Colin Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Seeing Charlie Wilson's War made me want to teach a course on the subject or write a book. Here is a list of questions I would pose to the class. Any input or suggestions would be welcome: Politics & Movies Explore American politics, elections, democracy, economics, sociology and values through the motion picture medium by alternating between documentaries and popular movies with the Socratic method of question and discussion. Why do we love movies so much? What makes movies powerful? Is the Internet powerful? What is politics? What are the political movies that you know about? Which ones have you seen? Can we learn about American politics from movies? Should we learn about politics from movies? What would you like to learn about? Would you rather watch a movie than read a book? What are some great political books? Are there books about political movies? Which period of U.S. politics is the most important to learn about and why? What do political movies tell us about American politics? Americans? Which ones tell us the most? Which ones are the best primer on how things work? Which ones inspire us? Which ones educate us? Did any movie encourage you to learn more? What is the political genre? What are three questions you have before watching this movie? What are 3 questions you have after watching this movie? Where can you find the answers? Is a political movie defined by the process or the issue? Is a move about corruption a political movie? What are antagonists and protagonists? Does a political move have them? Should they? What is the conflict in a political movie? Should there be a resolution to the conflict? Is Schlinder’s List a political movie? Is it a great movie? What about The Robe, King of Kings and The Passion of the Christ? Are Pan’s Labyrinth, Good Night & Good Luck, V for Vendetta, The Color Purple, Is Born into Brothels or King of Scotland political movies? Are Crash or Do the Right Thing political movies? Are Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, United 93, To Kill A Mocking Bird, Syriana, Munich and Charlie Wilson’s War, Inconvenient Truth? Are stories like Power, Spinning Boris, Bobby, Spike Lee’s Malcom X, Oliver Stone’s JFK and Nixon good political movies? Is Robert Redford’s The Candidate the best political movie ever made? What about Primary Colors? What about documentaries like The Jesse Ventura Story, Race, and The Statute of Liberty? How about Head of State, Bob Roberts, Running Mates, Man of the Year, Mr. Dave and Simpsons’ Political Party? Are they good? If so, what makes them good? Can a political movie be a comedy? Is a movie about an election necessarily a political one? What do we learn about American politics from these movies? What do we learn about American values about money, housing, lifestyle, race, education, materialism, women, and other issues from these movies? What do we learn about individual freedoms in this country? How does the director use color and light to reflect values? How are the bad guys portrayed? Are the bad guys changing in the movies? Do movies have to stay current to be relevant? Should some movies be remade? Is music important to these movies? What type of music conveys what type of mood? Which ones use music the best? How does the music used in the helicopters flying over the beach scene in Apocalypse Now make us feel? Is that a political statement? Is Amadeus a political movie? What do you look for in a movie? In a political movie? Can a political movie be one of the ten best? Are biographies good to learn about politics? Is the knowledge of economics important to understand politics? What about science or sociology or psychology? Can a political move be funny? What is the funniest political movie? What can we learn about Hitler, fascism and other governments from the movies? Which is the best Hitler movie? Is Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator one? What about Casablanca, Gone with the Wind and Battleship Potemkin? Are these examples war or political movies? Are war movies necessarily political ones? Is Dr. Strangelove and Downfall a political or war movie? Which movies take a stand on war, pro or against? What is a documentary? Do movies have to be documentaries to be educational? Are Michael Moore’s movies political? What are the messages in Roger and Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 911 and Sicko? Is Moore providing a service to society? Should Hollywood make movies like these? Does The Divided State reflect how Utah or the country feels about Michael Moore? Is Last Man Standing a good look at Texas politics? Do we learn how American politics works from this movie? Are things really different or should we study history? How is technology changing politics? What can a movie do that a book cannot? What are the best books on political movies? Which movie provides the best political education? Are TV shows like the West Wing educational? Do we learn more about America from foreign films? What makes a political movie good? Is American politics evolving? What lessons have we learned? Which movie had the best dialogue? Which one had the best quip? Who is the best director? Writer? Actor? Why? Which movie has the best scene and why? Do these movies raise values or teach morals? How? Should they? Which movie best portrays American values? Which movie best portrays values opposite American ones? Is the American system the best? Is The American President a political movie? Is it good? What does actor Mike Douglas say about the ACLU and democracy? Is he right? Do these movies make the President look powerful or ineffectual? What about Congress? Is politics about morality? Did any of