History & Social Studies
TOPICS:
The ‘problem’ of Cambodian history
The origins and reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979)
War crimes tribunals, past and present
New Zealand/Cambodian relations
Find all the clips referred to in this guide HERE
ABOUT THE GUIDE:
Brother Number One is a documentary film which represents a traumatic and devastating period in Cambodian history through the lens of personal loss and social memory. As a tool for teaching and learning, the film thereby provides a gateway into the complex history and contemporary politics of Cambodia and the South East Asian Region. Through a series of informative and intimate interviews, the film opens up for consideration a series of challenging topics, including the cultural, political and economic conditions which lead to the rise of the totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, the use of torture, imprisonment and mass execution under this regime, techniques of social control – including the separation of children from their parents – which characterized the regime, instances of institutional and individual corruption and the abuse of power, the social and cultural consequences of genocide, the subsequent and ongoing revision of national history, and international interventions in the region - including the UN-appointed “hybrid” war crimes tribunal. As such, the film offers rich opportunities to address learning objectives outlined by The New Zealand Curriculum in secondary education in the field of Social Sciences. In particular, the film might enable Social Studies students to “understand how conflicts can arise from different cultural beliefs and ideas” and the extent to which the local, national and global consequences of such conflicts “impact on the rights, roles, and responsibilities of individuals and communities”.
Moreover, because the film is told from the perspective of New Zealander Rob Hamill, and centers upon the death of his older brother Kerry in 1978, at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, the film also invites New Zealand audiences to consider the relevance of events in Asia to the broader history of the region. Brother Number One thereby serves to support the ‘Asia Awareness’ mandate in The New Zealand Curriculum (p. 39) which states that links between learning areas should be explored in order to “develop students’ knowledge and understandings in relation to major social, political, and economic shifts of the day, for example, through studies of Asia and the Pacific Rim”. As part of a Social Studies or History unit, Brother Number One may provide a thought-provoking insight into both past and present relations between New Zealand and South East Asia, in ways which will help students to “develop informed attitudes and values” about the Asia region and “understand how New Zealand is connected to Asia”. In this way, Brother Number One situates events in Cambodia’s recent history as pertinent to New Zealand’s national history, and its ongoing relationship with the Asia region. Thus, the film could be used to support specific History learning objectives, which enable students to “understand that the causes, consequences, and explanations of historical events that are of significance to New Zealanders are complex, and how and why they are contested”.
*Please contact us if you are a teacher based in New Zealand and would like a copy of the Study Guide aligned directly to the New Zealand curriculum.
Brother Number One opens in selected cinemas nationwide on the 8th March 2012. All these cinemas are offering special discounted rates to school groups. We recommend that schools book for sessions in the first week of the release (between 8th March and 14th March 2012).
SEE THE LIST OF CINEMAS HERE