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22 Another important aspect to consider when it comes to cinema and education is the
phenomenon of mirror neurons. Mirror neurons were discovered by Italian neuroscientist,
Giacomo Rizzolatti who, together with his research team, discovered that macaque
monkeys mimicked behaviors among each other. When this happened, a group of
neurons was activated that put different brain regions (parietal lobe and motor cortex)
into action. The same happens with human beings in such a way that when our brain
observes an equal act or feel a certain way, it can feel it in the first person. In other words,
mirror neurons allow us to empathize and therefore imitate behaviors and attitudes,
not only in directly in the moment, but also when watching a movie.
A newborn macaque imitates tongue protrusion (Evolution of Neonatal Imitation. Gross L. - Wikipedia
Commons / CC BY 2.5)
Watching movies or movie sequences allows us to get our students to identify emotions
and feel understood in the classroom.
The exercise of identifying emotions in different cinematographic scenes also develops
our critical thinking skills. It teaches us to identify messages in all the information that
is presented to us, analyzing emotional, audiovisual, and verbal language. This allows
students to decide for themselves whether or not they agree with the message, gradually
creating a less manipulable society, capable of analyzing information that comes from
different directions.
When working on emotions such as frustration or sadness, or when things do not go
as expected, for example, a good option is to watch Lo importante (2007), a short film by
Alauda Ruiz de Azúa. When the students see the protagonist, they may be sad or feel a
sense of injustice, and experience empathy for a character they may be able to identify
with. This opens up a new way to express and recognize emotions that they maybe did
not know they felt and place them appropriately in their own internal emotional world.