“It Is As It Was”: Feature Film in the History Classroom

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“It Is as It Was”: Feature Film in the History Classroom

ALAN S. MARCUS

t is as it was,” declared Pope If films are not perfect representations of the Normandy invasion or Steven Spiel- “I John Paul II after previewing of the past, then how can and should we berg’s Saving Private Ryan? . . . We The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s interpret their images and messages? should acknowledge film and television as the great history educators of our time. controversial film about the last hours of How might teachers talk about or show (Weinstein 2001, 27) Christ that was released on February 25, historically based films during lessons 2004. At least that is what was reported in a way that promotes students’ histor- Interpreting Hollywood’s version of by Steve McEveety, Gibson’s producer. ical understanding? In this article, I history in the classroom is more impor- Several days later, a Vatican spokesper- write about more than simply using film tant than ever. Outside the classroom, son denied the authenticity of the Pope’s as a pedagogical tool, which we accept students are consuming large volumes statement, fueling the controversy as a given, and focus on exploring more of feature films, many of which contain already gripping the film. Maybe only deeply what it means to interpret historical themes or are based in history. the Pope’s boss knows what the Pontiff inevitably inaccurate film portrayals in In addition, films have great potential to really thought, but his specific views are a way that promotes, rather than dimin- motivate and engage students with his- not what caught my attention; it was the ishes, historical understanding. torical content and present alternative notion behind the unsubstantiated In the following sections, I examine perspectives. However, at the same remark. Can any film, or any historical previous conceptions of the relevance of time, students may need additional scaf- representation, be “as it was”? The Hollywood film in high school, consid- folding to be able to view and examine answer for most historians is no, and er what recent researchers tell us about films as historical documents. Gibson has come under attack for say- Hollywood film and students’ historical Researchers indicate that students ing the film is “just the way it hap- understanding, and offer specific sug- have access to and view significant pened” (Lampman 2004), and for deny- gestions for how to use films to promote quantities of mass media, averaging ing the creative leaps necessary to tell students’ historical understanding. I use over three hours a day of television and any historical narrative in which docu- the topic of World War II as a context. videos (Kaiser Family Foundation mentation is sketchy, as detailed in the 1999). Students spend more time watch- Los Angeles Times (Shapiro 2004). Hol- ing television than doing anything The Relevance of Hollywood Film lywood films based in history are except sleeping (Avery et al., quoted in in High School inevitably a blend of historical record, Horgen, Choate, and Brownell 2001), fiction, and a filmmaker’s perspective. and teenagers, who are only 16 percent Today’s classroom is less than ever insu- of the total population, are 26 percent of ALAN S. MARCUS is an assistant professor lated from the cultural environment, and the movie viewers in the theater (Rauzi we cannot ignore the pervasiveness of of curriculum and instruction at the Neag 1998, quoted in Strasburger 2001). School of Education at the University of electronic mass media. Think about which Connecticut in Storrs. has made a greater impression on the mass Many of the films students encounter consciousness, myriad scholarly studies contain historical themes or are based in

THE SOCIAL STUDIES MARCH/APRIL 2005 61 history, and those films become a com- example, students may have a difficult creative ideas for incorporating films mon source of historical knowledge time separating reality from storyline in into classroom practice (Briley 2002; (Davis 2000). In one recent study (Mar- a film like Forrest Gump, which merges Feinberg and Totten 1995; Goldstein cus 2003), I found that a majority of documentary footage with fictional cre- 1995; Johnson and Vargas 1994; Mason high school students had seen histori- ations, or in a film like JFK, which is 2000; Weinstein 2001). An article in cally based films, among them Forrest based on real-life events but told The Social Studies explored how the Gump (86 percent of the students in the through the director’s point of view. film JFK affected the learning and criti- study), Apollo 13 (80 percent), Saving The Passion and Fahrenheit 9/11, cal thinking of college students (Sturma Private Ryan (75 percent), Pearl Har- Michael Moore’s latest documentary, and MacCallum 2000). There is also an bor (61 percent), and Glory (55 per- offer more recent examples of the impor- established set of writings in which the cent). In addition, since 1986, thirteen tance of historical film literacy. Even if authors discuss films as historical repre- of the eighteen Academy Award win- those films are not viewed in class, teach- sentations (Rollins 2004; Toplin 1996; ners