Lights, Camera, Language Film Series: First Language

Films can help us grapple with complex social and scientific phenomena. The "Lights, Camera, Language" series, hosted by the Language Diversity Ambassadors, explores modern films and documentaries which take a close look at concepts related to language. Films cover a wide range of topics, from dialects and accents, to the way we understand the world, to social scientific research and beyond.

This semester, "Lights, Camera, Language" hones in on the relationships between language and culture. First Language (2014) takes a close look at the precarious positioning of the Cherokee language. In it, the Eastern Band of Cherokee discusses their relationship with their language, its near-disappearance, and the subsequent extraordinary steps they've taken to save it. This film discusses the cultural importance of languages and how we can work to preserve them.