Description:
Rather than show a 60 to 90-minute film and then have a discussion, we have used short (up to 10-minute) clips as a way of teaching content interactively. For example, in our workshops about economic inequality, we want participants to come away with an understanding that in order to change the rules that concentrate wealth and power at the top, we need to rebuild the power of workers, and solidarity across race lines is essential to do this. Those on top are always using wedges to divide us and we have to be clear who are our allies and who are not. A scene in Matewan, the film of a coal miners' struggle in West Virgina in the 1920s, makes this point beautifully. The scene is a late night strategy meeting of miners & a couple of supporters, including a union organizer (Chris Cooper), that's interrupted by a Black miner brought in by the bosses to be a replacement worker.
Here are the instructions for the activity:
1. Set the stage for the film clip with a brief recap of the story up to the point of the scene you will show. Let participants know that you will be asking the 4 questions below after screening the 5-minute clip.
2. Screen the clip.
3. Ask "What did you see?" This is an observational activity to make sure that the participants agree on who was in the scene, what they said and/or did, and any other descriptive information that's important. Don't let folks get into the analysis of why. That's another question. We just want everyone to have a common understanding of what they watched so the analysis can be done from a shared perspective. This is harder than you think! (5 minutes).
4. Ask "How did it make you feel?" This question gets at the range of emotions the viewers of the clip felt as they watched. Anger, pride, concern, hope -- these are emotions that generate energy which can impede our thinking or can be harnessed to inspire us to action.
5. Ask "Why did this happen?" This question analyzes the scene and can get at the roots of the problems and solutions. In this scene, here is where the notions of racism and xenophobia versus solidarity, scapegoating & fear versus risk-taking perseverence, etc., can be explored.
6. Ask "What would you do differently (or similarly) when this happens in your situation?" This is a chance to apply the lesson of the clip to our own circumstances. What's different now? What other wedges are used? How do we combat them? etc.
7. Sum up the lesson(s) learned.
Rather than show a 60 to 90-minute film and then have a discussion, we have used short (up to 10-minute) clips as a way of teaching content interactively. For example, in our workshops about economic inequality, we want participants to come away with an understanding that in order to change the rules that concentrate wealth and power at the top, we need to rebuild the power of workers, and solidarity across race lines is essential to do this. Those on top are always using wedges to divide us and we have to be clear who are our allies and who are not. A scene in Matewan, the film of a coal miners' struggle in West Virgina in the 1920s, makes this point beautifully. The scene is a late night strategy meeting of miners & a couple of supporters, including a union organizer (Chris Cooper), that's interrupted by a Black miner brought in by the bosses to be a replacement worker.
Here are the instructions for the activity:
1. Set the stage for the film clip with a brief recap of the story up to the point of the scene you will show. Let participants know that you will be asking the 4 questions below after screening the 5-minute clip.
2. Screen the clip.
3. Ask "What did you see?" This is an observational activity to make sure that the participants agree on who was in the scene, what they said and/or did, and any other descriptive information that's important. Don't let folks get into the analysis of why. That's another question. We just want everyone to have a common understanding of what they watched so the analysis can be done from a shared perspective. This is harder than you think! (5 minutes).
4. Ask "How did it make you feel?" This question gets at the range of emotions the viewers of the clip felt as they watched. Anger, pride, concern, hope -- these are emotions that generate energy which can impede our thinking or can be harnessed to inspire us to action.
5. Ask "Why did this happen?" This question analyzes the scene and can get at the roots of the problems and solutions. In this scene, here is where the notions of racism and xenophobia versus solidarity, scapegoating & fear versus risk-taking perseverence, etc., can be explored.
6. Ask "What would you do differently (or similarly) when this happens in your situation?" This is a chance to apply the lesson of the clip to our own circumstances. What's different now? What other wedges are used? How do we combat them? etc.
7. Sum up the lesson(s) learned.
