I wrote about four other pieces while scratching this simple post out: it is really hard to explain things you’ve been considering for decades. Going with a simple Film Lesson helped me get something down; future posts will continue these, but some will be about larger topics, more contentious opinions, and broader analyses. I’ll have to categorize them somehow. Bear with me.
Here’s a thing you might not know:
Once upon a time, Star Wars was not the thing it is now. In the late '80s and early '90s, Star Wars was just a movie that had happened. An impactful movie, but prior to the internet and the rebooting of the franchise, it was not the global branding exercise it is now. There was a time when you didn’t hear about it much.
That was a fun time. I enjoyed Star Wars then. And it was a true delight to bring it to kids who did not know it: first at a summer camp, and then in my first classes.
For twelve-year-olds in 1999, the 1977 Star Wars worked very nicely. Twenty-three years later, teaching grades 11 and 12 Film, I would never try and study it now. Not only am I exhausted by Star Wars’ ultra-saturation, but the related minutiae would kill the lessons in their crib - all the information, all the intertextuality, all the merchandise, and all the competing fandoms… Two seconds in and half the class would be swallowed in passionate debates and fierce arguments; the other half of the class will be rolling their eyes and pulling out their phones. A friend of mine still uses it in middle school - I should ask him if it still kills. Another friend has brought her love for Harry Potter to her classes, and those kids all wind up walking around with wands and cloaks.
Anywayyy
Here’s the basic idea about teaching Star Wars. It’s not genius or anything, but it was the first film I taught, and I learned a lot of teaching film basics doing it.
Star Wars (A New Hope) is a super-clear way to teach story basics: plot, character, conflict, setting, theme. It was written to the hero’s journey/quest template, so it’s easy to explore that way, and it’s a Hollywood film, so it’s easy to demonstrate that old “mountain” plot structure.
Its settings are as simple as they come, with entire planets having single ecosystems, like in Flash Gordon. The characters are all simple, easy to do sketches of, easy to sort into types. The conflicts are spelled out in the dialogue, as clear as they come, and there are examples of those three reliable types (character vs. character, self, nature) The themes are simple: good versus evil, love versus violence, spirit versus technology. Themes are never really easy to teach, but starting with “worldview versus worldview” opens the jar easily. There’s a reason this film was a hit with kids (besides branding). It’s simple AF.
And because the story is memorable, these things are easy to teach and easy to test. You can refer to the Death Star blowing up and the scenes leading up to it as reminders of suspense and climax forever.
It is a good thing to use a simple but popular story early in a school year: it relaxes kids who are intimidated by reading, who might be anticipating feeling stupid. It is easy but full. And (I don’t know if Star Wars would work this way now, but) employing works from popular culture helps kids to like you, gets you in their good books, because it shows your respect for what they’re into.
What If They Don’t Like It?
Try not to attach too much hope that your awesome lesson will be received as awesome. Someday I’ll tell you about an incredible fail of mine involving Lennon’s “Imagine” that ended with me getting punched in the face.
Working with unpredictable kids in my early 20s taught me an amazing lesson: You must plan everything - AND you must be okay with it not going according to plan AT ALL. If the class turns out to absolutely hate Star Wars, don’t keep hammering at it. Let it go, baby.
If They Really Like It
I think it’s best to have more lesson ideas than you can use - because if some work or idea is a good fit, you’ll want to keep it going. Here are some easy extensions for Star Wars:
Write a Review
Whether it’s a simple “I liked it and here’s what I liked” writeup, or a more sophisticated review in which students try to share their opinion with support but without spoiling the film, writing about the film is a reliable activity. It can focus on the writing process, or on presentation (layout), and be as involved as you wish. If you have a student who just can’t follow directions and hands in Fan Fiction or something, nothing is really lost and you can accommodate that. The review can also be filmed (this is the review style kids now will be familiar with), and that can also go deep into the process (and use a team) or be super-simple and just allow a kid who needs to not write right now still complete the assignment. (I promise that I will explore Individualizing teaching and being flexible at length in future pieces.)
Summarize It
Star Wars - the single first film - is easy to summarize, especially if you’ve chunked it thoughtfully. I like comics a lot, and often had students - in pairs or tiny groups - choose a section and do a 3 or 4 panel strip of it. This allows your artists to reveal their skill, gets some practical group work in, and the end result is a really great bulletin board that they can be proud of, that parents can look at, and that can let your VP quickly see that learning is happening in your classroom. (I wish I had access to my filing cabinet right now… I have examples of these comics that are adorable.)
Teach the Filmic Stuff
If you’re comfortable and into it, you can easily use the film to teach camera angles, shots and movements; transitions; credits; tropes. Those all - like the elements of stories - need to be repeated over years but will become familiar, and kids will enjoy being able to spot these filmic tools. They’ll use them in their filmed work once they know them. And your aspiring film geeks will likely enjoy side-conversations like Practical versus CGI Effects, reboots, franchises, the importance of the director, etc. I’ll talk about all of that over time. For now, here’s My Secret to Successful Film Teaching:
RELENTLESSLY PAUSE THE MOVIE
The most important step to using film well in classes in my life was learning to warn the students beforehand, even on the first day of school, that I will be pausing every movie we ever watch together, even if they hate it. Don’t give them shit for booing - it can be funny. Pausing the film boots the viewer out of the experience, and teachers generally don’t do this (therefore the pauses are determined by bells and random “we’re out of time” moments, which devalues the whole thing). Let them boo. But still do it.
Here’s the phrasing I use: “This isn’t WATCHING a movie, this is STUDYING a movie.” Try and treat it like commercials when a movie shows on TV: you need to choose your times, and have something to teach, discuss or demonstrate during the pause.
If you’re NOT pausing the film, you are not able to point things out as you go. When you’re teaching film, you have to point things out. If you wait until the end, huge pieces of it will be forgotten. I often, after an interesting bit, pause, explore, explain and then rewind that scene to show the ideas in action. It’s tedious for some kids, but they don’t know anything. Teach them. They stop booing. (The paused image is often strange or awkward; I’ve had classes who loved looking for really bad pauses.)
My students have always included plenty of kids with attention issues, and pausing as part of my teaching allows kids to “pause” the film themselves when they’re confused or lost or see something interesting themselves. Naturally, the kid who raises her hand to ask what’s happening will get hollered at by kids as annoying interrupters - if you’ve set up a halting viewing experience with these pause breaks, student questions will feel more natural. A film is a long piece of art, and kids who need help comprehending will not get anything out of simply talking about it after viewing.
Most Kids Are Already Really Good at Watching Movies
They have been practicing since they were babies! Mostly when you’re teaching film to kids who’ve grown up with it, you’re teaching them about the things they already know, which is a really fun way to teach. You’re showing them what things they know are called, how they work, and they feel empowered by this. For the teacher, it’s like being the cat who gets to tell Superman about his skills - a good job! You can use this with grammar too, if you’re deft. More on all of that later.
Okay! Thanks for reading. If you’re skimming, the main takeaway re. teaching film is to embrace pausing the heck out of it. Even if they boo you. :)
Thanks for reading. More soon.
xo jep
PS: please share.
I pause regularly when reading a novel or play with students. Sometimes to check for understanding at at crucial point in the story, share cultural or historical context students might not know, or talk about a story element or literary device we've learned about. Such a valuable process!
I'm going to raid your cabinet tomorrow and checkout someone the storyboards. I want to be in your Film class so I can boo and hiss.