these movies make you feel more moral? Which are the ten best political movies? The five? The one best? Which one best depicts American democracy? Are there political movies that you would like to see? Have you ever made a movie? If you made a political movie, what would it be about? What new words have you learned from this course? What is the future of political movies? How will the Internet impact politics and the movies? Should politicians make their own movies? Their own online videos? What three concepts have you learned from this course? Has this course changed your plans for the future- are you going to do anything different? Do you vote? Has this course encouraged you to vote? What should this course do differently and why? http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/fahrenheit911/tp/aatpfilms.htm http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/politicalgifts/tp/aatppolfilms.htm http://uspolitics.about.com/od/politicaljunkies/tp/top_movies.htm http://www.classicmovies.org/articles/aa031900a.htm http://www.epinions.com/content_1496555652 top 14 http://www.sandiego.edu/polisci/assets/syllabi%20fall05/Fa%2004%20List%20of%20Political%20Movies.pdf list Possible textbooks: Take a look at The Limits of Hollywood Populism, by Robert Kuttner, from The American Prospect Online, and the introduction to The Pattern American, by Brian W. Fairbanks. Required: Stack of index cards for classroom polls Documentaries: Running Against Dick (can't say Dick in this forum, but can I say a man's penis or his Richard?), See How They Run, The Road to the Presidency, Journeys with George, Hacking Democracy, Dawn of Democracy, By The People, Bush Family Fortunes, This is What Democracy Looks Like, And So Goes the Nation, Election 2000, Decisions that Shook the World, Just the Facts, Our Brand is Crises, An American President, Staffers, Street Fight, The Last Party with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Party’s Over, The Standard Deviants 1 &2, Unprecedented, A Perfect Candidate, The Big Fix 2000, One Bright Shining Moment, Primary, The War Room Others: Ivan the Terrible 1 & 2, Napoléon, The Lottery, Lawrence of Arabia, Z, Reds, Gunga din, Dr. Zivago, Ben Kingsley’s Ghandi, A Face in the Crowd, All the President’s Men, All the King’s Men, Meet John Doe, The Seduction of Joe Tynan, Bullworth, The Contender, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 HUNTING OF A PRESIDENT is one of my favorites. It is based on fact and actual events not speculation. Beware the Elves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye_Nut Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 You want to teach a course based on that?[*-)] What kind of course? ......a college course? I sure hope the school is private!! I wouldn't be happy about Tax payer education dollars being spent on that type of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 26, 2008 Author Share Posted January 26, 2008 Bumpity comment: shamelessly designed to float this topic to the top again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 CNN, MSNBC, FOX, C-span more Politics than the average American Viewer wants to see .... Real Movie ; IRAQ closing in on 4,000 dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theryugobuddy Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 The whole political genre makes for great theatre -- but most of them just end up, to me, to be not as true or sincere as many other genres. You watch a great story with the hero or heroes acting heroic against insurmountable odds and the other party which you can't hardly believe people would think that way much less conspire with lethal consequences and it ends with either triumph or death with " the secret' that the other side doesn't want known still squashed or it comes out and changes the world. A great story , yes, but the viewer probably walks out of the theater thinking what didn't they tell me so their viewpoint looks stronger? The GOP almost always looks like cold hearted ivory tower inhabiters and Dems usually are portrayed as idealistic to a fault. I'm Republican, but I think Michael Moore is a genius filmmaker -- yet I always wonder what was the other side of his story? Most political movies seem to miss the truth or real thoughts and feelings in pursuit of changing the viewer's mind--or reinforcing a follower's resolve. Much like Goebbels--! [*-)] Yet, Enron the Smartest Guys in the Room should be required viewing for corporate watchdogs and leadership to make sure THAT doesn't happen again-- Alot is being said to debunk 50 years of trashing of McCarthy with a new book -- that he really WAS finding Communiists. Just last year George Clooney did it again-- So I wonder where these political movies might lead you -- down the wrong path? If anything, political movies show how the system works-- broken or not. And usually broken-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merkin Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I mostly don't like them. They lean left and are fiction. One of the first political movies"Bambi" . Man is bad, nature is good. Now we have over population of deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Now we have over population of deer. Good cause soon we'll have over population of Man and we can eat the deer.[] Political movies are good to make people think about issues. But some people forget it is a movie which is entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Political movies,I think that's called propaganda?Sounds like a terrible way to form opinions,since it's someone elses,generally some kook/s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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