Teaching interpersonal communication with feature films

"In humanistic education," declared William Arrowsmith in 1969, "the future lies in film" (p. 75). The literature of the ensuing decades confirmed his prophecy. In the last twenty years, more than thirty books and journal articles from a dozen fields have extolled feature films as a pedagogical resource (Proctor, 1990a). It would seem that Arrowsmith foresaw an educational—and technological—trend. Movie viewing used to necessitate trips to the theater (Langworthy, 1937) or expensive film rentals (Smith, 1973); today, popular films can be rented inexpensively and presented easily using VCRs. Clearly, the future in film is now. Papers and panels at recent communication conferences (Adler, Caputo, & Preble, 1990; Friedman, 1989; Haefner & Metts, 1990a; Lawson, 1990; Proctor, 1990b, 1991) suggest that film use is popular and probably extensive in the communication classroom, particularly in classes focused on interpersonal communication, an area of study well-matched for feature film storylines and characterizations. This essay outlines a rationale, resources, and suggestions for teaching interpersonal communication with feature films.

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