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Home , Clara Bow, Janet Gaynor, Jeans (soundtrack), Louise Brooks, On the Waterfront, Walter Matthau

Social Education 69(4), pp. 189-192 © 2005 National Council for the Social Studies Reel to Real: Teaching the Twentieth Century with Classic Films Karl A. Matz and Lori L. Pingatore

Making students’ learning cal artifacts, virtually primary source docu- works to support all three. At work, Bow experiences as direct and real as possible ments, that are very easy to obtain and yet has caught the eye of a wealthy young man, has always been challenging for educators. are too rarely used. Here, we hope to give a friend of the store owner’s son. In this Ancient wars and forgotten statesmen teachers a sense of which films are most brief beginning to a feature length film, often hold little excitement for students. appropriate and to provide a workable viewers see three important locations as Innovative teachers often use artifacts and method for guiding students to critically they were in the late . We see the primary source documents to transform a examine these historical artifacts. downtown department store, so different vicarious learning experience to a much from the suburban malls we know today. more direct one. Lee Ann Potter observes Celluloid Anthropology We see the humble apartment, the decora- that primary source documents “allow us, Students can study films in a manner simi- tions, and the absence of technology. And, quite literally, to touch and connect with lar to the way an anthropologist studies a finally, we see the restaurant. the past.”1 culture. If we were to study the culture of While watching this film, as any Films, like artifacts and photographs, a community in the Brazilian rainforest, other movie of a different era, viewers can also bring students closer to the people we would observe social rules, modes of can observe manners and behaviors, note and events that they are studying. Teachers dress, the role of religion, the structure of what things are important to the characters have long used film to make social studies the family, and other established social in the film, observe the various topics seem more real, first as 16mm mov- and cultural codes, procedures, or modes of ies from state and university libraries, and traditions. Classic films can be vir- more recently as videotapes and DVDs tual windows into the past, allowing from instructional media suppliers. Many students to observe how the average are invaluable, particularly for units, for American lived decades ago. example, on colonization or the Civil War. In the late 1920s, actress Clara But Hollywood feature films can also serve Bow, who popularized the 1920s as a type of primary source or artifact in the flapper style, starred in a film enti- social studies class. tled It. The film catapulted Bow Beginning in the late 1800s, as the to fame and had a defining effect motion picture industry evolved, films on her generation. In the film, as have served as a primary source of enter- “The It Girl,” Bow plays a “lowly” tainment. Prior to the invention of the tele- salesclerk in a large department vision, from the early 1900s to well into store. She shares an apartment the 1960s moviegoers relied on films not with a friend and co-worker only for entertainment but for news and who has recently given birth information as well. During the first half out of wedlock; since the new of the twentieth century, filmmakers shot mother is ill, Bow’s character thousands of hours of newsreels docu- menting the people, places, and culture of their time. These old moving images, both Actress is pictured in City in the early fiction and documentary, provide histori- .

