Throughout the semester I have taken a look at censorship through literature. This time I wanted to explore the topic on a slightly different level and I found an article that touches on censorship with movies that are shown in class. The article is really about more than that though. One could say that it is about the censorship of class time and how it should be used.
An issue arose at Newburgh Free Academy when a new policy was put in place. The policy required the teachers to get permission to show videos in class before they are viewed. The teachers decided to make it an issue of censorship. They believed it was being done because some of the video selection was not necessarily appropriate for all viewers, and everyone know the quickest way to get what you want it to scream “CENSORSHIP”. That way the administration looks like the bad guys because they are not allowing valuable educational material to be used. The main complaint from the teachers was:
“That the new policy would prevent them from using controversial films as a way to discuss important issues in class.”
Interestingly enough the movies they discussed were those such as Saving Private Ryan and Schiendler’s List. These are excellent movies, but some of the material in them may be questionable to show students, not to mention they are rated R. Many students would have to see these movies with a parent if they were in a theater. The debate about whether the movies are appropriate or not is really beside the point. It was not the main argument posed by the administration when they created the policy. The main problem was:
“Saving Private Ryan” is 170 minutes long. By the time a teacher turns off the lights and turns on the DVD player, there goes a whole week. Depending on the length of the periods, a class watching “Schindler’s List” at 195 minutes might do nothing else for more than a week.”
So really what they are doing is more of a censorship of class time. In this regard I can see both sides of the argument. If a teacher were to show the entire movie it would take up a considerable amount of class time. Are movies educational though? I think we can all agree that showing visuals to coincide with a written material if there is a point to tying it into what is being done in class is valuable. Movies can reach a student that may have a tough time envisioning what is on the written page. They can touch the visual learner. This can really bring the text alive for this type of student. Does it take a entire movie to do this, probably not. Especially if the movie would take up a week of class time. An argument posed in the article states:
The question is not whether students should be exposed to the issues raised by these superb movies but whether a whole week in the dark has anything to do with education. These students already know how to watch movies. What they do not do as well is read and analyze — skills that will help them much more after they graduate.
Like I have previously stated, movie can do something that novels do not allow. If students are having a hard time visualizing a movie can really benefit them. Even if students do visualize well than a movie lets them see how another person interpreted the book. I do think it is important to make sure that a text is used with a movie like Private Ryan. The article suggest the book Johnny Got His Gun would show war, violence, and the effects of the war much better than a movie. This may be a book that could be read along with a viewing of part of a movie.
I found this article to be very interesting because of the variety of issues that it brought up. Class time, censorship, tying movie into reading are all very valuable issues for teacher to think about. The topic of censorship on videos and when they should be used ties into teaching as a whole, especially in an English class. The interpretation of the movie and comparing it to the literature can make for many interesting writing prompts. As far as what content is appropriate I believe the argument is the same as it is for literature. Parents are always going to have something to say. When it comes to movies a letter home may solve much of the problem and the child does not have to attend the class if there is a issue or they can work on an alternate assignment in another area.
Movies in Class are a Waste of Time
March 22, 2007
The Herald Record
This is an interesting concept; I never thought of censorship of films being a major issue. But it is. I currently am argueing with myself about whether or not to show films in my future class. I think, potentially, it could be really helpful. But it seems like most of my video watching experience in high school had more to do with wasting time on a Friday than learning. I agree that showing clips instead of a whole movie would be an easier way to incorporate the clip into a literary discussion. I also think a whole movie could be used, but only if a strong connection can be made to the text.
For example, we watched “The Crucible” before reading Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. This film not only provided a visual glimpse into Puritan society, but it also displayed how religion permeated all aspects of the society. Considering the text, I feel this movie did add a lot to the reading experience of a difficult text.
I found one quote from the article really interesting. The question of “whether a whole week in the dark has anything to do with education” is really provocative. I know it literally is about watching movies, but cynical people might argue too much time in a classroom is spent in the dark, even with all the lights turned on. Interesting blog!
I agree that there are times when showing a class an entire movie could be a waste of time, but I don’t think that this is always true. In my high school experience I viewed part of “Saving Private Ryan” and all of “Schindler’s List”. In my ninth grade class in which we watched Private Ryan we were only shown the scenes of the battle at Normandy, because that was the part that our teacher wanted us to understand – simply how bad the fighting was, how bad the people were hurt. It worked too, because I still distinctly remember one part where a soldier picked up a part of his other arm that had been blown off. I don’t think I’ll every forget that! In my tenth grade class in which we watched Schindler, however, we watched the entire movie. I think that this decision was a good one, however, because unlike Private Ryan all of Schindler showed the horrors of war, not just a part of it. I think it simply comes down to what the teacher thinks should be shown. My ninth grade teacher thought we should only see some of the movie, because the rest was irrelevant, and my tenth grade teach thought we should see all of the movie, because it was all relevant – I think that they were both right in their decisions.
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Movies in the class room can be time consuming. I remember watching Shindler’s List in high school. But I don’t think it was the whole movie. I think there was a shortened, edited version for teachers that cuts out certain parts of the movie yet still shows what really happened and can teach the students what the teachers goal was for them to learn. I think that for teachers to show a movie in class that is rated higher than PG or PG 13 there should be a sign parental consent. If I remember correctly we had to have permission from our parents to watch Shindler’s List. I think this is acceptable, but I can see where administration can become worried about how class time is being spent. A movie of that length takes a lot of time to watch and after it is finished how much time is spent discussing the actual movie? Maybe just one class period? I think as a teacher we need to understand the importance of time but I also think that it is important for a teacher to do what ever they can to get their students to understand what they need to learn and if that requires them to watch a movie then they should. As far as the movies being controversial, well I think that the students have seen way worse things outside of school in the movies and on television so I don’t think getting parents permission to watch the movie would really be a problem.
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