Pop Culture as an RE Resource: Using Film – Celia Warrick

Film is a wonderful resource for RE, and while it’s tempting to stick to the films that boldly display their RE themes – Bruce Almighty, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Prince of Egypt – there is a lot to be gained from the ones we might be passing over. Two of my classroom favourites are the classic children’s film E.T. and the somewhat gruesome Blood Diamond. I also favour superhero films and the entire Harry Potter canon, where themes of good and evil, loyalty, betrayal and personal sacrifice are played out in child-friendly sequences: everyday morality writ large. However, it can sometimes be difficult to decide how to tease out the RE aspects, and how best to use a film to support a topic.

Finding a religious thread in modern Western cinema is a fairly simple affair – even the most saccharine Disney film contains conflict and dilemma (the key elements of moral choice), and the testosterone-fuelled antics of Hollywood schlock like Cowboys and Aliens can provoke discussion about violence, retaliation and teamwork. Find a point to develop from and see how far you can chase the thread through the plot. It may only work for you in a single scene, or it might arc over the entire plot, but you need to be familiar enough with it that you can expand upon it for your class. For the hesitant, I have included a brief list of suggestions for various topics at the end of the text.

After identifying your film and its RE theme, the first consideration one must make is whether enough lesson time is available for what you want to show. Obviously, one class a fortnight only gives enough space for short clips, whereas an allocation of five lessons allows the luxury of studying a whole film. Time available greatly affects the choice of film, as some issues may be presented as part of a plot too convoluted to abridge. For example, Blood Diamond in unsuitable for short clips as most of the ethical considerations of the diamond trade come from the characters’ entire story arc. I have, however, used the ‘going home’ sequence from E.T. (about 20 minutes of fantastic ascension imagery) as a stand-alone clip in a single lesson.

The next task is to decide exactly what the class should be learning from the clip, and how you are going to achieve it. Students need something to focus their mind on the points in hand, rather than having the opportunity to let their minds wander. A sheet of questions to be answered during the film, ranging from factual (main characters’ names, brief scene descriptions) to critical (do you think X’s actions were right?) ensures that the students are led through the main points of your selection. For a short clip, making a list of keys words summarising the scene’s emotions, action, imagery etc., is a good focus task that can be tailored to the ability and maturity of the class. This is also the point in planning where you can firmly decide whether the content is suitable for your class – it goes without saying that your first point of reference needs to be the school policy for using age-rated films!

Lastly, I think that it is important to keep referring to the film during the lesson or topic – it is a resource for helping achieve clarity, and by failing to repeat the connection there is a risk that students may miss the point, wasting the usefulness of the clip. For example, younger students could have discussion questions about the characters that link to the topic (How does Elliott feel when E.T. goes home? Use this to help you explain how the disciples might have felt at Ascension.) whereas older students can answer more complicated essay questions (‘Criminals are always immoral people.’ Discuss with reference to the ferry scene in The Dark Knight.). Team up with Drama or English to script and perform role plays based on what the students think the characters’ moral choices should be, or create posters for the film that belie the morals discussed in class.

Students love films, and it’s great that we can harness this enthusiasm and use it to support the important issues that our subject raises. A clip from a gripping movie is going to stick in a child’s mind far longer than any case-study from a dry textbook, with the same educational benefits. By being selective about the films we use, and creative in our approaches to related tasks, we can create lessons that will stay with our pupils for years to come and that will hopefully be remembered every time they watch their favourite films.

Aladdin (1992)- ethics of crime, materialism

Any superhero film ever – the ethics of vigilantism

Avatar (2009) – environmental ethics, exploitation, war

Blood Diamond (2006) – business ethics, consequences of actions, personal sacrifice, ethics of journalism, child soldiers, slavery, corruption, arms trade

Captain America (2011) – (particularly grenade sequence in training) what is goodness?, war, sacrifice

District 9 (2009) – immigration, segregation

Dogma (1999) – a rude but searingly insightful look into the rules of man and God, and the politics of religion

Evan Almighty (2007) – call to witness

Fight Club (1999) – identity, use of violence, cult behaviour

Hotel Rwanda (2004) – genocide, bravery, ethics of peacekeeping

Spiderman (2002) (Tobey Maguire version) – responsibility of power (particularly the death of Uncle Ben)

Star Trek (1966-2009) – personal sacrifice, revenge / retribution

The Dark Knight (2008) – moral dilemmas, morality of criminality

X-men I, II & III (2000, 2003, 2006) – identity, intolerance

Celia Warrick

Autumn 2011