Tulsa World | January 2005

Students to learn of cultures at cinema

By Michael Overall

There will be some reading involved here.

Sixth- and seventh-graders from Tulsa Public Schools will be bused this semester to the historic Circle Cinema to watch movies.

But not just watch movies. "We want them to have fun," said Jean Letcher, the theater's executive director. "But we want them to learn something, too."

Tulsa is one of only a handful of cities - including Chicago and New York - to offer a pilot project called "Journeys in Film." The curriculum will use award winning movies to teach students about various cultures around the world.

While the movies are fictional, they provide accurate depictions of a culture's food, dress and more.

"Bend It Like Beckham," for example, shows the planning of a traditional Sikh wedding while

telling the story of a British teenager rebelling against her Indian parents.

And the "Whale Rider" reveals the traditional culture of a native tribe in New Zealand, while focusing on a young girl's struggle to exert herself in a male-dominated society.

"You can describe a culture in a book," Letcher said. "But sometimes, when your dealing with things that are factual and visual, it's not always best left to the imagination."

The films will allow students to see the cultures - while the story lines will keep their attention in a way that traditional documentaries probably wouldn't, she said.

But books are involved. The films will be only part of a much broader lesson plan that includes a significant amount of reading, Letcher said.

"Books are important," she said. "And films are important too. Young people need to be exposed to all kinds of art forms."

Other film "Journeys" include "Children of Heaven" about two impoverished Iranian children who share one pair of shoes; "The Way Home" is about a Korean boy who goes to live with his grandmother; and in "Edge of America," a black teacher tries to coach a girls basketball team on an Indian reservation.

Teachers will meet this week to learn the curriculum. Dates have not been set for showing the films. And some of the films might be shown at the schools, rather than busing the children to the theater, officials said.

The Circle Cinema, 10 S. Lewis Ave., was first opened in 1928 and is the only pre-1960 theater still standing in Tulsa. It was recently restored and reopened,

Michael Overall 581-8383
michael.overall@tulsaworld.com

Reprinted from Tulsa World, 16 January 2005