M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 5 AP Photo 189 Examples of classic Hollywood films useful for studying different periods can download this eight-minute film from Learn more about each of these movies at the Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com the internet at the Internet Movie Archive, www.archive.org/movies/movies.php. This 1910-1919 1950-1959 film archive has numerous newsreels, Caught in a Cabaret (1914) - The Wild One (1953) - instructional films, and feature films that , Mable Normand On the Waterfront (1954) - Marlon Brando are part of the public domain; these can be Mabel’s Married Life (1914) - The Trouble With Harry (1955) - downloaded and transferred to a DVD or Charlie Chaplin, Mable Normand Alfred Hitchcock viewed right from a computer. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - James Dean The sidebar offers a list of Hollywood 1919-1929 Marty (1955) - films, organized by decade, which can be Safety Last (1923) - Harold Lloyd used for this kind of history study. Many The Showoff (1926) - 1960-1969 classic films are available in local video It (1927) - Clara Bow Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) - stores, or may be recorded from one of the Sunrise (1927) - Janet Gaynor excellent classic film channels on . A Patch of Blue (1965) - shows award-win- 1930-1939 (1967) - ning classics from the 1930s to the 1980s The Dentist (1932) - WC Fields Easy Rider (1969) - Peter Fonda and routinely shows silent films from the (1934) - 1920s. Not all of these films are contem- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - 1970-1979 porary with the times in which they were (1970) - made, and not all take place in real set- (1975) - Walter Matthau tings, so the teacher will have to choose 1940-1949 All the President’s Men (1976) - carefully. Meet John Doe (1941) - Dustin Hoffman It is not necessary to use the whole The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - Saturday Night Fever (1977) - film; and it is often wise not to do so. This Dana Andrews is particularly true when more recent mov- Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) - 1980-1989 ies are used, since many have questionable The Four Seasons (1981) - Alan Alda language and depict adult subject matter. (1983) - Teachers should preview films to select a Shirley MacLaine 15- to 20-minute sequence that is particu- Mystic Pizza (1988) - larly illustrative of the world in which the Say Anything (1989) - John Cusack characters live. Even a carefully selected segment of a 1985 film can be used for transportation, examine clothing, and Choosing Appropriate Films this activity; it may surprise students and take notice of contemporary speech and The films that are most effective for this even the teacher to note how much life has language. purpose are those that are actually set in changed in 20 short years. Alleman and Brophy recommend the time in which they were filmed. A film the use of timelines to help students rec- made in 1920 about people who live in Studying Classic Movies as Artifacts: ognize changes people have experienced 1920 has the potential to be much more A Lesson Framework over time.2 Films can highlight and expand accurate than a film made in 1970 about Putman and Rommel-Esham have the events we typically place on timelines. the 1920s in which the details are invented described an approach for the integration For example, we know that when women and dramatized. of oral interviewing, reading, and writing finally won the right to vote in 1920, this In addition to Hollywood mov- to study changes over time during the past new measure of equality brought with ies, newsreels and, perhaps surprisingly, century.3 Hollywood films, newsreels, and it rapid and profound changes. Simply citizenship and morality films made for documentary films from the past can serve comparing the women in a 1917 Charlie schools in the 1940s can also be useful as as the impetus for a similar study. Chaplin comedy with those in Clara Bow’s historical artifacts. One example is a short Divide the class into five equal groups. 1920s films illustrates the changes in wom- school safety film made in 1960 called The groups will be responsible for only en’s lives in that short period of time. Bicycle Today, Automobile Tomorrow. one aspect of the time and place they are The right films can provide a rich This film on bicycle safety compares rid- about to study. Each group should first and varied timeline of twentieth century ing a bicycle to driving a car. The details in decide upon a reporter who will record America, offering insight into people’s lives the film, a boy’s rolled up blue jeans, a little the members’ observations to share with and depicting the changes that they expe- girl in her pleated skirt and bobby socks, the rest of the class. All members of the rienced over any given period. the cars in the background, and the bicycle group will work individually while viewing itself, reveal the world of 1960. Teachers the film to write down as many examples

