A conversation with Katherine Restaino Dick Ph.D.

I have been talking about how I think movies are great for educational purposes. Because of my topic I thought it would be a great opportunity to discuss this topic with a scholar who is just as and even more passionate than I am.

I attend Fairleigh Dickinso University and here I have taken a couple of film classes. There is one professor in particular, I feel, is the best at the University. Katherine Restaino Dick, Ph.D. is one of the most respected professors in the Communications Department and in the University. I decided to ask her a few questions on the subject of movies and Education.

• Do you think that movies should be taught in the classroom? Why or Why not?

Thank you for asking me about the role of movies in the classroom. Film is an important reinforcement. Students who read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol will find reinforcement by watching a film version. History related to the Revolutionary War is enhanced by seeing the films Johnny Tremaine and 1776. Gone With the Wind makes the Civil War come alive.

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  Do you like going to the movies? Why or Why not?

I enjoy going to the movies, but I usually wait until they are on television or I buy a DVD. It's a pain to go to movies theaters today because members of the audience often talk and scrunch on popcorn.

• Do you learn or get anything out of the movie after seeing it? Do you think that movies are an important part of scoiety?

Films make you think about cultural issues and social problems. Every time I watch The Deerhunter, I recall the early days of my teaching career during the Vietnam War. The young men who were subject to the draft could get a deferment if they were full-time college students. What would the instructor do if she had to fail the student?

I found this last question she posed to be extremely enlightening. I would never have thought about this because of when I was born and because my generation has not had to face anything like that before. Being able to watch a movie that is set in a time that I am not familiar with really opens my eyes to what it might have been like and with that I am able to see into history or into literature.

Movies are a very important part in our society but also in theclassroom. How else is a student sippossed to see what happens in war or during a depression?