Movies for Modern History (Vietnam-Present) for Logic Students

[AuntPol]

WHat are some movies that are age-appropriate as go-alongs for Modern History. I'm can find plenty up to the mid-sixties but once I get to Vietnam, I am stumped. Most Vietnam and Hippies that I can think of are way too violent or too druggy. Then I can't really think of anything for the remaining decades except

 

Miracle (Hockey Movie)

Pirates of Silicon Valley

[patchfire]

I am letting dd (11 this summer) watch Forrest Gump with me this summer. It has a lot of language but I decided that she's now old enough that the panorama of history it presents outweighs the negatives. YMMV... I know last year I didn't think she was quite ready!

 

Not a movie, but selected Quantum Leap episodes are also great for modern history.

[Catherine]

Thinking of watching All the President's Men with my eighth grader this summer. I've never seen it but Watergate was the root of some of the deep mistrust of and disillusionment with elected officials that we still see, so it's very current too.

[whitestavern]

We didn't come up with much during those time periods either, but we did enjoy Night Crossing around Chapter 41.

[Skadi]

I agree with Kash -- Forrest Gump is actually one of the few films that doesn't romanticize the 60's. I think you have to decide whether your kid is mature enough to learn about effects of drugs and war on our culture at that time, and if you think the answer is no, I'd just skip that era and wait to cover it in the rhetoric stage. Generally speaking, I think most 11 year olds can handle it. Keep in mind that watching a film like Forrest Gump isn't exactly going to make adolescents curious to try drugs...I mean, one of the major morals of the movie is that drugs destroyed Jenny's life. In a lot of ways, the movie manages to illustrate some otherwise preachy, "after school special" messages without being annoying about it, which is great.

[KarenNC]

:lurk5:

[Tohru]

Oh, how about Operation Dumbo Drop? It's been awhile since I've seen it, but I think it was based on a true story during the Vietnam war.

 

There is also this list. You'd have to decide what is appropriate:

http://www.teachwithmovies.org/us-history-culture-subject-list.htm

Edited May 29, 2011 by Tohru

[LaurieM]

Some movies and documentaries we watched while studying the 20th Century, mostly PG or PG13 but check before your children view:

 

Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1850s-1960s, slavery through Civil Rights movement)

Fiddler on the Roof (1905)

The Greatest Auto Race on Earth (NY to Paris 1908) - documentary

The Great Race (slapstick comedy based on the 1908 Great Race, starring Jack Lemmon & Tony Curtis)

NOVA documentary - Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance (1914-1916)

Lawrence of Arabia (1916)

Chariots of Fire (1924)

Cinderella Man (1935)

K-19 The Widowmaker (1961)

Thirteen Days (1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis)

Operation Dumbo Drop (1968)

Cool Runnings (1988)

Invictus (1995)

Hotel Rwanda (1994) - rate PG-13 but I think this is better for high school, very disturbing story and images.

[Pamela in VA]

Didn't see this one mentioned. You'd have to decide if dd is mature enough for some of the material.

[Lori D.]

Hmmm... most of those post-WW2 topics are pretty graphic, gruesome, or complicated/dull for pre-teens. But below are a few ideas I could come up with -- I put a (**) by films I have not personally seen, so you may want to preview those first.

 

What about the 10-part PBS documentary series on Rock and Roll to capture some of the music of the times while staying pretty clean? Also consider film "biographies" of sports and music celebrities to capture the look and feel of the various decades. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

covering several decades

(**) Driving Miss Daisy

(**) Mr. Holland's Opus

(**) Pirates of Silicon Valley -- chronicles rise of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

(Forrest Gump also fits this category, but I would use it with high school students, not pre-teens/young teens)

 

 

late 1950s

- October Sky -- based on true story, teen boy inspired to take up rocketry after Sputnik

(**) Quiz Show -- probe into cheating on TV quiz shows

 

 

1960s

- Help! -- charming early '60s romp with The Beatles

- Hard Day's Night -- beautiful B&W Beatles "music video" full-length film

- The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! -- very funny look at US's fear of USSR

- West Side Story -- musical drama; Romeo & Juliet of New York street gangs

- The Right Stuff -- traces the early Mercury space program and first astronauts

- Manchurian Candidate (1962) -- American fear of USSR and brain washing

- I Am David -- boy escapes an Eastern bloc concentration camp and makes his way to freedom across Europe