for best film either depict a specif- ers can enhance the way students exam- Rosenstone 1995; Davis 2000; Carnes ic historical event or are strongly based ine film as evidence of history by seizing 1996; Justice 2003). Yet, relatively little in history. Those winners include on issues such as the following: has been written about film as a means Dances with Wolves (1990 best picture The films’ creation (The Passion was of promoting historical understanding, winner), Schindler’s List (1993), Forrest personally funded by Gibson) and there is insufficient empirical Gump (1994), Titanic (1997), and Glad- The films’ distribution (no major film knowledge about the connections iator (2000). distributor would distribute The Passion between teachers’ use of film in high Hollywood films may tender opportu- and Disney refused to release Fahren- school classrooms and students’ histori- nities to develop students’ historical heit 9/11 because the company opposed cal understanding. understanding, including, but not limited the content of the film) Weinburg (2001) suggests that fea- to, interpretation of evidence, increased The films’ content (many Jewish ture films play a role in how students historical empathy, exploration of histor- leaders are concerned about The Pas- learn and think about historical events, ical perspective, and connecting the past sion’s fueling anti-Semitism, and contributing to what he calls collective to the present and to one’s own life. Fahrenheit 9/11 is extremely critical of memory. For example, student partici- Films can serve as evidence of the past, President Bush and the war in Iraq) pants in his research (analyses of over what Seixas (1996) calls traces and The film director’s mission (Gibson 150 formal interviews with students, accounts, and become documents that was quoted as saying, “I hope the film parents, and teachers; 130 hours of students analyze and interpret. By apply- has the power to evangelize” [Goodstan classroom observation; and 2,000 pages ing films as a tool of historical inquiry, 2004], whereas Moore’s political views of written documents) often referenced teachers provide students with engaging in his film are overt) the film Forrest Gump when discussing primary and secondary sources that con- How the film is received by the pub- the Vietnam War. He found that for nect to their lives and offer unique per- lic (The Passion and Fahrenheit 9/11 many high school students and their spectives and interpretations of historical were enormous financial successes, parents, the film was a common point of events and themes. The power of films’ seen by millions) reference in discussions about the Viet- visual medium coupled with their narra- An exploration or critique of the nam War. Wineburg advocates that tive core open the door for students, with films’ narrative and portrayal of historic rather than ignoring films as a source of guidance, to cultivate a mature sense of events history, “we might try instead to under- historical empathy. Finally, watching stand how these forces shape historical films and examining the circumstances Although public school teachers may consciousness, and how they might be around their creation, public reception, encounter legal, administrative, or used, rather than spurned or, worse, and historical context may promote stu- parental obstacles to showing these films simply ignored, to advance students’ dents’ historical thinking and awareness in class, ignoring the films’ existence as historical understanding” (Weinburg of historical perspective. cultural events and lightning rods for 2001, 250). Using film in the classroom allows controversy would be akin to disregard- In a recent study (Marcus 2003), I teachers to build on students’ out-of- ing the presidential election that concur- examined students’ beliefs concerning school experiences with film. However, rently dominated the airwaves and print historical sources of information and the the power of film to develop historical media over the past year. way that students use various in-class understanding is lost unless teachers historical sources to construct and inter- Hollywood Film and Students’ cultivate students’ ability to interpret pret history. Data collection was con- Historical Understanding film, which we might call their histori- ducted in four United States history cal film literacy. Without historical film The suggestion of using Hollywood classrooms at the same high school, two literacy skills, students may accept films film to teach history is not new. Numer- classrooms of one teacher and two class- at face value, believing that the images ous articles in social studies and history rooms of a second teacher. The research and dialogue are historical fact. For journals contain critiques of films and in the four classrooms took place during

