ABSTRACT
Pedagogical challenges emerge when film is used to teach about the complex business of the representations of "the other", the epistemological fragility of historical interpretations, and what it means to know and understand history. This chapter explores these challenges by exploring what we mean by difficult history, why anyone in their right mind would teach "difficult history" using film and risk the wrath of not just students, but also parents, school board members, principals/headmasters for damaging, offending, or disturbing their students. It introduces a pedagogical model through which teachers can explicitly consider the role of film in tackling difficult histories and offer up two illustrative case studies of how this model may be used. Problematic uses of films in history classrooms emerge when teachers and students view film as an objective and true record of the past rather than as a socially and culturally constructed text.
