{"id":9189,"date":"2017-05-18T18:06:02","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T18:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=9189"},"modified":"2017-05-18T18:06:02","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T18:06:02","slug":"are-movies-a-good-way-to-learn-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/are-movies-a-good-way-to-learn-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Are movies a good way to learn history?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Alan Metzger<\/a>, Pennsylvania State University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Hollywood loves history. At this year\u2019s Academy Awards<\/a>, three nominees for Best Picture (\u201cFences<\/a>,\u201d \u201cHacksaw Ridge<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHidden Figures<\/a>\u201d) were \u201chistorical\u201d to today\u2019s teenagers \u2013 set in or about events that occurred before they were born. \"The<\/p>\n

History movies, like most movies, have a huge audience in the U.S. Even Disney\u2019s notorious 2004 version of \u201cThe Alamo<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a box office \u201cbomb\u201d<\/a> \u2013 was seen by millions. That\u2019s far more people than read most best-selling historians\u2019 books.<\/p>\n

A lot of these viewers are kids, watching the movies in theaters, at home and even at school. I\u2019ve observed \u201cThe Alamo\u201d used by teachers on more than one occasion.<\/p>\n

But are motion pictures like these good for learning about history? As a scholar of social studies education and the use of film to teach history<\/a>, I offer the response that films can support learning \u2013 if used to meet specific goals and connected to the proper subject matter.<\/p>\n

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