1) The story is the most important part of the film--not the budget, the starring celebrity, the special effects, the advertising, nor how much money the movie made on its opening weekend. I have had students tell me that a movie is great--after seeing only the commercial for the film. I have had students groan when I tell them we are going to watch a film they've never heard of, because they want to see only movies that they've seen advertised. This class will break away from the mindset of seeing only the newest movies, and enjoy films from throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century as we learn that it is the story that matters most.
2) When someone is watching something that is not a good story or is not well told, a smart thing to do is turn off the TV. Similarly, when someone is watching something that they know contains inappropriate elements a self-respecting thing to do is turn the TV off. Children are constantly learning that eating a proper diet is essential to developing a strong and healthy body. Similarly, it is just as important to care about what stories are absorbed by children every day of their lives. These students will learn that it really matters what they feed their hearts and minds.
3) Films are an extraordinarily complex art form, utilizing hundreds of artisans to create one well-told story. Students who have a better understanding of how movies are put together will have a greater respect for filmmakers, as well as a better appreciation for the inclusive art forms of writing, music, lighting, costume and set design, acting, directing, editing, photography, and more. Children who respect what they watch respect themselves more.
4) Much like a well-written book, the experience of which is enhanced for the reader with a proper literary foundation, such as a familiarity with vocabulary, grammatical structure, and alliteration—elements that all convey deeper levels of meaning and emotion to the trained reader--so too is a well-told film composed of complex layers and nuances revealed if one is equipped with the tools to interpret and analyze. We discuss film language, make predictions, and develop our film literacy. This means students learn to "read" movies, to determine what is happening in the story based on elements such as the pace of editing, colors and other imagery, music, and framing of shots. The ability to read images is an important part of developing a child's imagination and intelligence, as well as the child's interest in good storytelling.
5) This young generation is bombarded with more moving images than any other in human history. (Newsweek Magazine recently spoke of this as a war for your children's eyes.) Our society is saturated with visual stimulation, and children need instruction and guidance in how to interpret these images—they must be given a new vocabulary, a visual vocabulary, to understand what is being communicated through the multitude of images they are confronted with on a daily basis. Visual and subliminal communication is an incredibly powerful method of conveying information, particularly in today’s society, and children must be equipped with the tools of a discerning viewer.
