sherminator505 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I would recommend The Grapes of Wrath (1940). It would have to be played in more than one sitting, as it is over 120 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Skipper Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Good ideas all, and keep them coming. As we are pressed for time, I will be suggesting that scouts watch a movie on their own in advance, and we can discuss it camp. I will probably show The Red Badge of Courage, but I have not committed myself to that yet. At 69 minutes, we could watch the movie and follow up with a subsequent discussion in a long hour and a half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srisom Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 As a counselor for American Heritage, I appreciate all of the suggestions. My understanding is that even though you may have purchased a DVD, etc. for home use, there is no limit on how many you invite to view the movie. The real issue is that you can not charge any admission to view the movie. I may be totally wrong, but this was what we determined a few years back. Things may well have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-in-KC Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Mister Roberts (1956) The Caine Mutiny Paint Your Wagon In Harm's Way 1776 From Here to Eternity Tora! Tora! Tora! Midway The Longest Day Forrest Gump To Kill a Mockingbird And for JerseyScout: I prefer Bambi vs Godzilla (This message has been edited by John-in-KC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWScouter Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 This is like G2SS evasion calling a banned activity like Laser Tag not a scouting event. Is showing it to 10 people in your home like showing it to 20 or more at scout camp? A Scout is Trustworthy. BSA paid for those films and flim clips used in Woodbadge. They may not come after you but come after councils and the BSA for their deep pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGrayOwl Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 John-in-KC: How about the classic - Hardware Wars? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Come on, people, we're talking about "heritage" movies, not "good" movies, or only military history (both worthy listings otherwise). Kentucky Fried Movie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes "...and THIS, may God have mercy on us, is a CHERRY TOMATO !!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-in-KC Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 SSS: Last time I checked, To Kill a Mockingbird was about how your DNA affected your skin color affected your station in American life. TTT is about a forever turning point in American history ... the day we had to become a Great Power. From Here to Eternity is about how people are changed by forever turning points. It's just like Scouting: The Outdoors is the methods vehicle, the mission is the Aims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWScouter Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Reread the requirement: Watch two motion pictures (with the approval and permission of your counselor and parent) that are set in some period of American history. Describe to your counselor how accurate each film is with regard to the historical events depicted and also with regard to the way the characters are portrayed. Note the mention of "period of American history" "accurate ... to the historical events" I'm sorry "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" and "Kentucky Fried Movie" both would not in my mind lead to any meaningful discion in the spirit of the merit badge. Like my 7th grade teacher who only let me turn in a book report on one James Bond book, I would not approve them for satisfying the requirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'm sorry, my emoticons don't work and I was only following jerseyscout's lead. I do like "1776". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKlose Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 A long time ago, I saw a set of annotations for the script of 1776 that pointed out while it is billed as a musical comedy, it is fairly historically accurate. Like most movies based on something else, there are times when characters are combined, and events simplified. It's one of my favorite movies, although I would agree it's not for everyone. It has a very long running time (the stage show runs at 3 hours+). I watched it yet again, this last July,this time with my sons. We stopped the recording and had a lengthy discussion about "Molasses to Rum to Slaves", and how the colonial economy wasn't just based on Southern plantation owners buying slaves. "Whom Stinketh The Most?". Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyScout Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'm sorry, my emoticons don't work and I was only following jerseyscout's lead. I do like "1776". I didn't think it was very funny, the tomatoes killed three members of my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Skipper Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 The truth is that the movie need not be a historical film, nor a historical fiction. It is looking at depecting a period in history, and how accurately that was accomplished. Interestingly, I had forgotten that the MB handbook has a list in the back, listed by period and year of release: American Revolution 1776Civil War Buffalo Soldiers Gettysburg The Red Badge of Courage Gone with the WindThe Old West Dances with Wolves Lonesome Dove Gunfight at the OK CoralWW I A Farewell to Arms Sergent York All Quiet on the Western FrontThe Great Depression The Journey of Natty Gann Sounder To Kill a Mockingbird (My dogs are named Boo and Scout) The Grapes of WrathWW II Band of Brothers Tuskeegee Airman Memphis Belle Tora! Tora! Tora! The Longest Day Sands of Iwo Jima The Best Years of Our LivesThe 1950s La Bamba Grease Rebel Without a CauseThe Space Race Apollo 13 The Right Stuff Civil Rights and Tolerance Ghosts of Mississippi Corrina, Corrina The Long Walk Home Driving Miss Daisy King The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman The requirement does not read "Watch two motion pictures of your counselor's choice..." so I am reluctant to sit them down to two movies of my choice. Instead, I am asking that the scouts view a movie on their own before camp and we can discuss it as a group. As I have suggested earlier, we will probably show The Red Badge of Courage, as it neatly fits our time constraints. but I would prefer that the scouts choose all their own requirements. Were I to have a limitless time to show and discuss movies of MY choice, I would probably include something from the Cold War Era, like The Bedford Incident or Fail-Safe. I think this is a significant period of recent history which has been "lost" on our current young generation. It is unfortunate that some of the best movies from this period (in my opinion) are rated R, which is inappropriate for scouts. I do like the way in which the American Heritage MB is presented. It does not try to be "American History MB" with a different name. It does, however, carefully weave history into the threads of the badge, without turning it into a histroy class. I will have 2 groups of up to 15 scouts each, but I expect fewer to register. Working with a small group on this could really be a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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