Film in the Classroom: Film and History
Feature films can be an absorbing and imaginative way of exploring the evidence we have of the past. Film can present information rapidly and its strength lies in its ability to convey atmosphere – allowing viewers to 'feel' history rather than to 'think' it. However, any such study must highlight that all history is 'mediated' in some way. Even historians give us a number of views of history, as they are writing in different times, in different environments and with different political and cultural experiences. Students of history must learn how to read and interpret sources, developing the skills to identify, decode and take a critical approach to the evidence they encounter. In the same way, history students must consider closely the construction process not just of film but of the history that it represents.