62 MARCH/APRIL 2005 THE SOCIAL STUDIES study of a unit on World War II (WWII). torical framework, and that became As a result, I consider as a critical In general, the students considered their their edifice of history. The students finding that, despite the students’ claims teachers, textbooks, documentary films, used sources mainly as places to acquire in interviews that feature films were and the majority of primary sources to information to memorize and as texts to much less believable and accurate than be the most trustworthy sources of his- read, but not as sources of information other sources of historical information, torical information, and feature films to analyze or use in constructing their they treated the film clips shown in class and fellow students to be the least trust- own conceptions of history. as legitimate and trustworthy. Students worthy. In interviews, students identified An example is the use of the film Fat did not openly question the films, the the following three central criteria for a Man and Little Boy. Students were use of the films by the teacher, or any source’s trustworthiness: asked to take notes on the film during specific component of the films. A dis- viewing. What students recorded are the connect existed between students’ 1. The perceived authority and/or central arguments that appear in the beliefs about sources and their use of knowledge of a source film. For instance, the characters in the sources (Marcus 2003). That finding is 2. The perceived motive, agenda, or film emphasized reasons the bomb consistent with the conclusions of Pax- bias of a source should be used, including citing the ton and Meyerson (2002). 3. The nature of the source as a pri- many lives that would be lost in an inva- When they accept historical sources mary or secondary account sion of Japan; the need to “have some- at face value, students fail to recognize These three beliefs accounted for 64 thing to show,” given the enormous cost a critical skill in historical understand- percent of all responses. All other of building the bomb; and a lack of ing. Students’ general beliefs about fea- responses were each less than 10 per- nuclear material available for both a ture films hold the promise that they cent of the total answers. In isolating demonstration and eventual use of the consider feature films that incorporate students’ beliefs about film, I found that bomb. Arguments against using the history to be sources of information that the most prevalent reason for accuracy bomb focused on moral issues and the need to be examined and assessed care- and believability was the perceived loss of innocent lives. In the collected fully. Those general student beliefs, motive, agenda, or bias of the film. Typ- samples of student work, students’ T- however, did not translate into a sophis- ical comments from the students about charts contained the same arguments, ticated level of historical understanding the general trustworthiness of film often with the exact same language, in relation to film and the construction included, “Movies can be embellished such as “you must show the enemy in of history. During film clips, students by fiction. If it was all fact, it wouldn’t the harshest terms” and “the Japanese either recorded information (“facts”) be as gutsy and gory as it seems . . . so brought it on themselves.” Students did from the film (if assigned to do so by the Pearl Harbor . . . it’s like WWII propa- not question the use of a film or the teacher) or simply watched the clips. ganda.” Another student said, “Holly- film’s content at any point during the Students viewed films either as texts, wood films and stuff like that are selling unit, nor did they compare the film to with the data gleaned in films reported for entertainment and money, so they other sources. They simply used the in class discussion or small group tasks, are not going to be a good source. They film as a text from which to gather or viewed films as entertainment. focus on the things that aren’t important “facts” passively. The teacher disclosed Why and how did students move when studying history.” that during the unit, as well as during from viewing film in general as a less Despite what seem like potentially the entire year, he has observed stu- trustworthy source of information to sophisticated conceptions of the trust- dents’ use of historical sources, includ- viewing specific, in-class films as a worthiness of sources, those students ing film, as uncritical and simplistic. legitimate source of information? From did not apply those beliefs during class- Reacting to how students used sources the study, I can suggest several possible room activities. As a whole, students during the WWII unit, he said, explanations, including the following: used sources of historical information I don’t have the sense that they are taking (e.g., lectures, film, the textbook) as the source and then [comparing it to] 1. The authority of teachers legit- banks of information from which to another to layer onto their understanding. imized the films. make a withdrawal. Students’ relation- . . . I have a sense that mostly what they 2. The classroom activities in con- ships to sources were passive; they have is they get information and put them junction with films did not require or sought to acquire and memorize infor- in different boxes and the deeper connec- support a deeper examination of the tion is not strong. . . . As a group they are mation. Only on rare occasions did stu- uncritical and they are also reasonably films, thus reinforcing the films as good dents exhibit a more sophisticated way simplistic. They will look for an answer historical sources. There were no dis- to employ sources in constructing histo- and once they think they have an answer cussions of possible biases or inaccura- ry, such as comparing sources to one they are done. I don’t see a lot of nuanced cies in the films. another or considering author bias. Dur- thinking. Nuance is not their friend. . . . 3. Several students explained that the they continue to just look at everything ing the unit on WWII, the students were and say wow. . . . I don’t know if they big picture of the film—the overall not constructing their own history. Their question much the believability and accu- themes, content, and story—are true, and sources provided an already erected his- racy of sources. that it is the little details, which the stu-

