With this paper, I elaborate the use of the movies "American History X" and "Mi Familia" in classroom settings to highlight issues of ethnicity and the social construction of identity through families and communities. Taken together, these movies draw attention to racial geographies of Los Angeles but in very different ways. I…

Maintains that, while geographers have been using films for some time, it is only recently that the full power of this medium has been recognized. Argues that teachers should be aware of subtexts within films that mark significant cultural and political biases. Discusses a list of films used in a college introductory geography course. (CFR)