Film Clips

Film clips provided in this lesson are from On Her Shoulders. Access the streaming clips for free on POV's website by visiting www.pbs.org/pov/educators. Borrow the full film from our DVD Lending Library by joining the POV Community Network

Clip One: “On Her Shoulders” (Opening of film - 3:50, runtime 3:50)The film opens with an introduction to Nadia Murad and to the Yazidi people and explains what happened when ISIL forces attacked their village. This clip also introduces the publicity, public attention and platform of Nadia Murad as a Yazidi survivor.

Clip Two: “The Interview” (16:45 - 25:25, runtime 8:40)Note to Educator: This clip contains very difficult emotional content.Through various media outlets, Nadia Murad tells in detail the story of what happened in her village, to her family and to herself.

Clip Three: “Quest for Justice” (1:26:00 - 1:31:51, runtime 5:51 min)Murad addresses the U.N. General Assembly after being appointed as the U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.

In 2018 Nadia Murad was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Denis Mukwege, according to the prize committee, “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.” Four years earlier, Nadia Murad was a young woman living peacefully in her small Yazidi village of Kocho in northwest Iraq. Not only had she never heard of the Nobel Peace Prize, but she could not have imagined that one day she would be an international activist speaking on behalf of her community in front of the United Nations.

This dizzying rise to international attention is as worthy of study and attention as the events that brought Murad to the world stage of humanitarian and human rights work. Today we see Murad as a source of strength and resilience. She is a survivor, even called a hero by many for telling her story of survival again and again on behalf of her Yazidi people. But at what cost does Murad tell her story, and for whose benefit?

In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to consider this question and broaden their media literacy skills by identifying the moral and ethical parameters journalists follow when interacting with and reporting on survivors of genocide. By viewing excerpts of On Her Shoulders—a documentary portrait of Nadia Murad, who survived the 2014 Yazidi genocide—students will evaluate the balance between the media’s desire for survivors to tell their stories, the public’s need for stories of strength and heroism and the survivors’ pursuit of justice for their community.

Important Note to Educators

On Her Shoulders is a film about a war, collective violence, rape and trauma as a weapon of war. Regardless of whether you or someone you know has ever been affected by war or sexual violence, the story of Nadia Murad’s torture and survival is emotional and difficult. Bringing these elements into a classroom requires care, context and a strong culture of respect and trust in one another in order to share and process this information.

To prepare yourself and your students for this lesson:

Watch all the film clips from On Her Shoulders prior to screening them in your classroom. Watching the full feature film is highly recommended.

Review the On Her Shoulders website and learn more about Nadia’s Initiative.

Read through all the handouts and review the Resources for Further Learning section of this lesson to learn more about the history and culture of the Yazidi people and Nadia Murad’s work and international recognition since 2014.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

● Gain a general understanding of the 2014 genocide of the Yazidi people

● Apply critical media analysis skills to clips from On Her Shoulders

● Identify moral and ethical responsibilities of journalists when reporting on genocide and wartime rape

● Evaluate the role and moral responsibilities of the media and reporters when interacting with survivors of genocide by writing a point-of-view piece

Grade Levels: 10th-12th grade

Subject Areas

English/Language Arts, Global Studies, Media Studies, Journalism, Psychology, Women and Gender Studies, World History

Materials

● Film clips from On Her Shoulders and equipment on which to show them

● Copies for each student of the Nobel Prize: Nadia Murad: Facts article, the background handout and the Note Catcher for the clips

Estimated Time Needed

● Lesson can be completed in one 50-minute class period with an extended homework assignment.

Lesson Opening: Meeting Nadia Murad and the Yazidi people

Distribute the background handout and the article and project a map of the region for students to become geographically familiar with the context of this lesson.

Read aloud both the background and the article and have students circle unfamiliar terms and underline passages that offer central information to understanding the Yazidi people. Have students share terms and questions that surfaced from these readings as a class or in small groups. Collect and post these in class to revisit again at the end of the lesson.

Activity: Nadia in the Public Eye

Directions: Explain to students that they will be watching a series of three clips from On Her Shoulders, each offering different examples of how the media interacts with and responds to Nadia Murad’s story and to Murad as a public figure. After each viewing, students will have a few minutes to respond in writing to the clip using the Clip Note Catcher handout.

Distribute the Clip Note Catcher and have students review the questions posed for each clip in advance.

Watch Clip One: “On Her Shoulders” (runtime 3:50)

Allow several minutes for students to complete their answers on the Clip Note Catcher.

Watch Clip Two: “The Interview” (runtime 8:40)

Allow several minutes for students to complete their answers on the Clip Note Catcher.

What Clip Three: “Quest for Justice” (runtime 5:51 min)

Allow several minutes for students to complete their answers on the Clip Note Catcher.

Closing Exercise and Homework

Share the quote below from Murad from On Her Shoulders. Have students pair up and spend a few moments discussing their thoughts about this quote in relationship to what they viewed in class today.

“I wasn’t raised to give speeches or to meet with world leaders, nor to stand for a cause that is so complex and difficult. As you know, since the night of August 3, 2014, everything has changed.”

Homework: Have students use Murad’s story as a reference point as each one writes a one page op-ed piece, letter to the editor, or blog post for a hypothetical radio, television station, newspaper or online journal, explaining their point of view on the roles and ethical and moral responsibilities of members of the media when reporting on and interacting with survivors of genocide. Students can incorporate any information found on the handouts, in notes taken in class when viewing the clips or through researching any of the resources recommended at the end of this lesson.

Extended Learning

Students will upload their point of view writing online to a shared classroom portal. If a class does not have a shared online space, students will need to print at least two copies of their pieces for a peer-review exercise the following day.

Resources for Further Learning

On Her Shoulders Film Website

http://www.onhershouldersfilm.com/

Nadia’s Initiative (Nadia Murad’s Nonprofit ))

https://nadiasinitiative.org/

The Last Girl (Nadia Murad’s memoir)

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555106/the-last-girl-by-nadia-murad/9781524760441/

Nobel Peace Prize 2018

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2018/summary/

Nadia Murad’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speechhttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2018/murad/55705-nadia-murad-nobel-lecture-2/

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner Report on the Yazidi

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A_HRC_32_CRP.2_en.pdf