 

 

1970s

- Apollo 13 -- chronicles the near-disastrous moon flight

- Remember the Titans -- based on true story; first black coach of a Southern college football team

 

 

1980s

(**) Miracle -- the 1980 US hockey win over the USSR

 

 

1990s

- The Queen -- Queen Elizabeth II deals with the death of Princess Di

(**) Cool Runnings -- based on true story of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team

(**) Fly Away Home -- young girl and her father teach orphaned Canada geese how to migrate

 

 

2000s

- The Blind Side

(**) Akellah and the Bee

[Pamela in VA]

Lori, you're probably right about GMV not being suitable for pre-teens (forgot her dd age). I've seen most of the films you listed and they are all great ways to connect with the times. I'm putting them in our list for next year.

 

PameLA in VA

[Matryoshka]

How about Dr. Strangelove? It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I can't remember anything graphic (or am I completely forgetting something?:tongue_smilie:)... thought I'd throw it out there.

[AuntPol]

Great Ideas!

 

Some of these I had completely forgotten about!

[Suzannah]

We watched Dr. Stranglove this year with DS13. He thought it was hilarious and it was pretty clean. There's a scene with a scantily clad woman in a man's bedroom and some milder language, but all in all, pretty good.

 

We've been debating whether or not to watch Forrest Gump and finally decided to go ahead, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

We did watch The Green Berets, but weren't able to think of any other Vietnam movies that would be appropriate.

[Lizzie in Ma]

WHat are some movies that are age-appropriate as go-alongs for Modern History. I'm can find plenty up to the mid-sixties but once I get to Vietnam, I am stumped. Most Vietnam and Hippies that I can think of are way too violent or too druggy. Then I can't really think of anything for the remaining decades except

 

Miracle (Hockey Movie)

Pirates of Silicon Valley

 

I have my 10th grade through books and film syllabus on my blog, your kids are younger but you might get an idea or two.

It is indeed hard to find appropriate films for modern. This took me a long time wading through reviews and previews.

 

Credit to help on the boards too, thanks to everyone who gave me ideas!!

Edited May 31, 2011 by Lizzie in Ma

[Sebastian (a lady)]

WHat are some movies that are age-appropriate as go-alongs for Modern History. I'm can find plenty up to the mid-sixties but once I get to Vietnam, I am stumped. Most Vietnam and Hippies that I can think of are way too violent or too druggy. Then I can't really think of anything for the remaining decades except

 

Miracle (Hockey Movie)

Pirates of Silicon Valley

 

Have you seen Taking Chance? It is the story of an Army officer who is detailed to escort the remains of a fallen soldier from Dover, DE to his home in the west. There is no gore or violence, but it is an incredibly moving movie.

 

It might be too much for a sensitive kid. I watched it last year. I didn't show it to the kids, because I don't want them to dwell on this aspect of our military life. I think you can get a good sense of the movie from the trailer.

 

Are you looking specifically for movies about Vietnam or about the era? Maybe Good Morning, Vietnam or Mr. Holland's Opus. though I have to admit that it's been years since I saw either and I wasn't watching to screen it for kids.

 

Depending on where your tolerance for battle scenes is, We Were Solders and Black Hawk Down are very good. I can also recommend the September 11th video done in real time by a team of French filmmakers who were doing a FDNY documentary at a nearby stationhouse, 9/11.

 

Maybe something about the space race like The Right Stuff, Apollo 13 or October Sky.

 

Somewhat fictionalized, but what about Remember the Titans?

 

Update: The topic of cold war books and movies came up on the high school board a few weeks back. DH and I were talking about it. One of his recommendations was to pair Fail/Safe with Dr. Strangelove and to pair The Bedford Incident with The Russians are Coming. His thought was that one movie would represent the (not unrealistic) fear of a worst case scenario and the other represented a satirical look at the same prospect. Might be too heavy for middle school. There's quite a developmental sweep from 5th grade to 8th.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Sebastian (a lady)

[bluedarling]

My 15yo is watching this semester for that same period: The Widowmaker, Driving Miss Daisy, and The Green Berets.  I had originally planned more movies, and then changed plans to accommodate a Great Course...I lost my list of movies I'd originally planned, but I do remember having the same issue.  This child refuses to watch R movies (even though he's old enough I'd approve for educational purposes.)