Learning Through Entertainment: Movies To Broaden Your Perspective

We are so fortunate to be living in the era of technology. Knowledge, information and the ability to observe many different perspectives are available right at our fingertips. As students, now is the best time to immerse yourself into a range of different realities and use this opportunity to learn more about the world around you.

Numerous movies across all languages and cultures allows you to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and teach you to empathise with those you might not have met yet. Here are some fascinating movies to broaden your perspective.

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind | English

This science fiction romantic drama film explores themes of love and loss, as well as the fleetingness and resilience of our memories. The film centres around a couple who went through a painful breakup and have decided to erase all memories of each other. It explores the depths of the human experience of love and emotions. Why do we try so hard to forget pain and hurt? Is it worth getting rid of all your memories of a person—even the happiest ones? If you do have a spotless mind (no memories of the times your heart hurt, or your fists clenched, or moments where all there was to do was cry), do you get eternal sunshine (happiness always)?

If you’re in the mood to explore the joys of romance and the sorrow of break-ups, this is a great watch!

Parasite | Korean

This movie won four awards at the 2020 Oscars, including the esteemed Best Picture Award. Well-written, well-shot and with fantastic acting—this movie explores class discrimination and greed in Korea. The film centres around the destitute Kim family as they try to worm their way into well-paying jobs from the wealthy Park family. This movie portrays class struggles in an eye-opening way, really showing how money affects people’s thoughts, behaviours and actions. It’s a great perspective into how capitalism functions and how it hurts those at the bottom of the hierarchy.

This movie takes you on a roller coaster of emotions, from laughter and tears to anger, heartbreak and fear. The entire spectrum of human emotions neatly wrapped up in 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Her | English

Her, is a science fiction romance film that explores humanity’s ever-growing attachment to machines and things. The plot follows a sensitive man that is going through heartbreak and loneliness after his marriage ends. During this time, he becomes fascinated with a new operating system that develops a unique and intuitive identity—think an extension of the Siri and Alexa programs we have today. He eventually starts developing feelings for this artificial intelligence (AI). This film does a great job at navigating our deeper reliance on technology, especially AI. When we talk and converse with technology, how does it affect our relationship with this inanimate object? Can we still get attached to something that isn’t human, but talks, responds and makes you feel like you are interacting with one? Is this a potential reality given the rapid development of AI and other human-like technology on the horizon?

A beautiful movie with a lovely score to match, this film will have you rethinking your relationships with your smartphones and other smart devices.

Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth) | Hindi

This beautiful, feel-good movie explores the importance of having good educators and the struggles of having different learning abilities. The movie follows a young boy, Ishaan, who has dyslexia and is constantly being put down for not being able to do things ‘normally’ at home and at his boarding school. A newly transferred art teacher, Ram Shankar, notices his struggles and starts helping him discover his potential despite his differences. This emotional drama shows you how our societal structures can be so ingrained that we forget to make room for those that are different. Something simple for some can be a monumental and difficult task for others.

Laugh, smile and cry as you watch Ishaan break barriers and help those around him learn to understand and embrace him for who he is.

A never-ending supply of exciting experiences

These are merely some of the thousands of movies created by the artists and creatives of our world to help inspire and teach. We love hosting movie nights at all our village campuses! So, if you have a particular movie that you’ve been wanting to watch, why not make it an event and get some friends to join in so you can learn, grow and laugh together.