A Conversation with Martin Scorsese: The Importance of Visual Literacy
The filmmaker touches on topics ranging from the importance of teaching visual literacy to violence in films to the preservation of classic movies. More to this story.
| Credits
Release Date: 10/10/2006
Running Time: 11 min.
Video Credits
Interview by
- Ken Ellis
Editor:
- Amy Erin Borovoy
Camera Crew:
- Dominic Orlando
- Matt LaGreca
- © 2006
- The George Lucas Educational Foundation
- All rights reserved.



Visual Literacy
Looking for resources for visual literacy?
A course was offered several years ago in conjunction with Newspapers In Education, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and LEARN NC.
Here is a link that will help:
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/vlintro0602
Following the multitude of links provides a depth and breadth into this intriguing topic.
Visual Literacy
I am confussed and understand it all at the same time. This is a subject that has become very important to me, but I don't know how to expound upon it. It's something that I want to advocate, but how do I go about it? Help me please?
Visual Literacy
It is of the utmost importance that students be educated about how their emotions can be manipulated. Young people can be very susceptible to "following the crowd" without understanding where they are being led. Having a theater bacjground, I have always felt that there should be a message or meaning for such experiences that will foster social responsibility.
Visual Literacy
This seems very exciting for students to realize they can learn so much about the world, history, and themselves by storytelling through lenses. It will bring out so much creativity in children and really teaching them an alternate to learning.
This will help children tremendously...they will no longer just believe everything they see at face value. They will consider the source and everything involved...they will think about how they are being influenced by what they see.
It's a good concept to teach them how there are different views in everything we read and see. I think it's important to teach kids not to believe everything they read and to question it.
I completely agree that students do learn as visual learners and the usage of media is a very important tool to use & have in our classrooms. The discussions that can come from this will also be very useful as well when analyzing video and print.
I agree with Martin Scorsese's comments. The students do learn more visually. I believe that some of us already teach students in a form of this way by looking at picture books and analyzing the pictures in the book. The students learn that this helps determine mood and setting.
I think Martin Scorsese has come up with a great idea to offer free curriculum using classic films to help foster critical thinking and understanding in our students. Teachers are always looking for ways to help make learning more meaningful and exciting. Our students today are surrounded by visual immagery all the time and it's important for them to interpret it for good or bad.
Looking to Learn
Mr. Scorsese has it right. Visual is a way to reach many of our students....not all, but most. It is sad to think that many of today's students do not LIKE to read. It has become a seeing world. If we don't tap into this method of teaching, we will not effectively teach our students Social Studies, History, or Geography.