Moving Image Education

Introduction

Film is a rich and highly developed art form, which now has a cultural heritage stretching back over 110 years. From its early days, a range of art forms have influenced film including novels, music, theatre, painting and photography. In schools moving image education is an excellent way to develop cross-curricular projects. This section will look at how film can be used to enhance understanding across a range of subjects by exploring the artistic movement of expressionism.

definition

A notoriously difficult term to define, expressionistic art could be crudely described as that which seeks to convey emotional and psychological states, rather than a realistic representation of the world. In painting, the key period for expressionism was the early part of the twentieth century, especially in Germany. Identified by the use of distorting and exaggerated angles, intense colour, and a sense of terror or foreboding.

In Germany from 1920 Expressionist cinema began to develop, taking film as an art form in new directions which were distinct from the emerging Hollywood production methods. Directors like F.W. Murnau with Nosferatu and Robert Wiene in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari employed techniques such as exaggerated use of angles, totally non-naturalistic set design and dark story themes which moved cinema away from attempts to be realistic: their influence has touched films such as Blade Runner, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and even arguably just about every film in the fantasy/horror/science-fiction genres.

The rest of this section offers some suggestions for how expressionism and moving image can support learning in different curriculum areas.