Immersed in a world where traditional distinctions between production and reception are blurred, young people are confronted with various images and interpretations of the past. At the same time, their attention is increasingly disputed and fragmented and the use of technological equipment and creative skills are increasingly encouraged. This work aims to fill a gap in research on the role of cinema in the critical (de)construction of young people’s points of view about themselves and the world. There are several studies on elite memories, but few focus on how young people make sense of history and how this sense shapes intercultural communication in everyday life. In this article, we are interested in exploring how young people visualize and interpret images and narratives about the legacies of the past in the present. We present some results of 10 focus groups conducted in public schools in Portugal with 69 secondary school students. As a stimulus for the discussion, we used excerpts from films whose themes address the Portuguese dictatorship, colonialism, liberation struggles and intercultural relations. The results of this study show the importance of cinema in the critical discussion of topics such as racism, xenophobia and homophobia today.

Citation:
Macedo, Isabel; Balbé, Alice & Cabecinhas, Rosa (2023). Cultura visual, educação e comunicação intercultural: grupos de discussão com estudantes no ensino secundário português. Educação em Foco, 26 (48).
https://doi.org/10.36704/eef.v26i48.7145