Thoughts on Beach's text, Ch. 3: Film Studies
Reading Chapter 3 of Beach's text focusing on film studies in the classroom a few things stand out to me. In particular, I recognize the value of critically reading or analyzing the mise en scene, and montage, of a film within the high school curriculum. It seems totally doable in the classroom, but the production of films seems like a time-consuming project, albeit a fun one, that seems more appropriate within the context of an Art course. At the same time, it's still an examination of, and direct practice of the form and the process of creating narratives.
I also like the idea of comparative studies of film techniques spanning different periods of time. This exercise provides a means of examining the historical and cultural context of a given narrative, while helping give the students a better sense of continuity into the identities of those represented, as well as the audience of those given films.
For further interest in film studies that are only touched upon in Beach's text, a good reference is Gerald Mast and Bruce Kawin's A Short History of the Movies.