War and Pop Culture

I think it would be interesting to ask a group of my students the following questions: Do you plan to see Stop Loss? Why or why not? Have you even watched an episode of the FX drama “Over There”? Have you watched any movie or television show that in some way deals with the Iraq war? I would think that the initial discussion would be quite interesting way to start a unit on War and Pop Culture. It is such a broad topic that if each student completed a research project and shared it with the rest of class, the group probably would not have much repetition. The idea is fictitious because I do not think I’ll ever be in a position to teach such a unit. Be that as it may, I may be able to use some ideas with groups in my current job or my future job as a school counselor.

Lesson I. Research and discuss current films, TV shows, music, video games, etc. that deal with the war in Iraq. If any one has watched one of the movies, they could share that experience with the class. I would like to show a film clip, if appropriate, and discuss the series “Over There”. I have not watched more than a few minutes of an episode but I would share with the students that it follows the US Army’s Third Infantry Division on its first tour in Iraq as well as dealing with the families back home. The show was not continued after the original 13 episodes. I would like the group to contrast the current situation with that in the Vietnam era. Films about the Vietnam war did not appear until years later. Gordon Arnold, a professor at Montserrat College of Art, doubts that we’ll see a masterpiece about Iraq anytime soon. He feels that it takes a long time to process the events that we’re living in.



Lesson II. Read the book “Tomorrow, when the war began” by John Marsden. The book deals with a group of young people in Australia who had gone camping deep into the bush. When they had returned, they found that there had been an invasion by a foreign army. An interesting activity that could be implemented would be a survival game. This is often a group initiative game where small groups are given a list of about 15 items. They imagine they are plane crash survivors and they have to prioritize their items form 1 to 15. There actually is a right answer so it becomes a competition between the groups. The 1984 movie Red Dawn would also provide at interesting discussion although the movie probably wouldn’t be appropriate to show the whole think in a classroom. It is interesting to watch as our country is invaded but it is quite violent and there isn’t a lot of educational value in my opinion. However, the subject matter could promote some interesting thoughts and discussion, especially with the current situation in Iraq.



Lesson III. I would like to take a closer look at how the ideas of World War III have changes since the cold war ended. It would be interesting to discuss movies like Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe. Both of those movies dealt with a nuclear war that resulted from a mistake. Could that actually happen in real life? In 1983, Matthew Broderick was the star of the movie War Games. I thought that movie was fairly entertaining as a 20 year old. I think students could be interested in the premise because the whole thing was based on a very large and old computer that played games. The computer almost caused a nuclear war because of another mistake. Leonard Maltin called War Games the Fail Safe for the Pacman generation. Although I have never seen the 1999 comedy Blast form the Past, I believe the concept would provide an interesting and amusing discussion. The students of today may think that the concept of a fallout shelter would be strange. It would provide for some interesting dialogue. Could you imagine yourself preparing to live in a fallout shelter? Would you want to live like that or would you prefer to continue living life normally and taking your chances?
Fallout activity: On a piece of paper, each student should write a list of every possession they currently have that they would want in a shelter. Then write a list they had lived back in the '50s, remember that there were no cell phones, video games, ipods, DVDs etc. Now write a list of the ten people you would want in your shelter. What if you could only choose five?

Lesson IV. Now that we don't live in an age where we're afraid of a super power, how does the media play into our fears of a nuclear strike? Terrorism seems like the obvious response. The greatest fear we now face may be that terrorists are able to obtain weapons of mass destruction. What are some examples of games, movies, books, etc. where terrorists and their destructive ambitions are a threat to the US? How would you describe your feeling of security? For most, it seems much safer in this day and age than those living in the fallout shelter era. Terrorism, national security, the war in Iraq, are all key issues in the upcoming presidential race. Take a few moments and write down some thought about the issues that are most important to you that you would be willing to share with the group.