"Film is the art form to create social change. You see something that excites you or enrages you while watching something outside of yourself, and that spurs you to become more engaged. Cinema has the ability to change someone’s perspective."

--Brittany Dobish, Artistic Director of The Nightlight Cinema, Akron, Ohio

Beyond providing entertainment, films are also an important means of cultural communication and have the capacity to serve as a vehicle for the betterment of society. When audiences experience a film, they may awaken to a range of varying emotions and develop an enlightened awareness of differing human experiences. But what framework has been created by the filmmakers of the past and present, and how have the ideologies presented in their films influenced the direction of social change?

In a 2018 statement from the Bahá’í International Community, it is noted that “Humanity has employed countless conceptual models throughout its history, their various elements contributing to progress in some instances and hindering it in others. But regardless of what has come before, it is clear that the transformational change required today calls for new vantage points from which to explore challenges, assess realities, and imagine solutions. We must therefore be prepared to assess – and if necessary, revise – the assumptions that have shaped the current international order and structures of society.”

In this course we will explore the potential that film has to shape cultural attitudes and contribute to social change while also examining some of the common underlying assumptions made by content creators that have influenced that change, both positively and negatively.