Re: "20 classic films that every child should see" - UK educational charity ...

From: [email protected]

I think these lists are a good 'jumping off' place. My district   
allowed me
to write the curriculum and teach a high school social studies  elective
called History in Film, which is based on AFI's top 100 American  
Films  list.
The vast majority of my 11th-12th grade students have never seen the   
films
we discuss. The course uses popular film to explore American  society  
and
cultural attitudes at the time of each film's release.

Some examples:
I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1930s-Pre-Code Hollywood)
It Happened One Night (1930s-the birth of screwball comedy and the art  
of
storytelling)
The Mortal Storm, Mrs. Miniver, & Casablanca (1940s-WWII  Propaganda)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1940s-Post-war  Veteran Experience)
The Searchers (1950s-Ethnic Stereotyping & Racism in the American   
Western)
Dr. Strangelove... (1960s-Nuclear Deterrence & MAD)
American Graffiti (1970s-History of Adolescence & loss of  innocence)
The Sting (1970s-the Anti-Hero)
Rocky (1970s-America's Long Road Back)
Tootsie (1980s-Women's Issues & Gender Issues)

Some films I have had to pull in the past for lack of interest (just  
didn't
engage the students):
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
High Noon

Students are also required to choose films from the AFI list (that they
have not already seen) to view outside class and write critical  
reviews.  The
last grading period, the students work together to compile their own  
list
of must-see films and everyone chooses a film to review (including  me).

The class discussions are great and many fall in love with certain  
genres
and/or actors. Most had never heard of TCM (Turner Classic Movies)  
before
entering my class; now, many come to class or send an email to tell me  
about
some old Mae West or Buster Keaton film they watched over the weekend. I
still  receive email mini-reviews from past students of films I MUST  
see and
appreciate.

Tracey Osborn
Rowlett High School
Rowlett, Texas
[email protected]