Multi-Modal Literacies: Great Films and How to Teach Them

     I just finished reading the book "Great Films and How to Teach Them" and I'm left with varying opinions about how I feel about this book.  I like the fact that Costanzo brought up the point that films are unique forms of art and that many films are inspired by books, but they should be treated as their own unique forms of art.  I also liked the fact that Costanzo brought up the fact that so many different elements combine to make a good film.  Camera angle, cuts, music, camera movement, etc. are all elements that create a scene.
     While I thought the whole book was very informative, I thought the last two chapters provided me with the most information.  I really enjoyed the chapter that discussed portrayals of different races on film.  I think this could be a great unit in a language arts or social studies classroom because the portrayal of people on film parallels their place in society historically.  In a language arts classroom, the teacher could have the class read a book such as Native Son depicting race relations in the early twentieth century, then have students study the portrayal of African Americans in film during that time period.  I think this would be a great way to pair up film study along with the study of literature.  Furthermore, I also watched the documentary "The Celluloid Closet" last semester in a class and it taught me a lot about the ways in which homosexuality has been addressed in film throughout the years.  I think this would also be a great resource to use in the classroom, either in it's entirety or just clips.  I've included a youtube clip of "The Celluloid Closet" at the end of this post.
     Finally, I think the most challenging issue this book has brought up is how to include film in the language arts classroom.  The major thing that concerns me is that teachers have so much literature to cover and state tests to prepare for, that I think it would be difficult to find time to fit film into the classroom.  Furthermore, I'm pretty sure there aren't any state standards pertaining to film study so I'm not sure how this could be included in the classroom.  This isn't to say that film isn't important, I'm just not sure it's in the curriculum. Do any of you have ideas about how this could be addressed?  For me, I think one way would be to pair up historical aspects of films with the literature that is being read in the class so that the film can be used as a supplement to the literature.  I'm sure there are many other ways to include film and I would be interested in all of your ideas.