Movies Change Lives: Pedagogy of Constructive Humanistic Transformation Through Cinema

by Tony Kashani

Movies Change Lives is a rigorous interdisciplinary examination of cinema as a vehicle for personal and social transformation. Interdisciplinary scholar Tony Kashani builds a theory of humanistic transformation by discussing many movies while engaging the works of philosopher/psychologist Erich Fromm, cultural studies theorist Stuart Hall, critical pedagogy theorist Henry Giroux, political philosopher Hannah Arendt, the great French thinker Edgar Morin, the pioneering psychologist Carl Jung, the co-founder of string theory, physicist Michio Kaku, and Frankfurt School philosopher Jürgen Habermas, among others. The book argues that in the globalized world of the twenty-first century, humanity is in dire need of personal and social transformation. Movies have universal appeal and can deeply affect their audiences in a short time. Coupled with critical pedagogy, they can become tools of personal and social transformation. Movies Change Lives is an ideal text for graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses on film (cinema) and society, visual culture, consciousness studies, transformative studies, media and social change, advanced personal and social psychology, and political philosophy.

144 pages, Paperback

Published November 23, 2015

About the author

Faculty in the Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Studies at Union Institute & University. He is co-director of the Modern Media Project at Sonoma State University.and a scholar member of GSA (Global Studies Association). He has collaborated with the world-renowned theorist of pedagogy Henry A. Giroux and the long-time Native American feminist scholar/activist Annette Jaimes-Guerrero in projects regarding media pedagogy and representation of Native American women in the media. A trilingual interdisciplinary thinker whose work is anchored in critical theory, Tony Kashani is an Iranian American. He believes in appropriating theory for practice toward achieving social justice. On a personal level, an accomplished athlete, he is committed to achieving a balance within the “mind-body-spirit” complex. He lives with his family in San Francisco.