Film highlights ‘hearts and minds’ battle
Friends have premiered a film about militarisation in schools
Friends House in London has screened a documentary film to ‘challenge the British government’s attempt to entice children into support for war’.
War School, timed to coincide with the centenary of the end of the first world war, was previewed at Friends House on 19 October.
The documentary feature by Mic Dixon uses archive, observation and veterans’ testimony from Britain’s century of conflict to unpack ‘the government strategy to target the education system and to promote public support for its war machine’.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion and ice cream.
Ellis Brooks, who works in peace education for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said: ‘World war one was hailed “the war to end all wars”. Yet war has not stopped.’
He continued: ‘For war to proceed the government needs ongoing public support. One way to get that support is to saturate the public space with militarism without any exploration of the morality or danger of war.’
The film will also be previewed in Oxford, Chelmsford, Leicester, and North and South Wales.
