Informed Change: Exploring the Use of Persuasive Communication of Indigenous Cultures Through Film Narratives

Aim/Purpose There is a need to find a way to utilize narrative storytelling in film to make students more aware of the impacts of global problems and how they are perceived. Background Two films from the year 2015 from two very different places in the world explore the encroachment and secondary effects of urban civilization upon indigenous cultures. Methodology An interpretive, qualitative, methodology was used in addressing and discussing the use of these two films as a persuasive communication teaching aid. Contribution This paper offers an approach to using narratives of films on indigenous issues in education to inform students about real-world issues and the wide impacts of those on various cultures and populations. Findings Through the discussion of the two films, we suggest that using films with indigenous themes is beneficial to a course curriculum in a variety of subjects from communication to history and politics, to help students visualize the problems at hand. Anecdotally, the authors note that students are more engaged and willing to discuss topics if they have watched films or clips that deal with those topics than if they have simply read about them. Recommendations for Practitioners We aim to inform instructors about using compelling narratives in the field of persuasive communication, and adding that both discussion questions about the issues as well as having students reflect on these issues in their own Persuasive Communication in Indigenous Films 108 lives and careers help in teaching the subjects in a world where visual communication and storytelling is growing. Recommendations for Researchers Technology and use of visuals are used as teaching tools in a variety of fields. Film narratives can be used as a teaching tool in multiple fields and provide insight about a variety of ideas. Identifying films such as those with indigenous themes provides an example of how one film can bring up multiple, real-world, topics and through led discussion student reflection can potentially lead to self-insights and have lasting impacts. Impact on Society Creating compelling story lines to show impacts of our daily decisions helps create a broader understanding of their effects for a variety of audiences. We can thus use films such as the two discussed here in learning and teaching about difficult topics, such as climate change, and the oppression of indigenous peoples. Future Research Additional research and assessment can be done on the impact of teaching with films and their compelling story telling of issues, and what types of questions should be asked to maximize learning and the impact of film narratives.