Abstract

In teaching history, instructors often employ popular motion pictures that portray at least some of the past well. Scholars often criticize films for their distortions and inaccuracies, but their flaws provide even more opportunities for instructional purposes. Access to and availability of popular film allows humanities instructors to employ this resource in new ways that are very effective with today’s media-savvy students. Projects employing film not only stimulate students’ interest in the subject but involve them in a learning environment in which they are comfortable. Ancillary benefits include critical literacy and heightened awareness of the quality of information in our data rich age.