Newswise — Movie stars such as Tom Cruise, Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis unknowingly take on new roles as silver screen educators during marriage classes taught by professors Becky Adams and Scott Hall at Ball State University.
Adams and Hall often play movie clips to start discussions on communication, gender and power, marriage expectations, and work and family roles. Frequent selections include "Jerry Maguire," "Forget Paris" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
"The response is always predictable," Hall said. "Students like the clips and find that they help them to better understand concepts about marriage and relationships."
Derek McClain of Yorktown says he enjoyed watching the movie clips when he took the class last fall. McClain remembers several class discussions about the long-distance relationship in "Forget Paris," starring Billy Crystal and Debra Winger.
"There were scenes that showed the couple fighting, and I began to wonder how they ever thought it was going to work," he said. "It is much different to talk about a concept in class than it is to actually see it being acted out."
Adams shows "The Story of Us," starring Pfeiffer and Willis, in its entirety because it displays many situations that she feels are typical for couples.
"There's one particular scene in which I had always felt Bruce Willis' character was at fault," she said. "But some of my students disagreed and said Michelle Pfeiffer's character was at fault, so I learn from these discussions too."
Adams says the movies lead to more interaction in class. She says students often draw from personal experiences that are similar to what they see in the movies.
"So students can talk through these delicate issues by talking about the movie characters and not revealing personal information," she said.
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