While movies are considered an ideal way to pass the time, they can be a very effective studying tool. Here are some advantages of films and documentaries in studying for your upcoming history exams:
Increased Information Retention
One of the main reasons why films are an excellent addition to studying for your history exams is that they help the information stick better. Accessing visual information enables the brain to save the data into the student’s long-term memory easily.
Understand that films will give life to the historical data being portrayed. By watching historical movies, students are given memorable visuals that significantly help them remember what they see. This shows that films are much more effective in studying history exams than reading dates, names, and events in boring texts.
Increased Depth and Perception
Textbooks will always dedicate a few paragraphs to a person or a historical period to fit everything in the book. This is one reason why history textbooks might be so dull and hectic to read. On the other hand, movies literary give life to the story being told.
Watching historical movies or documentaries helps provide you with facts. It also helps capture your imagination and have you concentrating on the story by giving you increased depth and perception regarding the story.
Requires Lower Cognitive Resources on the Part of the Learner
One of the essential advantages of films and documentaries in teaching history is that they provide a lower cognitive load from the student. This means that the student does not have to invest many of their mental and physical resources to gain information from movies and documentaries.
When you compare watching movies and reading books, it is easy to see that watching movies take less effort but, in turn, provides you with the same factual data (if not more information) as reading your historical textbooks. This is one reason why students will be more inclined to watch documentaries rather than read their history textbooks.
In the modern world, technological developments have made it very easy to acquire historical documentaries and films. When one cannot afford Netflix, they can easily log into YouTube and access millions of documentaries and historical films. On the other hand, the internet also gives students ready access to homework helper services in completing their homework tasks.
Provision of a Different View Point
History textbooks are usually written from one standard viewpoint; to provide the necessary facts about a given person or historical event. This is why sometimes reading books might be boring and monotonous as one is bombarded with many facts within a short time.
On the other hand, where the stories are dramatized and presented as movies and documentaries, a different approach is adopted. While the focus is still on providing factual information, the story is presented in a manner designed to make the listener think more critically about what he or she is watching. This is one of the reasons why historical movies and documentaries tend to be so entertaining and engaging.
It Is Entertaining
Watching a film or documentary will always be more interesting than reading a book. Movies are usually designed in a manner that not only catches your attention; they also help you think more critically about what you are watching, which allows you to relate to the said film’s content.
Understand that as human beings, it is our nature to respond to visual and verbal cues, compared to what we read in text. This aspect of watching movies and documentaries makes them way more fun and exciting than reading books.
Films Are Part of Our Culture
Going to the movies is one activity that is deeply entrenched in American culture. Everyone thinks of films as a fun way of passing the time. This is why watching historical movies and documentaries as part of your studying regiment will never seem like a chore to you. In your mind, it will always seem like the fun time passing traditional that you are used to. In this manner, you will be able to grasp more information as you will think of the process as entertainment rather than a study session.
One of the benefits of utilizing films and documentaries in the school setting is that it helps arouse interest and curiosity. The excitement created by historical movies and documentaries gets people eager to watch them, which allows them to retain a lot more historical information.
