I teach the high school literature courses for the Ron Paul Curriculum. I produced 720 lessons. Most of them have a 25-minute video lecture.
Because of copyright laws, anything after 1922 in the United States is under legal protection, at least if the copyright was renewed 28 years after the first date of release. Anything published after 1963 is automatically protected: 75 years after the death of the author. Hence, if I taught the course using any book published after 1922, the student would have to buy it. This shaped my decision to assign movies instead. Here is what I wrote.
Week 25
At this point, I deviate from the standard course in American literature. I abandon the printed word. The reason is clear: Western culture has moved from the printed word to film, beginning after 1927: the “talkies.” The public has made this decision. Movies convey stories in bite-size chunks: bites of popcorn – literal and figurative. Fiction that does not make it onto the screen has little cultural influence. There are exceptions. J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is the main one. But if we want to understand how modern civilization works, we must understand the movies. Hollywood has spent the money to hire the best writers of fiction. Also, comedy is rare in printed form. Site gags are seen. Laughter is crowd-based: theaters.
Unlike most major cultural transformations in history, we can date this one easily: 1927: The Jazz Singer. By 1930, the transition was visible. Then came the year of artistic dominance: 1939. It began with the most beloved movie in American history, Gone with the Wind. America has dominated world literature ever since 1939. The world wants Americans to tell it stories, especially if things go “boom” a lot. Television has intensified this dominance.
The mark of this shift in influence is the response of anyone who grew up watching classic movies. “But you left out. . . .” There will not be an equally assertive reaction from literate people regarding books left out.
Birth of a Nation (1915)
Week 26
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Week 27
Stagecoach (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Week 28
Citizen Kane (1941)
Casablanca (1942)
Week 29
High Noon (1952)
Shane (1953)
Week 30
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Week 31
All the President’s Men (1976)
Born Again (1978)
Week 32
Tender Mercies (1983)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Week 33
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Quiz Show (1994)
Week 34
Walk the Line (2005)
The Blind Side (2009)
Week 35
Winter’s Bone (2010)
Lincoln (2012)
Week 36
Summary: Literature and Culture
Optional viewing
1939 – The Turning Point
Gone with the Wind
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Wizard of Oz
Of Mice and Men
Wuthering Heights
Gunga Din
Huckleberry Finn
Union Pacific
Drums Along the Mohawk
Destry Rides Again
American Education
Blackboard Jungle
Rebel Without a Cause
Lean on Me
Stand and Deliver
Mr. Holland’s Opus
Freedom Writers
Marva Collins Story
For a sample lesson, see my review of Shane, my favorite movie.
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