Social Education 190 of their assigned aspect as they can. When or signs in store windows. Sometimes Fashion the film is done, the group members will economic norms are discussed in film • Pleated skirts with wide belts for collaborate before sharing with the rest dialogue, such as one man telling another women. of the class. Some members will notice how much he makes or how much he spent • Men wear ties everywhere. things that others did not. The goal is for on a certain item. • Not many people wear blue jeans or each group to generate as complete a list Students should be guided to look not sweatshirts. of items related to their aspect of the film only at what is seen but what is not seen. • No baseball caps, just dress hats that as possible. The following groups should For example, they will notice secretaries match their suits. be formed for the data-gathering portion without computers, homes without micro- • Guys’ hair is slicked back. of this activity: waves, and phones without caller ID. • Women have big curls. Technology: This group should look Finally, each group will share what • Guys dress up to go out on Saturday closely at the background as well as the they have observed about their assigned night (also related to Culture). action in the foreground of the film to see aspect of the film. A student, or the teacher, • Some men had bow ties. what electrical or mechanical tools and can collate all of the observations to cre- • The ballroom had a “hat check.” devices were available and used by people ate a multidimensional description of the of that day. Of course they will see automo- period represented by the film. Language: biles, lamps, toasters, and refrigerators. But • “It was a real nice affair.” encourage them to look for the common Marty: An Example • “Waiting for me by the hatcheck.” and mundane as well, such as light switches Marty, which won the Academy Award for • “Give her a ring.” (Call her on the that turn rather than flip, huge “skeleton” best picture in 1955, stars Ernest Borgnine phone) keys, or milk in glass bottles rather than as a 34-year-old ex-GI working as a butcher • “Nice tomatoes.” (Single girls) cartons. in the Bronx. The character is unmarried • “Taking in a movie.” (Going to a movie) Fashion: This group will look only and while his many single friends and his • “That’s swell.” (Awesome) at the hairstyles, hygiene and clothing married cousin denigrate marriage, his cus- • “ thought I’d take a shave.” (I need to styles. As students travel through time tomers and his elderly Italian-born mother shave) with the film they will see numerous and constantly pressure him to get married. He • “She gave me the brush.” (She wasn’t profound changes in women’s clothing as would actually like to get married, but has interested) well as much more subtle changes in men’s no prospects until he meets a woman at • “Ice box.” (refrigerator) clothing. a local ballroom, whose romantic experi- • “I’m all knocked out.” (tired) Language: This group will listen (or ences are similar to his own. Following is • “What are you so sore about?” (angry) read) to find turns of phrase, slang, and a set of observations made by a group of • “She threw a pass.” (flirting) word choices that sound odd or different. pre-service teachers who viewed the film. • “I was thinking of doing away with Also they will look at written language that myself.” (Suicide) appears in the background, on signs, build- Technology ings, or in newspapers. • Phone booths with wooden folding Culture Culture: For this group, the task is a doors. • Single people gather at “The Ballroom.” bit more challenging. They must note tradi- • Phone booth in the bar. • The Dodgers were a team and tions, accepted routines, conventions, mor- • Black and white TV. people seemed to be a lot more inter- als, and values of the period. For example, • Cigarette machines. ested in baseball than they are now. in the 1927 Clara Bow movie mentioned • Big black phones with dials and cords • Widows had no place to go except to be earlier, the characters perceived the idea that are straight, not spiral. taken care of by their grown children. of an unwed mother as scandalous and • No cordless phones, no cell phones. • Was 56 considered old back then? shocking. How do we view such circum- • Old fashioned cash registers, not digital. • Butchers not wearing gloves when stances today? In addition, the students • No digital scale. touching raw meat. No hats. in the Culture group will observe how • Wall switches that turn left and right for • It’s not a big deal now that a woman of families interact with one another, their on and off. 29 isn’t married, but it was then. daily routines, and the ways in which they • No digital watches or clocks. • Everyone in the ballroom is white, the conduct their family business. • Coffee pot on the stove—no coffee only African Americans are on the bus Economy: This group has the most maker. and they sit in back. challenging task of all. They must watch • Cars are styled differently. Round head- • They dress up to go out on Saturday closely to see how much things cost, how lights, divided windshield. night: Blue suit and tie. much people earned, and how they chose • They all smoke and they can smoke to pay for things. Often in films we see anywhere they want to. close-ups of menus, ads in newspapers, • Supermarkets are a new idea, just starting

