In today's day and age, education has transcended the traditional and orthodox methods of teaching. Gone are the times when using technology for imparting knowledge seemed like a distant dream. A product of this technological development, the modern concept of utilizing movies as a tool for providing education continues to find new suitors with each passing day. With textbooks often failing to entice the younger students, combining learning with a source of entertainment seems like the ideal way of getting the most out of them. While this method has its own set of critics, the pros outweigh the cons.
How movies can help in learning
Using movies to teach can definitely be a challenge, but when carried out in a proper manner, it boasts of numerous benefits. Unlike texts, movies enable students to learn visually. The movie Gandhi, for example, allows a student to view a recreation of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, a paramount figure in the history books. The visual clips provide a greater understanding of the time and era as well as the lifestyle of the historical figure than simple words. Additionally, movies are not limited in the way books are. They occasionally go beyond the curriculum and touch upon topics that might not be part of the course but important nonetheless, like the class and gender conflicts forming an inherent part of 'Gandhi'.
The interesting factor
Interest is an important factor in learning. On a general level, many students respond better to watching movies than to reading which helps in keeping them interested and prevent them from getting easily distracted. This is especially effective for those who are not motivated readers and prefer videos over the written word.
For some students, learning through films is actually a boon. Even those with severe learning disabilities have shown a response to movies and can relate to them. Students belonging to deprived backgrounds, without books to learn from at home, often show the inability to read properly but still willingly and excitedly talk about movies they are familiar with and which they relate to. With the film industries growing diverse by the day, more and more films are starting to cater to the preferences of different types of people throughout the world by being relatable. Films can be considered as a 'universal language' which overcomes the barrier of textual learning for all backgrounds.
Challenges ahead
While there is no questioning the fact that movies can be a competent method of education, there are still several challenges it needs to overcome to be accepted universally. The older generation still hasn't come to terms with the educational aspects of the cinematic universe and many parents still carry the perception that screening movies are an inadequate form of teaching.
For the more conventional teachers, adopting a new method can be an arduous task. Thus, proper training and support need to be provided to the teachers to ensure they're capable and confident. At the end of the day, proper planning is essential for this method to be an effective tool and the choice of movies needs to be careful and precise for the student to actually learn something by the climax. If this method overcomes the challenges to a certain extent and continues to grow at the current rate, a future dominated by full-fledged cinematic education could well be on the horizon.
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