Film in Educational Activity – from Film Education to Education through Film

Abstract

The article aims to indicate different perspectives of film education. According to the author, three possible strategies can be identified: education to film (“film studies” strategy), education in film (“anthropological” strategy) and education through film (“hermeneutic” strategy). In traditional conceptions of cultural education, film education was treated as part of aesthetic education which highlighted the aspect of preparing the viewer as an “expert” with knowledge of the art discipline, corresponding to the “film studies’ strategy”. In the “anthropological strategy”, film is treated as a reflection of society, its fears, and dominant narratives. The viewer’s expectations are different and moreover the competence of the art theorist is replaced by knowledge of culture and society and the changes taking place within it. From an educational point of view, however, the most interesting perspective is the “hermeneutic” one that treats film as a partner in dialogue, when the educational potential of a film text is determined not by its “content” but by the “biographical capital” of the viewer.