Recently, my teenage son introduced me to the “Absolute Cinema” meme. If you’re not familiar, it is a black and white image of famed film director Martin Scorsese sitting stoically, hands in the air, with the words “Absolute Cinema” below him. It’s a meme that, in a way, captures the reverence some people have for the purity of film: an almost sacred view of cinema that holds certain directors and movies above all others. In my son’s and his friend’s usage, it usually means someone just made a “sick” move in a video game. Or didn’t. Whichever is funniest.
When teaching and using the medium of film in the classroom, this idea of “absolute” filmmaking begins to feel a little limiting. When we approach visual literacy across the curriculum, what if we expanded our view beyond this rigid ideal? Instead of focusing solely on “absolute” standards, why not empower students to explore and express their own cinematic voices? Most of us aren’t cinematic geniuses like Scorsese, but we know a good concept when we see it, as do our students. Using the genre of screenwriting across subject areas can be an excellent tool for educators in eliciting creative and multi-layered responses from our students.
Instead of focusing solely on “absolute” standards, why not empower students to explore and express their own cinematic voices?
I’m fortunate to be able to teach an exciting eleventh/twelfth grade elective in our English department, “Literature and Film.” Contrary to some students’ hopeful expectations, we don’t “just watch movies all day.” We get to explore how literature is interpreted through the medium of film, comparing screenplays, graphic novels, novellas, and more, along with their cinematic interpretations.
One of my favorite units in this course is our Raisin in the Sun unit, where we read Lorraine Hansberry’s controversial screenplay adaptation of her Broadway play and then compare that screenplay with the 1961 and 2008 film adaptations. Along the way, we learn the various components of a screenplay and how it differs from stage plays and prose in general. We keep the vocabulary simple and stick to learning the seven most common screenplay terms: scene heading, action, character, dialogue, parenthetical, and extension. We look for those in our class text and gradually start applying them to what we see in film in general.
A great resource for applying general screenplay knowledge and a fun hook for students is the website Screenplayed. The site creates videos of a scene from a movie with the official screenplay scrolling below. Using discretion, I allow students to choose from the many options on the website. We project the chosen scene and read along with the screenplay. It’s a fantastic way for students to see these terms in action in films they already know and love. A bonus is that the website also contains dozens of complete screenplays. Feeling the urge to read all 198 pages of Oppenheimer? Screenplayed has you covered!
Once students have a general screenplay knowledge, the unit becomes creative—the best part! Students write their own short screenplay using the free website WriterDuet. This website does all of the formatting for students; the only thing they need to know are the seven basic screenplay terms they’ve already learned. They come with their ideas and click the correct screenplay component buttons, and the website does the rest! The end product is a professional-looking screenplay that shows their creativity, knowledge of screenplay terms, and cinematic interpretation in general.
This is all well and good for a literature-and-film secondary classroom, but what about other disciplines and grade levels?
This is all well and good for a literature-and-film secondary classroom, but what about other disciplines and grade levels? I’d like to encourage all teachers to find a way to incorporate the basics of screenwriting in whatever way makes sense for their classroom. Here are some benefits I’ve noticed over the years of utilizing screenwriting as a writing exercise in the classroom:
- Students are naturally gifted at visual literacy, whether they know it or not. This is an abridged version of this article. To read more, subscribe to Christian Educators Journal.
Works Cited
“Absolute Cinema.” Know Your Meme, 2 Nov. 2023, https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/absolute-cinema. Accessed 29 July 2025.
Screenplayed: Comparing Movies to Screenplays, https://screenplayed.com. Accessed 29 July 2025.
WriterDuet, https://www.writerduet.com. Accessed 29 July 2025.
Priscilla Meeuwenberg teaches English at Grand Rapids Christian High School and online for MI Virtual. She received a BA in theatre from Calvin University and an MA in education from Aquinas College. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and (mostly scary) films.