THE SOCIAL STUDIES MARCH/APRIL 2005 63 dents say “don’t really matter,” that get tains a list of print and online resources deeper understanding and to practice altered. to support my suggestions. making sense of film. Hundreds of WWII feature films are Suggestions for the Use of Films Film as Evidence of History available and appropriate for high school classrooms. The film Fat Man Feature films are representations of During a focus group exercise, Seixas and Little Boy (1989) tells the story of history and can serve as primary and (1994) found that high school students the building of the atomic bomb during secondary source documents, depend- viewed recent films as a mirror of the WWII. Reflected primarily through the ing on the film used and the questions past. I suggest that instead of looking at eyes of General Groves, the military we help students ask of a film. There are films as a mirror, teachers ask students officer in charge of the project, and a number of practices that I use in class- to invoke the image of a lake. At times, Robert Oppenheimer, the lead scientist, students can follow the arguments for and against building and then using the Feature films are representations of history and atomic bomb. The on-screen debates are can be primary and secondary resources. Teach- a good starting point for in-class dia- ers use films to help students explore history. logue. The discussion in the film can also be compared to primary source Films are not stand-alone documents but contain documents that detail the positions and interesting information about historical events. viewpoints of various scientists, military officials, and political leaders. The films Pearl Harbor (2001) and a lake is calm and reflects a more accu- rooms and observe other teachers fol- Tora Tora Tora! (1970) offer varying rate, though still slightly distorted, pic- lowing that seem to use film productive- perspectives on the bombing of Pearl ture of the past. At other times, wind or ly as a vehicle for thinking historically. Harbor. The films can be compared to children playing and skipping rocks cre- Many secondary teachers discuss care- each other, not only for how they por- ate ripples in the water, further warping fully choosing films and clips to use in tray events leading up to the Japanese the image reflected. Some films have class, considering lesson objectives, the attack but also for how the viewpoints more ripples than others (e.g., the intent film’s content and perspective, time, and vary, based on the historical context in of director, the film as entertainment or other factors. Many teachers also which each film was made. Similar a profit-making enterprise, a lack of research the film’s target audience, the comparisons can be made between films research, various political agendas and director’s viewpoints or aims, the created and released during or right societal attitudes, or the atmosphere at actors’ views, what was happening in after WWII and decades later. Students the time of the film’s release). Films, society at the time the film was created can study the perspectives that those textbooks, the teacher, and other and released, other historical and cultur- films take and how society’s attitudes sources of students’ historical knowl- al contexts, and the aesthetic aspects of and beliefs influence a film’s storyline, edge are far from mirrors. They are film (the resource list can assist teachers dialogue, and audience reception. Con- valuable but distorted sources. Teachers in this task without their giving up their sider comparing films (or segments of can bring students to the lake to show prized lunch duty). One key may be not the films) such as Best Years of Our them the reflective process. to rely solely on any one film as a Lives (1946), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Next, I offer ideas for how to use Hol- source of historical information or on The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), lywood film in high school history class- films to provide the facts. Instead, The Longest Day (1962), The Thin Red rooms. To provide specific examples, I teachers can use the film to assist stu- Line (1998), and Saving Private Ryan focus on World War II, a unit common in dents in the act of creating and explor- (1998) and examining how the films are U.S. and world history classes and one ing history. Another successful strategy a reflection of the society of their time. with a large choice of films. The sugges- is to use film in conjunction with other Although films are not stand-alone tions are by no means complete, but