Teaching With Film
Tennessee Teaching and Learning Center
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
www.tenntlc.edu
Dr. Taimi Olsen, Assistant Director
June 7 2010
The purpose of this workshop is to
understand film analysis and to plan for
the use of a film in your classroom.
Participants will use the tenets of visual
and media literacy and practice film
analysis.
Visual Literacy
The term “Visual Literacy” was first coined in 1969 by John
Debes, who offered the following definition of the term:
“Visual Literacy refers to a group of vision-competencies a
human being can develop by seeing and at the same time
having and integrating other sensory experiences. The
development of these competencies is fundamental to
normal human learning. When developed, they enable a
visually literate person to discriminate and interpret the
visible actions, objects, symbols, natural or man-made, that
he encounters in his environment. Through the creative use
of these competencies, he is able to communicate with
others. Through the appreciative use of these competencies,
he is able to comprehend and enjoy the masterworks of
visual communication.”
In his 1997 article “Thoughts on Visual Literacy,”
Philip Yenawine describes visual literacy as:
"…the ability to find meaning in imagery. It involves a
set of skills ranging from simple identification (naming
what one sees) to complex interpretation on
contextual, metaphoric and philosophical levels. Many
aspects of cognition are called upon, such as personal
association, questioning, speculating, analyzing, factfinding, and categorizing. Objective understanding is
the premise of much of this literacy, but subjective
and affective aspects of knowing are equally
important."
What do you see?
Strategies for Analyzing Visual Images
1. Examine the image holistically what does it represent? What is your initial reaction? Does it convey a message?
2. Consider the nature of the image
Is this a professional portrait or a candid press shot?
Was this video taken at a prepared ceremony or a spontaneous event?
Were people, images, or objects deliberately posed to make a statement?
3. Examine perspective
Is the subject depicted n close-up or at a distance?
Does the subject appear in control of the environment or does the background clash or dominate the frame?
4. Analyze contrasts and contexts
Is the background supportive, neutral, or hostile to the subject? Does the image
depict conflict or harmony?
5. Examine poses and body language of human figures
How are human figures depicted? What emotion do they seem to express?
6. Look for bias
Do you sense the photographers were trying to manipulate the people or events depicted, casting them in either a favorable or negative
light?
7. Consider the larger context
Does the image offer a fair representation of a larger event or an isolated exception?
8. Review the image for possible manipulation
Could camera angles or retouching have altered what appears to be a record of actual events?
9. Consider the story the image seems to tell
What is the thesis of this image? What visual details or symbols help tell the story?
Source: Chapter 3, page 50, Critical Reading, “The Sundance Reader” (4th Ed, 2006) Mark Connelly, Thomson/Wadsworth http://www.frankwbaker.com/doc_vislit.htm
Media Literacy
The definition most often cited in the US is a succinct sentence
hammered out by participants at the 1992 Aspen Media Literacy
Leadership Institute:
Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a
variety of forms.
Definitions, however, evolve over time and a more robust definition is
now needed to situate media literacy in the context of its
importance for the education of students in a 21st century media
culture. The Center for Media Literacy (http://www.medialit.org )
now uses this expanded definition:
Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education. It provides
a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a
variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media
literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as
well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for
citizens of a democracy.
CML’s Five Core Concepts
1. All media messages are constructed.
2. Media messages are constructed using a
creative language with its own rules.
3. Different people experience the same media
message differently.
4. Media have embedded values and points of
view.
5. Most media messages are organized to gain
profit and/or power.
CML’s Five Key Questions
1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques are used to
attract my attention?
3. How might different people understand
this message differently?
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view
are represented in, or omitted from, this
message?
5. Why is this message being sent?
Consider Scenes from Que Tan Lejos
Activity 1
1. Who created this message and what
creative techniques are used to attract my
attention?
2. What values, lifestyles and points of view
are represented in, or omitted from, this
message?
3. Why is this message being sent?
Activity 2
1 person gets an image
1 person gets the dialogue
React to your ‘piece’ and compare to the film
Individual Reflection
The exquisite connections between the
culture that is lived and the language that
is spoken can only be realized by those
who possess a knowledge of both.
Tennessee standards: Language (year 2)
Standard Number 2 (Goal Two): Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other
Cultures
Standard Rationale: The study of another language enables students to
understand a different culture on its own terms. The exquisite connections
between the culture that is lived and the language that is spoken can only
be realized by those who possess a knowledge of both. American students
need to develop an awareness of other people’s world views, of their
unique way of life, and of the patterns of behavior which order their world,
as well as to learn about contributions of other cultures to the world at
large and the solutions they offer to the common problems of mankind.
Learning Expectations:
2.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the
practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
2.2 AND between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.
Tennessee Standards: Reading
The students in grades 9-12 will learn, practice, and
internalize strategies that are essential life-long learning
skills for reading, writing, understanding, and interpreting
content specific materials. The strategies will be applied
in the content areas of English, mathematics, science, and
social studies. Skills will include:
 previewing and reviewing print and non-print
 activating prior knowledge
 processing and acquiring new vocabulary
 organizing information
 understanding visual representations
 self-monitoring
 and reflecting
text
Instructional Strategies: Terms for Reading
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Critical reading is reading “text in such a way as to question
assumptions, explore perspectives, and critique underlying social
and political values or stances.” (IRA and NCTE, 1996, p.71)
Implied meaning is meaning which cannot be cited from the
text but which may be drawn from the reading; reading “between
the lines.”
Metacognition is the awareness and knowledge of one’s mental
processes such that one can monitor, regulate, and direct them to
a desired end; self-mediation; thoughts about thinking (cognition);
for example, thinking about how to understand a reading
selection.
Non-print text means visual media other than printed material
(e.g., photographs, movies, symbols).
Visual message refers to non-print texts (e.g., cartoons, posters,
pictures).
http://www.state.tn.us/education/ci/english/doc/ENG_3081.pdf
What’s Next
Tools For Teaching
Story Board
Article on Movies in
the Classroom (on
wiki)
Pre-film questions
CML philosophy
(on wiki)
Resources
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
“MediaLitKit.” Center for Media Literacy.
http://www.medialit.org/focus/film_home.html
“Visual Thinking.” Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt
University.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/resources/teaching_re
sources/activities/vizthink.htm#stories
International Visual Literacy Association
http://www.ivla.org/org_what_vis_lit.htm
“Film Vocabulary Flashcards.” Quizlet. 2010.
http://quizlet.com/168298/film-vocabulary-flashcards/
Potter, James. Theory of Media Literacy: a Cognitive
Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2004.