Movies to the Rescue: Keeping the Cold War Relevant for Twenty-First-Century Students

What are the challenges of teaching Cold War politics to the twenty-first-century student? How might the millennial generation be educated about the political science theories and concepts associated with this period in history? A college student today, who grew up in the post-Cold War era with the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, smart phones, laptops, and tablets, demonstrates a learning style that responds better to interaction and the use of multimedia in the classroom. What is an innovative teaching technique to accommodate this active-learning style? How might college professors teach undergraduates about a significant historical event such as the Cold War, when most were born after it ended? We argue that for the millennial generation Hollywood blockbusters, when used in an engaging manner beyond merely showing clips, are effective pedagogical tools that make abstract Cold War theories and concepts more understandable, identifiable, and still relevant. Our findings reveal that engaging the Millennials with “big” post-Cold War entertaining movies like Crimson Tide and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in two undergraduate international relations courses, not only increased student comprehension and knowledge about the Cold War but also enhanced their ability to relate the era to world politics today.