are sources, such as photos, textbooks, and historical documents, many WWII films an effort to expand the dialogue among primary source documents, and to pre- do offer important and interesting evi- educators, historians, and filmmakers sent a film as one piece of the historical dence of historical events. The images and more explicitly bind pedagogy with puzzle, challenging the students’ and presented in feature films are re-created film to improve students’ historical the teacher’s notions of the trustworthi- but done often with painstaking detail understanding. In the suggestions, I con- ness of all historical sources, including and authenticity. The Thin Red Line and sider film as evidence of history and film film. An approach that often works well other films present realistic battle as a tool to develop and explore issues of is to incorporate film into lessons scenes, and Schindler’s List (1993) and historical empathy, historical perspec- throughout the year, alongside readings Come See the Paradise (1990) represent tive, and historical significance. The and other activities, so that students the struggles and mistreatment of appendix at the end of the article con- have multiple opportunities to develop humans with blunt, stark images. Patton

64 MARCH/APRIL 2005 THE SOCIAL STUDIES (1970) is a biography that not only Pearl Harbor as told from two points of humor to tackle the death and horror. In offers a historical narrative about the view. The scenes of Americans had an addition to prefilm activities, such as wartime general but also in many ways American director, and the scenes of the preparing students for the graphic is a product of its time (filmed and Japanese had a Japanese director. Two images they will see in the film, acquir- released during the Vietnam conflict) additional films allow students to see ing parent permission, and providing and has been cited as both a prowar and non-American perspectives on the war. background information about the antiwar statement. Films can be used as Das Boot (1981) is the story of a Ger- Holocaust, I find that keeping journals evidence of a specific historical event man U-boat crew and their experiences while viewing the films allows students and as evidence of societal characteris- during the war, all from the German to process their intellectual and emo- tics during the time period in which they point of view. The Longest Day (1962) tional reactions to the films. Journal were created. portrays D-Day from multiple points of entries might be general reactions to the view, including American, French, film or answers to such specific ques- Historical Perspective British, and German viewpoints. Stu- tions as the following: dents can be assigned to focus on one What strategies did individuals and The advertisement for the film perspective or to compare and contrast families use to cope with the brutality Remember the Titans (2000) includes all points of view. and death around them? the line, “History is written by the win- Although those films present non- How do the characters in these films ners.” A cursory study of history can American perspectives, a truly unique act differently and similarly to what you often be a narrative constructed around way to expose students to nontradition- see in today’s society (whether in the the “winner’s” perspective. Are not al points of view on WWII is to show U.S. or Iraq)? social studies teachers obligated to tell Soviet, German, and Italian films made the story of the past from the perspec- before, during, and just after WWII Whether showing the films in their tive of more than just the winners? If so, (such as The Eternal Jew [1933]). Such entirety or culling clips, a helpful tech- questions to ask of films include the fol- films may be more difficult to find and nique that many teachers use is to pause lowing: Whose story is being told? Who are more likely to require additional the film periodically so students have is telling the story? Whose viewpoint or research by the teacher, but they are time to write and process in their jour- story is absent and at what expense? excellent documents to compare por- nals without a continual bombardment Every film has a perspective or point of trayals of wartime enemies, propaganda of jolting scenes. view, although that may not be obvious messages, and the viewpoints of the vic- In addition to presenting the human to students. Examining perspective is torious and the defeated. dimension of the Holocaust, war films critical to understanding film and equal- offer ample opportunities to create empa- ly important in studying history. Historical Empathy thy with soldiers and the terror of battle. