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I have a young teenager who’s bored with history. I looked through his syllabus and what’s being taught and it is dull, so can empathise. So, I thought that once per week we could watch a film with some historical content and, hopefully follow this up with some reading and maybe a visit. So, STW - what would you put onto a history syllabus by film?
Seven Samurai
No stone unturned
Gandhi
Do you need films connected to the syllabus? In which case, which bits?
If he's doing the Weimar Republic for GCSE, the BBCs "Rise of the Nazis" is excellent on iplayer.
Could just work through "The World At War". It's what I had during my O level.
Quite relevant for today.
EDIT: Just rewatching it now. Absolutely terrifying when you compare with where we're at today.
The Churchill one “Darkest Hour”
The Far Side of the World (Napoleonic war and American independence)
Denial (holocaust denial on trial)
Operation Mince Meat (world war 2 spy stuff)
Oppenheimer
The Kings Speech
Bell
Napoleon (hard to follow)
Viceroy’s House (partioning of India)
can you give some periods?
Connected to the syllabus, would be better, but they’re currently doing the Industrial Revolution and focussing on cotton production in the north - societal changes is the focus. They’ve already done the Norman conquests, so it is becoming more modern history, but it’s not engaging or exciting.
Total syllabus is here, but they don’t have to teach all of it, which makes it hard to determine what will come up at what time. I’m aiming for a more general interest in history rather than trying to mirror the syllabus. This will hopefully help him tie it all together into a bigger tapestry. Enlightenment>Empire>industry, etc.
[url] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c66d740f0b626628abcdd/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_History.pdf [/url]
Darkest Hour and Elizabeth, The Golden Age are both on IPlayer at the moment, although I'm never sure how accurate historical films are (I have a feeling that Braveheart, for example, took a great many liberties).
My Wife and I recently watched The Rise of the Nazis, which is very good and a drama-documentary. Night Will Fall is available on Channel 4. It's about the attempt to make a documentary based on the footage taken by troops liberating the concentration camps, but it's about as far from enjoyable as it's possible to get; it's truly, truly grim.
Something like The Imitation Game would fill in the gaps left by The World at War (absolutely brilliant) as Bletchley Park was still very much a state secret back then.
Rise of Hitler with Robert Carlyle.
Should of let Hitler have his crayons.
Trouble with film they always skew and bend to fit entertainnent and especially the 2 to 3 hour limitations.
Look at Zulu great film if you can suspend some of the real facts.
Anyway, all History is "is onecfuvking thing after another"
😉
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
The Killing Fields
The Lives of Others
All the President's Men
Animal Farm
I'm coming to the end of a History degree that I started out of personal interest, and yes, a lot of it is hard going, so its always great when you find a bit of history that resonates.
Recommendations from me, in no particular order:
Peterloo - industrial revolution, creation of the English Working Class, industrialisation, urbanisation. So much to recommend in that film.
Last of the Mohicans - colonialism, colonial North America, colonial wars, early days of globalism with colonial powers all carving up and exploiting colonies.
Shogun - not a film, but gloriously done. More early globalism, with competing European powers meeting in Japan. Lots of stuff about religious motivations and just generally amazing and beautiful.
Charlie Wilson's War - I'm a sucker for anything Cold War related, so I nearly put Bridge of Spies. However, much as I love it, Charlie Wilson's War pips it because it has Phillip Seymour Hoffman. How the US managed to secretly arm the Afghans fighting the Soviets in the 80s.
A bit out of left field - The Last Kingdom. Based on a Bernard Cornwell series, and he knows how to tell a story. Even though its fiction, it feels like it tells a truer story than Vikings. The reason I bring up Vikings is because its main character is the mythical Ragnar Lothbrok, but LK features the historically real sons of Ragnar and their wars and kingdom building in England. It ties together lots of real events, battles and people into a great bit of historical fiction.
Total syllabus is here, but they don’t have to teach all of it, which makes it hard to determine what will come up at what time. I’m aiming for a more general interest in history rather than trying to mirror the syllabus. This will hopefully help him tie it all together into a bigger tapestry.
I am very much in the history is boring camp so perhaps am more like your child than you! However I'd say that Shindler's List, Goodnight Mr Tom, and Imitation Game probably merit viewing to understand WW2. I think there's probably some cold war era stuff (perhaps Hunt for Red October?) which whilst not reality at least makes you think about how hostility between countries works. Chernobyl might be worth considering too - and whilst you might not think of as history he probably will.
Clearly Braveheart is 100% accurate documentary 😉 but again if your aim is to make him understand why people don't always get along rather than have all the facts right, its actually ok amusement. Personally I prefer Rob Roy. They may both be less relevant to a kid in England, although together with Michael Collins would potentially make him more informed about his own country (with a pinch of salt).
HOWEVER, I'm not sure if trying to inspire an interest in history is realistic - we don't all need to like things our parents do. My son loves historical stuff (although dropped it quite early in school because its taught badly with a dull syllabus obsessed with formulaic answers). My daughter is even less interested in history than me... and recently declared "I learnt more history from Hamilton and Six than I ever did at school".
Modern history...
The spiders web
The industrial revolution is a tough call for finding a film
The industrial revolution is a tough call for finding a film
How Green Was My Valley. Filmed in Santa Monica, I remember that the main cottage had a sweeping staircase that looked like it had been stolen from a mansion. Maybe this is better avoided...
How about a slightly different approach - start with something objectively "cool" - lets say Spitfires - which he can see and hear flying. Why Spitfires (and Hurricanes etc) takes you into Battle of Britain, The Few, spreads out into a variety of WWII strands. Radar (and technology generally on both sides), Bismarck (the ship), battle of the Atlantic (and American isolationism -or not), Naziism, Holocaust, Russia - which leads off into Napoleon.
To understand the roots of WWII you go back to WWI. To understand the roots of WWI you go back to Victoria, her offspring, navies, Bismarck (the guy) empires, colonialism, which then leads back to East India Company, back to actually discovering the various countries and continents.
From WWII forward you're into the Cold War (trip to Berlin?), Vietnam and pointers as to why we are where we are now.
It might not join the dots immediately, and it might not be all relevant to his GCSE, but if it generates an interest in "The Past" and encourages reading around a subject and following links, then you're heading in the right direction!
Industrial Revolution - Modern Times!
Downfall
History of the World Pt I should do
If you want to see post WW2 soviet politics in the raw (or Armando Ianucci’s interpretation of them), The Death of Stalin is on tonight. Darkly hilarious