Al-Amn Magazine

greater engagement with the material, which leads to high retention. Ask yourself how many good movie scenes you can recall? Now–how many good textbook passages? In an instructional context, these factors – especially the combination of an easy sell and a high level of engagement – are very valuable. But a film can’t stand alone as an instructional method. As noted above, watching the documentary should only be part of the process. Discussion questions and related readings need to be included in the mix to prompt reflection and to illustrate the topic more completely. The de Beaumont Foundation’s film “Public Health and Politics: Examining the Surgeon General” is seeing similar application. The short documentary explores the interplay of politics with the Office of the Surgeon General throughout the Surgeon General’s history. It is built around interviews with public health officials relating the challenges of balancing science and politics through a focus on the July, 2007 Congressional hearing on improving the effectiveness of government. Since making the film available online and presenting it at screenings and film festivals, we’ve spoken with educators who have shared their ideas for using it in public health policy, ethics, and law classes. The film was developed alongside our free learning course of the same name. We designed the course using archival footage and interviews coupled with selected readings and discussion questions – not dissimilar to the lesson plans and learning activities you can find at the PBS Civil War site and other resource links below. The film can serve as an introduction to the complex relationship between politics and public health, and as a supplement to our course and others. Let me offer one word of caution. Take the same care when selecting a film for your classroom that you would when assigning a book. Be aware that documentary films can be made to promote a specific viewpoint, sometimes to the detriment of accuracy. While this can raise questions about the appropriateness of using a particular film in the classroom, a documentary that takes sides – even a propaganda piece – can still be of value. In these cases, watching the film and then examining the history and context behind it can provide valuable insight on the issues the film addresses. An instructor might ask students to compare the film’s position with opposing views held by other sources – and with their own. In other instances, using “Public Health and Politics” as an example, the documentary may present varying positions on an issue. This is an opportunity for students to work with the complexity of the topic. A discussion can be prompted by asking students to explain where the individuals presented have differing views and where they agree. The best films, especially for training and education, are the ones that carry us along with them to new places, the ones that have us see things with new eyes, and – without our even realizing it – the ones that enable us to think about things in new ways. debeaumont.org