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) is Many teachers use the opening scene as interesting for the multiple perspec- Students’ engagement with film can from Saving Private Ryan (1998) to tives it offers as for the points of view expand discussion and may support the illustrate the brutal warfare of D-Day. that are absent. The film follows three development of historical empathy. The This scene can also be shown in con- WWII veterans home as they adjust to entertainment value of film allows stu- junction with real documentary footage civilian life after the war. Each of the dents to relate to the content, form or scenes from The Longest Day (1962) veterans represents a different class of bonds with characters, and “feel” histo- to compare and contrast various perspec- society and point of view. At the same ry. Films can be entertaining and educa- tives on the invasion of Europe. Students time, there is no significant minority tional. For instance, WWII films often usually have limited personal experience representation in the film. Minorities present serious content, containing such with the horror of participating in battle. are underrepresented in WWII films. themes as death, human rights, broken Films have the potential to re-create, For a Japanese-American perspective, families, and psychological trauma. The with varying degrees of accuracy, those consider Come See the Paradise (1990) solemn and somber nature of many war emotionally powerful experiences. or Snow Falling on Cedars (1999). The films naturally evokes empathy; howev- Tuskegee Airmen (1995) is one example er, they always require sensitivity to stu- Historical Significance of the African American experience dur- dents who may get upset. Schindler’s ing the war. Students can explore the List (1993) and Life Is Beautiful (1998) Films are the means to help students perspectives contained within the film provide powerful and realistic images of see our relationship to the past. Images as well as compare the films’ point of the Holocaust. They also provide a con- from WWII films can be compared to view, or missing viewpoints, to other trast in film-making style and how to video and photographs from U.S. mili- films and other historical documents. deal with a serious subject. Schindler’s tary involvement in Korea, Vietnam, Another film with interesting per- List is filmed in black and white to re- and Iraq, linking several different wars spectives is Tora Tora Tora! (1970). It is create the film images of the time peri- to each other and to the present. The the story about the Japanese attack on od, whereas Life Is Beautiful uses films Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

THE SOCIAL STUDIES MARCH/APRIL 2005 65 and Come See the Paradise (1990), ensuring that students possess the histori- Toplin, Robert Brent, and Jason Eudy. which contain scenes about Japanese cal film literacy skills to learn from, inter- 2002. Teaching film and history. Organiza- Internment during WWII, can be con- pret, and evaluate the creations of Spiel- tion of American Historians Magazine of History 16 (4): 7–8. trasted with film and written accounts berg, Stone, Gibson, Moore, and other Wilson, Wendy S., and Gerald H. Her- from Vietnam and with images from popular-culture “historians.” man. 2002. American history on the screen: U.S. treatment of Iraqi prisoners from Film and video resource. Portland, ME: J. the 2003–04 Iraq war. Key words: assessing accuracy in Weston Walch. A film that promotes bridging the movies, evaluating historical film, films Woggon, John. Class Web site with infor- in social studies classes mation about historically based films. past and the present is HBO’s Band of http://www.historyinfilm.com/. Brothers (2001). This ten-episode drama that chronicles the WWII experi- APPENDIX A Additional Resources REFERENCES ences of Easy Company incorporates for Teachers interviews and dialogue with the real- The following books, articles, and Web Avery, R., A. Mathios, J. Shanahan, and C. life characters on which the film is sites are useful references. Bisogni. 1997. Journal of Public Policy and based. That feature of the film promotes American Film Institute. Database of Marketing 16: 217–33. Quoted in K. Hor- reflection on the events portrayed in the information about films and the movie gen, M. Choate, and K. Brownell. 2001. film and can serve as an entry point to industry. http://www.afi.com/ Television food advertising: targeting chil- examining how the war affected indi- Carnes, Mark C., ed. 1996. Past imper- dren in a toxic environment. In Handbook fect: History according to the movies. New of Children and the Media, ed. D. Singer viduals and the world today. Because York: Henry Holt. and J. Singer. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. the extraordinary number of characters Davidson, James West, and Mark Hamil- Briley, R. 2002. Teaching film and history. in the film can be confusing, a produc- ton Lytle. 2000. After the fact: The art of Organization of American Historians tive exercise with students is to have historical detection. Boston, MA: McGraw- Magazine of History 16 (4): 5–6. them shadow one character throughout Hill. Carnes, M. C. 1996. Fat man and little boy. Film and History: An Interdisciplinary In Past imperfect: History according to the film. Journal of Film and Television Studies. the movies, ed. M. C. Carnes. New York: http://www.h-net.org/~filmhis/. Henry Holt. Conclusion Horn, John. 2001. The Road to “Pearl Davis, N. Z. 2000. Slaves on screen: Film Harbor.” Newsweek, May 14. and historical vision. Cambridge, MA: Teachers have an obligation to con- Internet Movie Database. Database of Harvard University Press. information about films. http://www.imdb. Feinberg, S., and S. Totten. 1995. Steven template the influence of Hollywood com/. Spielberg: A social education interview. film on students’ historical understand- Kolker, Robert. 