Educating Cain. A pedagogical insight through cinema
Paolo Scotton
The movie by Jesús Monllaó Plana, Hijo de Cain, poses a fundamental question in relation to the philosophical and pedagogical tradition. Indeed, through the representation of the philosophical dilemma of the radical evil, it questions the ability of education of promoting the amelioration of individual personality and, consequently, of the community in which one lives. Not only for its content, but also for the liveliness with which it poses this question, the movie constitutes a very interesting case study for the pedagogical reflection. Indeed, this is primarily due to the means used to convey this message. Accordingly, through the analysis of both this interesting philosophical problem and of the cinematographic language used for posing it, this article aims to demonstrate that the emotions conveyed by literary and cinematographic works do have a clear epistemic and ethical function, and they are pedagogically effective to promote the real understanding and questioning of otherwise apparently unproblematic presuppositions. Thus, the article claims for the importance of including in the educative practice the development of emotional skills, which can be fruitfully enhanced through the psychagogic experiences offered by literature and cinema.
Keywords
Radical evil, education, emotions, cinema.