our students have a difficult time grasping or relating to. However, when viewed with an
unsuspecting
eye it can create overwhelming misrepresentations, misunderstandings, and false perceptions for the history student. Therefore, it is our responsibility to provide our students with the necessary tools in which to discern fact from fiction when viewing films based in history. This unit will analyze how the Crusades, launched from Medieval Europe to claim the Holy Land, were portrayed in the film
Kingdom of Heaven
(Ridley Scott, USA, 2005). By studying the Crusades, my students will not only develop an understanding of medieval history and cross-cultural interaction, but also be able to see the impact of historical events on our world hundreds of years later.
The goal of this unit is to use my students' love of film to help them to distinguish between the historical facts and inaccuracies that plague "historically representative" films. Specifically, this unit will help my students develop a critical eye when viewing historical films by strengthening their background knowledge and understanding of historical context so they are able to discern historical fact from fiction/embellishment.
In the course of this unit, my students will analyze primary sources and read secondary sources to provide background information and ranging historical perspectives on the Crusades. Upon developing background knowledge and historical context for the Crusades, we will view
Kingdom of Heaven
and draw comparisons between the primary source accounts as well as the theatrical portrayal from the film. The culminating activity will stem from my students' strength as visual learners and love of film to help bolster their critical thinking skills. My students will choose between acting as either a film critic, writing a review for
Kingdom of Heaven
for its historical accuracy; or as a screenwriter, rewriting the script for a chosen scene in order to make the scene more historically accurate.
