Book Review: How To Watch Movies with Kids

How to Watch Movies with Kids: A Values-Based Strategy by Hosea M. Rupprecht, FSP. Pauline Books and Media, 2011, 109 pages, $9.95 US.

Brief overview of content:

The introduction of the book explains its need: movies are a form of storytelling, perhaps the most popular form of storytelling available in our modern age. Like all stories, they present world views and have moral assumptions built into them. Having a family media strategy is important because media will have an influence on children. Rather than passively accepting whatever is presented, it is much better to engage the story attentively  and question it in the light of the family's faith and its values. The book is written from a Catholic perspective but most Christians (and indeed most people of good will) share basic values like family, friendship, community, sacrifice, acceptance, respect. etc.

The first chapter looks at the challenges and rewards of the current media age. The second chapter introduces the importance of values and of being able to see things from other viewpoints (i.e. having empathy) as a basis for understanding movies. The third chapter goes over how movies tell stories through visuals, characters, and film techniques. The fourth chapter explains the various genres of film and how the content and the context reveals the values explicitly and implicitly present in the story. The fifth chapter gives practical advice on building a media strategy tailored to your family's values and tastes.

Chapter six presents various projects for the family, like storyboarding, filmmaking, and podcasting, that are fun and will show how much work and thought go into making media. The last chapter has sample film discussion questions for 10 movies (ranging from Hannah Montana: The Movie to The Wizard of Oz), lists of movies that present various values, and other online resources and helpful books.

Each chapter ends with the story of some Catholic saint and how they have an impact on or relation to media, including Edith Stein and Juan Diego.

Author overview:

Blurb from the back of the book: "Hosea Rupprecht, FSP, holds an M.T.S. from the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto and a Certificate in Pastoral Communications from the University of Dayton. She is currently an associate at the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Culver City, CA. Over the past fifteen years, she has facilitated various film dialogues for both children and adults, as well as given presentations on integrating culture, faith, and media."

Recommendations:

1. Read cover to cover vs. consult as needed.

It's a short and quick read, so it won't take long to go cover to cover. If you aren't interested in producing your own media, you can skip chapter six.

2. Readability.

The style of writing is light and easy going. No difficult or technical language is used.

3. Helpful to a parent?

This book gives a parent not only a lot to think about when it comes to media, but also tools for discerning how to approach media and to be involved in your child(ren)'s access and use of media. Certain pages have questions with space to write in answers, e.g. what is the most important values in our family. Also, many examples are drawn from the whole history of cinema, so a diversity of tastes is catered to. Parents looking for fun activities might enjoy the practical tips on making your own movies, podcasts, or blog, or even hosting your own film festival.

4. Did we use it?

Only I've read the book so far, though I will recommend it to my wife. We haven't formally sat down and discussed what TV, movies, and other stuff we'll allow the children (since they are under five, we are pretty much in control for now). Jacob is getting old enough to pick out his own materials so we should make plans to guide him down beneficial paths. Or at least be able to discuss with him what he does chose. We've already started discussing various books we've read. In The First Noel, he's had lots of questions about King Herod and the bad things he does. We've answered those questions to his and our satisfaction, but trickier stuff will surely come. He received Cars for Christmas and that as a lot of interesting topics for discussion but we haven't done it yet.

Sample text

On how complicated this can be:

Movies can be modern-day parables. They all have some point of view or way of looking at the world that undergirds the story. It might take a little digging (and sometimes a second viewing) to understand what viewpoint a movie is trying to get across. To complicate matters, you may find that your opinion about the movie differs from those of others. A movie might present a story that has values you as a believer can embrace, such as compassion or redemption. It could also present values inconsistent with yours, such as revenge or violence. Just to keep things interesting, most movies will have elements of both. [p. 4]