Staying motivated to learn and advance yourself can be difficult, especially if you find yourself burnt out towards or just after the finals. In reality, most students receive plenty of external motivation, while internal motivation can often be lacking. Since grades and scores are often not enough to keep you motivated to learn, let’s see how movies can help.
How Can Movies Help Education?
Although it may seem strange, movies can really help a ton when it comes to learning. Although movies are a form of entertainment, they can help you better understand the situation you are in by letting you see how other people have overcome issues that are more or less universal to people in a certain period. With this in mind, you can interpret movies (not in a boring way) and draw your own conclusions about why it is so important to keep studying.
Movies, in fact, can also teach you about how people think and about their internal workings. Understanding people is, in fact, the result of being exposed to many different situations in your life, and since movies give you this in a nutshell (and in a short form), you can use this as an opportunity to learn about both yourself and others. However, if you are a busy student, you may find it hard to find time to dedicate to something most students deem an unnecessary form of entertainment.
How to Find Time to Enjoy Movies?
This is, indeed, a big problem. Most students have difficulties finding an hour a day for themselves as it is. With this in mind, it is no wonder that students do not watch a lot of movies. Professional essay writing help may help here. By delegating some of the school work, you will free up time for yourself, reduce the burn-out rate, and get back on (academic) track in no time.
Top 5 Educational Movies for Learning
Once you finally have some free time, it is the right moment to start compiling your own list of educational movies to last. Although far from finished, our list of 5 top educational movies features basics tailored for students of different interests and educational backgrounds. So, here are the top 5 movies that will keep you motivated to learn more every day.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
The Breakfast Club is a movie about a group of students being in detention for 8 hours. The movie revolves around these 5 students as they spend time together and learn about each other. As they grow together (in the same time span), they develop and learn more about the world around them. An innocent story, to begin with, the movie shows that friends can be found in the most unexpected places and among people as diverse as they can be.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump, a classic, is a story about a neuro-divergent boy who goes through life to reach remarkable heights. The beginning of the movie shows the sacrifices his own mother had to undertake to secure him some future, while the rest of the movie revolves around the boy as he grows up, playing Ping Pong, selling shrimp, and finally winning the Medal of Honor for his bravery. The story inspires on multiple levels, by teaching about the sacrifice of the parents and by giving insights into how hardship does not compromise the results for those brave enough to keep pursuing their goals.
The Social Network (2010)
The Social Network, a down-to-Earth drama movie, features Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg. The story follows Zuckerberg as he realizes his dream of founding Facebook. The movie teaches us about how gradual, relatable success is more hard work than being born under your lucky star. If you want to stay motivated, this is the movie for you. After all, Zuckerberg was a college student when he founded Facebook.
Life of Pi (2012)
Life of Pi is a remarkable story of an Indian family who has to sell their home and their zoo to pursue life elsewhere. On their voyage away from India, a disaster strikes, and a single boy survives, finishing the journey with animals on board his rescue boat. An amazing psychological play, the story teaches about different mentalities and just how wrong we can be in understanding the events around us. It is one of the best coming-of-age movies out there, and it sure has a lot to teach.
Seaspiracy (2021)
A single documentary on our list, seaspiracy is perfect for all those who need the motivation to keep pursuing their science degrees. The documentary, aired on Netflix in 2021, takes multiple approaches to the issue of overfishing. The documentary also tracks the fish all the way to our tables, showing intricate connections between seemingly unrelated elements of the production, transportation, and distribution chains, and teaches about a new outlook on the impact our daily diet has on the world around us.
Final Considerations
Movies may not always come to mind as the best way to educate yourself, but in reality, they have a lot to teach. Movies are, in fact, a window into different realms, helping you navigate complex stories as they unfold in a 90-minute period. Teaching about the importance of perseverance, understanding other people and their stories, as well as about the importance of connecting the dots, the movies on our list are sure to inspire you to keep learning.