Teacher's Guide for The Fog of War, An Errol Morris Film

The Choices Program and the Critical Oral History Project, both of Brown University's Watson Institute, have developed lesson plans to accompany Errol Morris' new full-length documentary, The Fog of War. These resources include a Teacher's Guide and accompanying online resources.

Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature, this critically acclaimed movie by filmmaker Errol Morris examines issues of war and peace in the 20th century through the lens of one of the century's pivotal figures. Robert S. McNamara offers his account of the century just past, as he remembers participating in it, as well as his reflections on its meaning for the 21st century.

  

The film takes the form of a one-on-one conversation between filmmaker Errol Morris (who is behind the camera) and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (who is on-camera). The conversation traces McNamara's vast and varied experience: from the end of World War I, through the course of World War II, and the unfolding of the Cold War in Cuba, Vietnam, and around the world. We are encouraged to experience the 20th century vicariously as the filmmaker and his subject walk us through the experiences of leaders involved in these seminal events. Extensive archival footage of events throughout the 20th century and recently declassified tape recordings of presidential conversations help the viewer to place McNamara, now eighty-five years old, in the chapters of history he discusses.

Delivered with the conviction and intensity that marked his years as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson, McNamara's message compels us to pay attention to our own roles in the 21st century. Some of what McNamara says in the film is highly controversial—the thoughts of one man reflecting on his own history and the history of his era. That other accounts, other reflections, may differ markedly from McNamara's makes the film all the more provocative for your students.

The Teacher's Guide for The Fog of War offers eight lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the film. These lessons will help students to connect the film and its message to 20th century history and to consider McNamara's role as a political and military figure. In a final activity, "What kind of world do we want for the 21st century?" students have the opportunity to define their own hopes for the future.

The material is designed to be flexible. The lesson plans can build on one another or be used as stand-alone activities. They can be used whether students watch the whole film or only selections from it. A pdf of the 24-page guide and primary sources and additional resources to accompany the guide are available online.

The Teacher's Guide was distributed at no charge by Sony Picture Classics to teachers throughout the country in fall 2003. A DVD is available from www.amazon.com.

In November 2004, the Choices Program sponsored a screening and discussion with James G. Blight and janet M. Lang at the National Council for the Social Studies conference in Baltimore, MD.