History Through Movies
Many of the world’s moviemakers have been drawn to recreate pivotal events from our past through the lens of historical fiction, resulting in highly entertaining, and often award-winning, viewing. These movies have, in some cases, had an impact far beyond entertainment, shaping perceptions of events long after the fact (and the movies’ releases). During each week of these high school courses (appropriate for students 12 and up), a movie will be viewed at home and then we’ll critically examine the truths and fictionalizations (intentional or not) in each film during moderated class-based discussions. Discussion topics are posted in homework to help guide the viewing of each film in its appropriate historical context. Most of the selected movies are rated at least PG (a.k.a. ‘Parental Guidance’ suggested), although some are rated R. We strongly advise parents to be aware of the content that their children would be viewing before signing up for these courses and we encourage families to view and discuss the films together.
