Summary: Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin

Duration: 112 min.

Themes: music, superheroes, comic strip, love

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is especially fun to use in the classroom because of the uncommon film techniques that were used. Many elements that can be found in a comic strip are shown in this film. In fact, the motion picture was adapted from an existing graphic novel with the same name. A fun activity in class could be to compare the two and see if there is an added value the film provides.

The film eventually garnered a cult following, which allows the teacher to introduce the genre of ‘cult film’ without having to show a film that wouldn’t resonate with his or her audience, being the young students.

Summary: An introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.

Director: Bo Burnham
Stars: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson

Duration: 93 min.

Themes: anxiety, puberty, social media

Since its release last year, Eighth Grade, has been praised for its sense of humble realism. This directorial debut of young comedian Bo Burnham portrays the life of a fourteen-year-old in a funny, yet endearing way. This film could be used to show cultural differences between the students themselves and peers from another country. They can list the problems and choices a typical American teenager encounters and check whether they run in the same ones.

The main theme of this film, though, is anxiety: an everyday issue in teenagers’ lives all over the world. Eighth Grade deals with this topic in a realistic but humourous way, which makes it perfectly suitable in an EFL classroom.

Protagonist Kayla wants to become a YouTube vlogger (although she hasn’t had her breakthrough just yet). Maybe as a creative task, the pupils can talk about something they’re interested in / scared of in a vlog and upload it to the internet. This type of exercise allows the students to develop their digital literacy, which becomes increasingly important in this era of technology.

Welcome to my website! In this blog, I will give advice on which films you can use in an EFL classroom. Underneath each film, you will be able to find additional information, such as a summary, the themes, notable film techniques, possible activities, etc. If you have more suggestion, do feel free to contact me.

It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you watch them on a screen.

Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange