To improve the impact and relevance of English instruction, this book suggests that films may be used as a springboard for critical analysis much like literary criticism, or they may be used as a medium of education on their own, shaping values, attitudes, and forms of expression. The necessary facilities for a film study program are described and…

This grade 7-8 level course guide covers aspects of media communication such as verbal and nonverbal communication theory, forms of modern media (newspapers, feature films, artistic films, music, advertising, etc.), and practice for the student in the various aspects of communication media. The guide is designed for a one-year course and enhances…

Media can be used to effectively teach Organizational Behavior (OB) concepts at the college level. University instructors have the option to employ several different methods of teaching in order to convey course concepts in the classroom. This article describes the effectiveness that five particular pieces of media can have on active learning in…

Hip-hop music and culture are often cited as being public pedagogy, meaning the music itself has intrinsic educational value. Non-profit organizations and individual educators have graciously taken the lead in utilizing hip-hop to educate. As the academy continues to debate its effectiveness, teachers and community organizers are moving forward.…

Christmas literature and film produced for children is an important, albeit under-researched, site for the production of cultural values and norms. This paper analyses Chris Van Allsburg's 1985 picture book "The Polar Express", the 2004 Warner Brothers feature film of the same title, the film's official website, and resources for teachers…

Man seems unable to retain different information from different senses or channels simultaneously; one channel gains full attention. However, it is hypothesized that if the message elements arriving simultaneously from audio and visual channels are redundant, man will retain the information. An attempt was made to measure redundancy in the audio…

This classic, definitive study of Black images in American movies has been completely revised and updated to include new chapters on the films of the 1970s and 1980s. This new version of the book reveals the way in which the image of Blacks in American movies has changed--and also the way in which it has remained the same. Following a preface to…

"Thick descriptions" are descriptions that are layered enough to draw conclusions and uncover the intentions of a given act, event, or process. In a video environment, thick descriptions are images, gestures, or sequences that convey meaning. Neither the quantity nor the resolution of the images makes the descriptions thick. Thickness is…

This discussion of the movie "Field of Dreams" analyzes the film's structuring of individual perceptual response to its visual messages, as well as its contribution to our cultural myths using baseball as visual metaphor. The central premises of the film revolve around seeing and reading the visual messages correctly according to the…

Use of English-language mystery movies is recommended to teach English-as-a-Second-Language listening and speech skills outside an English-language environment. A variety of issues are discussed, including the following: presenting the film in segments for more effectiveness; presenting students with activities that develop specific aspects of the…

This paper presents a history of motion pictures that focuses on how motion pictures, from 1894 to the present, have portrayed Latins. The role that Hollywood has played in the perpetuation of stereotypes is illustrated. There is an explanation of how film has illuminated a world beyond everyday experiences and has introduced the movie-goer to new…

Film and television in the western world are highly stylized and culturally specific products. A course on multicultural aesthetics in film and video should introduce the student to perceptual alternatives in film and television use. Some of these alternatives can be derived from three well-established areas of film/television study: the…

Produced as part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Records and Archives Management Programme (RAMP), this publication provides government and non-government archivists and records managers with a comparative study of past and present policies and practices for selecting moving images for…

Arguing against the privatization of the humanities, the author describes a project conducted by the Public Program Division of the National Endowment for the Humanities designed to give academic humanists opportunity to meet with people in small towns. The audience participation programs focus on contemporary issues from the perspective of the…

Reports on a study which attempts to evaluate the extent to which students can learn from a film and to show some ways in which the learning process can be improved. (Author/GS)