Film and Superheroes as a Pedagogic Tool

From Crossref via Jisc Publications RouterHollywood film has a mass-market and global appeal. As such it is already well received and known by many learners and offers a method to build from this into more sophisticated theoretical concepts. The chapter makes the case for film as a viable and valuable teaching strategy. In an environment where many are visual learners, film offers a multisensory pedagogic tool which can draw students away from the handheld mobile devices which often compete for attention with the lecturer. It also notes the risks in film and answers potential objections. Then it applies these broader pedagogic concerns to the specific case of superhero films, and how it can illuminate complex terminology in social sciences, such as polysemy, inter-textuality, sociopolitics, psychopolitics, cultural and visual criminology. Other concepts discussed include notions of the denotative and the connotative, and the metonym. Questions of identity, gender, nation, and liminality are included

Film and superheroes as a pedagogic tool

The paper discusses the value of an interdisciplinary approach to analysing signs and the culture out of which they grow. It argues that films can be used in college and university settings to both deepen language appreciation and, especially, the cultural context around the language. It surveys precedents for the use of comics and film in teaching more generally and language learning more specifically. The broader validity of films as a pedagogic tool is first discussed before analysis of superhero films as a gateway into decoding dominant hegemonic culture. Concepts such as polysemy, psycho and sociopolitics are used to illustrate how multi-modal inter-disciplinary strategies can promote visual literacy. Whilst aimed at college and university teaching, this has applicability to younger learners too