This paper highlights the results of a project, in which a group of students, who were enrolled in an African American film criticism course at a large university in Southern California, participated in a community engagement project that incorporated visual and media literacy skills acquired in the classroom setting. The parameters of the project…

This article synthesises an investigation of the making of a didactic programme as a consequence of the excess of consumption of audiovisual messages and the non critical and non-thoughtful attitude the youngsters have towards it. As an answer to this problem, the authors have produced a didactical programme about cinema and its language, the main…

Three recent movies about war are examined. All have been honored by critics and welcomed by audiences. The three movies are very different from one another. They reflect different ways of thinking and feeling about war. More specifically, they represent ways we relate to the troops we send into battle and our concerns about whether we have done…

This article begins by recognizing the increasing use of film in Religion, Theology, and Bible courses. It contends that in many Biblical Studies (and Religious Studies and Theology) courses, students are neither taught how to view films properly, nor how to place films into constructive dialogue with biblical texts. The article argues for a…

Certain popular films contextualize the access, use, and interpretation of information within a political and social framework. As a result, these films function as alternative pedagogical sites for analysis and critique, facilitating critical thinking about information beyond the library and the classroom, and leading students to a deeper…

Five Frameline short films by and about LGBT youth's coming-out narratives are reviewed by a professor and his (under)graduate university students studying visual culture and the socio/cinematic construction of (homo)sexualities. Respondents collectively found the group of films moving and well suited for viewing by middle- and high-school-age…

According to Glanz's early research, school principals have been depicted as autocrats, bureaucrats, buffoons, and/or villains in movies from 1950 to 1996. The purpose of this study was to determine if these stereotypical characterizations of school principals have continued in films from 1997-2009, or if more favorable images have emerged that…

Argues that teachers who use film in the English classroom need to be aware of its conventions and apply these conventions to critical analysis. Discusses camera angles, distance, composition, lighting, camera movements, editing, and sound. (SR)

In this dissertation I investigated how teachers interpreted intercultural differences and tensions embodied in fictional short stories and films. Participants in the study were 14 English teachers from China, South Korea, and the United States. My key research questions were: How are cultural differences understood and articulated by teachers…

To believe that students are not using reading and analytical skills when they watch or "read" a movie is to miss the power and complexities of film--and of students' viewing processes. This book encourages teachers to harness students' interest in film to help them engage critically with a range of media, including visual and printed…

Using movies to guide gifted students toward self-understanding provides them with numerous benefits. Movies have the potential to enrich and influence the lives of gifted students in constructive ways. A good movie, for example, can become a meaningful metaphor that explains the essence of a young person's dilemma. When an appropriate movie is…

Integrating "The West Wing" in public relations courses can effectively dramatize the concrete and abstract dimensions of public relations. In turn, students see public relations in action (albeit fictionally so) and learn much about it through structured lessons. From individual writing assignments about situations in "The West Wing," to the…

This paper outlines the fourth-year film appreciation course at Rand College of Education in Johannesburg, South Africa, designed to develop a greater critical awareness in students so they are able to distinguish between good and mediocre film and video material. Some attempt is made to establish what qualifies material to be regarded as…

Suggests that contemporary films can be used by educators to engage people in religious exploration. Argues that viewers should engage in a conversation with film at the levels of content and cinematography. Discusses four types of film study and examples of films that can be used in each. (DSK)

The state of the motion picture industry is reviewed, focusing on needed change in the practice of product placement. The study of the placements of advertising in films should be of interest to the student of visual literacy. Product placers are using films to advertise their products to entertainment seekers. The viewer, often a child, may not…