Teaching Film: Using Literary Theory as an Entry Point for Critical Film Analysis

A great way to incorporate film into the English classroom would be to make connections between literary theory and critical lenses in literature and film. Perhaps following a unit on a specific critical lens, say the Marxist or now Social-Economic lens for sake of this example, you could show a film that elicited a (more surface level) critical viewing. The students could then use VideoANT to do a critical analysis of a scene from a selected movie or a movie of their choice through that specific lens. It would be a great way for them to apply literary theory to another type of media and internalize this concept and while simultaneously taking their understanding of film to a deeper level.