"films to teach US history" Topic

I'm working on a teachers guide to movies that can be used in teaching US. (And I'm fully aware of the problems -- length, problematical material, etc.)

I have a good list of older Hollywood films -- and often used them in the classroom, generally in short clips.

But I know there have been many Netfliks or Amazon Prime or such, including many I am not familiar with. (Apple+'s GREYHOUND must be one of the best naval films ever.)

So, what suggestions do you have for films that have a direct applicability to a middle school or high school US history class? WWhich scenes would you use?

The new WASHINGTON'S ARMOR on Amazon is very fine.

Going to suggest 2 war movies
Battleground about the Battle of the Bulge campaign, just watched this week a YouTube review and it gave fantastic information confirming why I think it's one of my favorite war movies.
Master and Commander. Another well acted and a great review of sailing warfare if less historical but nevertheless accurate of possibility

Yes, I certainly agree about MASTER ND COMMANDER.

Tora , Tora, Tora

I second 14bore! Plus…
WWII: Tora Tora Tora; The Story of GI Joe; Run Silent, Run Deep

WWI: Milestones original All Quiet on the Western Front (not the new remake or even John Boy Walton's and Ernie Borgnine's 1970's version); Dawn Patrol; The Blue Max

Korea: Pork Chop Hill; The Manchurian Candidate (again, the original only!)

US Civil War: Glory; The Great Locomotive Chase

All have lessons about citizenship, serving your country, the ravages of war on people, etc.

Eumelus beat me to it !

You might consider "The Crossing," even if it fails to communicate the truly horrific weather Washington's army had to contend with.

You might also vidi the Burt Lancaster/Kirk Douglass film version of "The Devil's Disciple." If nothing else, any exposure to George Bernard Shaw's take on history is a great way to learn about ideas as well as not a bad outline of the Saratoga campaign.

For WWII, run the original films "Midway" and "Memphis Belle" made during the war. Their immediacy may prove engaging.

Another vote for "Battleground" with some commentary after viewing on what it so realistically depicts of the attitudes and behaviors of GI's in action.

TVAG

Taught US. Western, Govt and Econ in a HS setting. I found, as doc already mentioned, using short clips from movies both old and new was the most effective way to use them in a HS class room. A question sheet helped to hold them accountable and provided a framework for a guided discussion. Also team taught a course on film with the English and art department so I learned a good deal from those guys when using film in my own room. So many good choices abound. H

A few from different genres

Citizen Kane
Bedford Incident
All the Presidents Men
Dr Strangelove
Grapes of Wrath
The Right Stuff
Wind Talkers
Drums along the Mohawk
Field of Lost Shoes
The Yankee Clipper

Bedford Incident great insight into the cold war

I taught in a private school -- day and boarding -- and kids were accustomed to saturday classes on occasion. I'd show a whole film as extra credit on a Saturday, 10 am to noon. Had probably 80% attendance.

A favorite of mine is THE MOUNTAIN MEN. Over the top in places, yes, but it shows the rendezvous system, and the fragility of native culture that was visibly disintegrating at the slightest contact with whites. Not even farmers, but hunter-trappers.

Nobody has mentioned BLACK ROBE.

Doc I used to talk with WW2 veterans a lot, especially pilots. Hands down when I asked about movies that best reflected their experience, the bomber guys said: "12 O'Clock High" with Gregory Peck.

Ooooh, yes, Black Robe. And how about The Cruel Sea (not American made, and not about the US per se, but really conveys the Atlantic convoy sufferings. And maybe too juvenile for high schoolers, but there's always Johnny Tremain for the Am Rev.

Good list, Disaster!

Not North America, but South: The Mission

I think RIDE WITH THE DEVIL is very fine.

1776 and Hamilton for the stories of how we became the United States of America

How the West was won
Gettysburg

Matewan covers some often overlooked history related to the US labor movement.

Roots ?

Black Robe is kind of boring. I tried to watch it recently.

Plus I think it's Canadian History.

Gettysburg

Any American film reflects the filmmakers' attitude and view of America at the point in time at which the film was made, as well as their attitude and view of the American history portrayed in the film. But note that in this case, sometimes the attitude of the filmmakers is not actually reflective of how ordinary Americans not in the movie industry viewed the country or its history. One has to discern who is saying what about whom, and why.
Even film itself is history.

So it's possible to take even a work like Star Wars and ask what it is saying about American culture and American views of war, combat, individualism, freedom, etc., at the time (and then, in the subsequent films, ask if or how the filmmakers' views of the same may have change).

As for strictly American History as a subject of film, even Warner Brother's Bunker Hill Bunny teaches us something about how America viewed itself and its history at the time the short was made— spunky, committed, clever, determined, proud, and thoroughly patriotic. Nothing else would have sold!

But I'll add to the functional list, by effective era covered, ranging from the 18th century forward:

The Last of the Mohicans
Drums Along the Mohawk
Johnny Tremaine
The Crossing
The Patriot (yes, you can learn SOMETHING from the Patriot)
1776
The Buccaneer
Gettysburg
The General (yes, I am serious.)
The Horse Soldiers
Glory
Gone With the Wind
My Darling Clementine
Tombstone
Sergeant York
Wings
Captain Eddie (biopic of Eddie Rickenbacker)
The Wizard of Oz and The Grapes of Wrath— views of the Depression and how Americans felt at the time. Yes, one is a massive fantasy— but the classic song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is a heartbreaking anthem of hope in a time where things were bad and the American promise looked shaky).
Run Silent, Run Deep
The Enemy Below
Casablanca (history? No. But American attitude about WWII as it was happening, with the end in serious doubt, is something to examine here.)

I will leave further WWII movies to others to recommend.

Movies about the ‘60s and ‘70s have never really interested me, except for the space program, in which case:
October Sky
Hidden Figures
Apollo 13

It might be interesting to view films which made use of the US military directly as an examination of the attitudes towards, about, and by the military at the time: The Final Countdown, Top Gun. Again, no actual history, but the attitude contrast is very different— one occurred when the military was on a "down" cycle, post-Vietnam; the other when it was "up" and celebrated. And of course, the attitude towards military tech is part of it, too.

And I'll leave it there, unless something pops in my head.

Oh, and don't forget the possibility of TV shows covering significant periods or events or personalities in American History. Baa Baa Black Sheep comes to mind as one I watched as a boy.