--- Forwarded Message from [log in to unmask] ---
>Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 08:22:16 -0500
>From: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: #8651 "Clean" movies
>User-Agent: Internet Messaging Program (IMP) H3 (4.0.3)
Dear Professor Hurduzeu,
While I am not sure of the particulars of Mike's situation, and so do not wish
to judge his situation, I can assure you that there are often (quasi-) legal or
workplace issues that can make it tricky for American educators to show films
that have "language" or explicit nudity or sexual situations, or potentially
objectionable content (objectionable is in the eyes of the beholder, by the
way).
For students under 18, public school teachers usually are required to get
parental permission before the students can watch films that may be judged to
contain this type of content as part of their schoolwork. It doesn't matter how
valuable the film may be, the parents have the final say, and this can create a
nightmare of paperwork for the teacher (not to mention having to make alternate
arrangements for students who are not allowed to view the film), so I think it's
understandable why some may choose to procure so-called "clean" versions
instead, in hopes of getting the students some exposure to the film.
I don't disagree about the overprotectiveness or (at times) general silliness in
how far this gets taken, but teachers ignore these constraints at their peril.
And it doesn't necessarily stop at the secondary level. I remember well an
incident when I was a language lab manager at an unnamed community college here
in the south, over a decade ago, when I was called on the carpet by our
institution's president (!) for including the film Como Agua Para Chocolate
(Like Water for Chocolate)in a language lab-sponsored film series. (The series
was completely optional and not required for any classes - just open to anyone
who was interested.) This was undoubtedly an isolated incident, but it speaks
to the care some may feel they need to take in choosing content (films, books,
etc) to share with their students.
Respectfully,
Samantha Earp
Head, Instructional Media & Language Technology Services
Duke University
--- Forwarded Message from "Ovidiu Hurduzeu, Ph.D" <[log in to unmask]>
---
>Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 00:47:25 -0500
>From: "Ovidiu Hurduzeu, Ph.D" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #8651 "Clean" movies
>To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
>cc: Ovidiu Hurduzeu <[log in to unmask]>
I think I do not share Professor Ledgerwood's suggestion to "clean up" strong
language in
foreign language movies. If we consider a certain movie to be inappropriate
for our high
schools students to watch, we do not show it at all instead of "mutilating" it.
For instance,
is such a great movie like "La Haine" inappropriate to show to our juniors or
seniors in the
French class because of its strong language? ( La Haine is a French movie about
the life in a
Paris ghetto, banlieu). I remind Professor Ledgerwood that "La Haine" 'strong
language is
the REAL language used in the banlieu. I would rather change the sanitized,
tourist like view
that our world language textbooks feed to our kids. Don't you think that
American kids are
sheltered too much from the harsh realities of the outside world?
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