1999. Film, form, and Social Education 59 (6): 365. ing and to consider the use of film in culture. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill College. Goodstein, L. 2004. Some Christians see their teaching practices. Students are Paris, Matthew J. 1997. Integrating film “Passion” as evangelism tool. New York exposed to expansive representations of and television into social studies instruction. Times, February 5. ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/ Goldstein, P. 1995. Teaching Schindler’s list. history through film, though only a nar- Social Science. ED O-SO-9714. Social Education 59 (6): 362. row representation of perspectives. Poltorak, David. 1992. Problems of per- Johnson, J., and C. Vargas. 1994. The smell Despite film’s often fictional inclina- ception of audiovisual information in study- of celluloid in the classroom: Five great tions, it can be useful, “[a]s long as we ing history. History Teacher 25 (3): 313–19. movies that teach. Social Education 58 bear in mind the differences between Rollins, Peter C., ed. 1983. Hollywood as (2): 109. historian: American film in a cultural con- Justice, B. 2003. Historical fiction to histor- film and professional prose, we can take text. Lexington, KY: University Press of ical fact: Gangs of New York and the film seriously as a source of valuable Kentucky. whitewashing of history. Social Education and even innovative historical vision” Rollins, Peter C., ed. 2004. The Columbia 67 (4): 213. (Davis 2000, 15). companion to American history on film. Kaiser Family Foundation. 1999. Kids and Any group of humans, even expert his- New York: Columbia University Press. media @ the new millennium. National Rosenstone, Robert A. 1995. Visions of the Public Study. http://www.kff.org/content/ torians, do not fully agree on how to past: The challenge of film to our idea of his- 1999/1535/ (accessed November 10, 1999). interpret today’s events, such as the U.S. tory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Lampman, J. 2004. Upcoming film on Jesus presence in Iraq, voters’ decisions in Press. sparks anti-Semitism fears. Christian Sci- national elections, or the impact of Janet Rosenzweig, Roy. 2000. How Americans ence Monitor online. http://csmonitor.com/ Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” let use and think about the past: Implications (accessed July 12, 2004). from a national survey for the teaching of his- Marcus, A. 2003. Celluloid blackboard: alone what happened almost two thou- tory. In Knowing, teaching, and learning his- Teacher practices with film and students’ sand years ago. Films present one version tory: National and international perspectives, historical understanding. Paper presented of history. It is, however, a slippery slope ed. P. N. Stearns, P. Seixas, and S. Wineburg. at the annual conference of the American when any historical representation—fic- New York: New York University Press. Educational Research Association, Chica- tion or nonfiction, film or text—claims to Teaching with Movies. http://www.teach go. April 10. withmovies.org/. Mason, T. C. 2000. The filmmaker as be the truth about the past and deprives us Toplin, Robert Brent. 1996. History by humanist. Social Education 64 (1): 14. of the wonder and reality of historical dis- Hollywood. Urbana, IL: University of Illi- Paxton, R. J., and P. Meyerson. 2002. From covery. Teachers are responsible for nois Press. Birth of a nation to Pearl Harbor:The

66 MARCH/APRIL 2005 THE SOCIAL STUDIES influence of a movie’s perspective on stu- York: Columbia University Press. Times, January 28. dents’ historical understandings. Paper Rosenstone, R. A. 1995. Visions of the past: Shemilt, D. J. 1978. Historical understand- presented at the annual meeting of the The challenge of film to our idea of history. ing at the upper secondary level. Trends in American Educational Research Associa- Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Education (Spring):15–19. tion, New Orleans, April 20. Seixas, P. 1994. Confronting the moral Sturma, M., and J. MacCallum. 2000. JFK in Rauzi, R. 1998. The teen factor: Today’s frames of popular film: Young people the classroom. The Social Studies 91 (3): media-savvy youths influence what others respond to historical revisionism. Ameri- 101–4. are seeing and hearing. Los Angeles Times can Journal of Education 102 (3): 261–85. Toplin, R. B. 1996. History by Hollywood. June 9. Quoted in Strasburger, V. 2001. ———. 1996. Conceptualizing the growth Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Children, adolescents, drugs, and the of historical understanding. In Handbook Weinburg, S. 2001. Historical thinking and media. In Handbook of children and the of education and human development, ed. other unnatural acts. Philadelphia: Tem- media, ed. D. Singer and J. Singer. Thou- D. Olson and N. Torrance. Cambridge, ple University Press. sand Oaks, CA: Sage. MA: Blackwell. Weinstein, P. B. 2001. Movies as the gateway Rollins, P. C., ed. 2004. The Columbia com- Shapiro, James. 2004. There’s never been a to history: The history and film project. panion to American history on film. New “passion” for the truth. Los Angeles History Teacher 35 (1): 27.

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