The Power of Storytelling Through Classic Movies

I met Dr. Onalee McGraw years ago through the pro-life movement. Her project, The Educational Guidance Institute recognizes the power of visual storytelling through classic films. The documentary (in full below) emphasizes teaching children in a way that engages their minds and imagination with heroic ideals. The adage says a picture is worth a thousand words. The powerful images in many classic films imprint messages that emphasize truth and virtue. 

Many of the films described focus on communities and the impact of the people who live in them for both good and evil. They illustrate the choices life offers and the struggle to make the right ones. I thought of that particularly when we watched On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando playing a cynical young man out for himself who's challenged to change by his love for a young girl and a Catholic priest played by Karl Malden.

The effectiveness of inspiring films is emphasized in the documentary by an anecdote about Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. A young man in prison was contemplating suicide. After watching Capra's film, he changed his mind and later wrote and shared his story with Capra. Imagine knowing that a movie you made saved a life and restored hope to a desperate young person. 

The opposite is also true. Think of the impact of the suicide-glorifying NETFLIX series, Thirteen Reasons Why, that resulted in an uptick in teen suicides after its release. One mom warned parents after her daughter, Jessica, killed herself two days before her thirteenth birthday leaving a list of six reasons why she did it. She and her friends were watching the series and, leading up to the suicide, Jessica was cutting herself. 

Onalee has a series of study guides to accompany the films. I'm thinking of asking my homeschooling daughter if she'd like me to do a class with her two older girls. For them I would choose The Feminine Soul: Classic Hollywood Women in Focus. I think her boys are a bit young yet, but maybe when they're a little older (If I'm around that long.) we can do Men of the West: Classic Western Heroes and the Examined Life.

This could be a family project for parents and their older children. Think of the fun of scheduling a weekly or bi-weekly popcorn night watching the movies and using the guides to explore the issues these films raise about friendship, courage, prudence, justice, compassion, resilience, and many other virtues. Teens, who are so visually oriented these days, are exposed to so much trash that using classic movies with positive messages makes sense. 

Watch the documentary to get a better idea of what the series offers. I'd like to see Onalee do a study guide on the blockbuster religious films that Hollywood did so well in years gone by and that independent filmmakers are now producing: The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Barabbas, Joan of Arc, Song of Bernadetter, Passion of the Christ, etc. One of my favorites is the Italian film with English subtitles about St. Philip Neri, I Prefer Heaven. 

Film and TV can be an effective educational tool when used with prudence. Check out the documentary and see what you think.