M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 5 191 to catch on. munication and information. We learn how wish to require a formal report, organized • Mostly small business, not as many cor- people got in touch with someone; how with subheadings that reflect the names of porations and franchises. they got the news and weather; we learn the five discussion groups, or teachers may • The gas station has an attendant that about types of entertainment and leisure choose to release students’ creativity and pumps the gas and a mechanic, no con- activities; how much things cost then; and ask them to write a fact-based narrative, or venience store. how much people earned. a less formal expository piece. Some writ- • He didn’t shower before going to Mass. The details we have learned about the ing prompts for such pieces might include, • Coke in glass bottles. past can be added to a typical historical “A Day in My Life, Summer 1955,” or “I • Can’t buy a beer on Sunday. timeline to provide a clearer idea of how Woke Up in 1927.” • One TV—only in the living room. certain geopolitical events led to cultural Other possibilities could include a • People meet, talk, read the paper in the changes. In this film, which predates the newspaper or a television news program. bar after work. Not like now. civil rights movement, we see subtle signs of Groups can be reorganized with a reporter • No women in the bar after work. segregation. We view the emerging fortunes from each of the five data collection groups • People had larger families and the old of a young man who served his country in and an editor or anchorperson. The stu- people had accents. World War II. We can also see the inno- dents’ task is to create a newspaper or news • The chemistry teacher knows she can’t cence that predates the turbulent 1960s. program that depicts life in the period they be a department head because she is a The observations made by the groups have just observed, juxtaposing the national woman; she seems to take that for often spark energetic and sometimes heated and world events of that period with the granted. discussions. Hess observed the many ben- culture and lifestyles of common people. efits of motivated discussion, including the Economy development of the skill of critical thought Conclusion • Prices on the butcher shop wall—stew and the opportunity for students to articu- Students often have an innate interest in meat 54¢ a pound, chicken 58¢ a late their understandings.4 We can discuss history, specifically in imagining what life pound. the issues of why people thought the way was like for children their age long ago, or • A dime to make a phone call in a phone they did, why they did things the way they imagining themselves in a different time. By booth. did, and even make judgments, based on watching and studying classic films, which • Rent on the shop is $102 a month. our twenty-first century views about what provide a virtual window into the past, stu- • He said his old job paid 40¢ an hour was right or wrong about their way of doing dents can see how their lives might have ($16 a week!) things. been in different times. For the teacher, • Seventy-seven cents is the cover charge classic films can help to make history real at the ballroom. Follow-up and meaningful, adding a new and inter- • Sign on the gas station: 31.9¢ a gallon. McCoy strongly recommends including esting dimension to the teaching of formal • Cigarettes were cheap—just a little change. the teaching of writing in social studies history. Today, more than ever before, these education as a way to improve both thought artifacts of past eras are easily accessible As the various groups share their processes and writing abilities.5 Writing and often free to use. observations, a more complete picture of provides a context for gathering disparate the era begins to emerge. We learn that facts into a comprehensive whole. After Notes there were different styles, a different gathering and sharing their data, students 1. Lee Ann Potter, “Connecting with the Past: Uncovering Clues in Primary Source Documents,” Social Education moral code, and different access to com- can write a historical essay. Teachers may 67, no. 7 (2003): 372-380. 2. Janet Alleman and Jere Brophy, “History is Alive: Teaching Young Children about Changes over Time,” The Social Studies 94, no. 3, (2003): 107-110. 3. Errol Putman and Katie Rommel-Esham, “Using Oral History to Study Change: An Integrated Approach,” The Social Studies 95, no. 5 (2003): 201-205. 4. Diane E. Hess, “Discussion in the Social Studies: Is it Worth the Trouble?” Social Education 68, no. 3 (2004): 155-289. 5. Marie M. McCoy, “Incorporating Effective Writing Strategies,” Social Education 67, no. 4 (2003): 200- 202.

Karl A. Matz is an associate professor of educa- tional studies at Minnesota State University (MSU) in Mankato. Lori L. Pingatore is an adjunct pro- fessor of educational studies at MSU and a reading specialist and English teacher for grades 7 and 8 at New Ulm Middle School in Minnesota.

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