UEA History Teacher Turns Movie Night into Quarantine Phenomenon

In the midst of a national health crisis, Andy Dobbie of Macomb Township watched a movie this week with nearly 300 people. But, before you make any snap accusations about his choices in the midst of a pandemic, you should know that he is yet another example of creative Utica Education Association members using virtual collaboration to engage kids and parents.

Dobbie, a high school history teacher at Utica Academy for International Studies (UAIS), hosts a twice weekly online “History Flix” movie night you can find on Twitter with the hashtag #histflix. It began as a means to share historically relevant movies with his students, while having some fun on Twitter with running commentary, but has turned into a much anticipated event for families who have been holed-up in their homes for weeks.

“The big goal I had initially in starting this was the community aspect I could build, more than just the academics. We are all aware of what a school brings in regard to promoting community and I thought this was one way we could continue that,” said Dobbie, who has been teaching for 19 years in Utica Community Schools (UCS). “The first night we had 75 people watching together and it took off from there.”

Dobbie is aware that “history movies can be a downer,” so they choose movies that are either based on history or represent a period in history. He says he’s limited to the Netflix roster because “that’s the one common denominator for people at home” and has chosen a wide variety of movies to feature from “Mask of Zorro” to “The King’s Speech.”

Joined online by fellow teacher colleagues, Brian Burak, Chris Layson and Bryan Battaglia, Dobbie chooses movies a few days before the Wednesday and Saturday night viewings and gives out sporadic clues from his Twitter site. On the movie nights themselves, participants synchronize their Netflix viewing so everyone watches at the same time and then shares “insights, humor, flaws and snark” on Twitter throughout the movie as if they’re all in one big living room together.

He also likes to invite “expert” guests who provide insight on the movies they’re seeing and hit the jackpot during a recent viewing when Hollywood actor Lou Diamond Phillips dropped into the Twitter conversation to answer questions about his role as singer Richie Valens in the movie “La Bamba.” On the academic side, Dobbie has enlisted the help of a number of experts, including a Wayne State archeologist who provided insight during a recent showing of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Dobbie is normally joined during the movies by his wife Suzy, a teacher at Jeannette Junior High, and their two children and admits they get a bit irritated by his constant Twitter interactions during the movie—with the hundreds viewing with him.

To keep things entertaining for participating students, Dobbie has also made a habit of giving away gift cards during the showing for rewarding comments or insight or filling out a Histflix Bingo card, created by UAIS freshman Ava Rawley, which participants can fill in based on Twitter comments.

While the idea wasn’t an original one (“like all good teachers, I borrowed this idea—in this case, from a college professor”) Dobbie has now grown the gathering of parents and students outside of UCS circles and has made #histflix movie showings a much anticipated distraction from the pressures of online learning and daily quarantine.