THIS PROJECT TESTED A METHOD FOR DEVELOPING "AUDIO-VISUAL LITERACY" AND, AT THE SAME TIME, AN EMPATHIC UNDERSTANDING OF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION THROUGH THE USE OF A SERIES OF SELECT FILMS. THE POPULATION CONSISTED OF 28 TEACHERS IN AN IN-SERVICE COURSE AND CLASSES LATER TAUGHT BY IN-SERVICE TRAINED TEACHERS IN FIVE SECONDARY SCHOOLS--THREE IN SLUM AREAS AND ONE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS READING ON A THIRD- AND FOURTH-GRADE LEVEL. FOR ALL GROUPS THE SAME SERIES OF FILMS, THE SAME METHOD, EVEN THE SAME BASIC QUESTIONS WERE USED. THE RESULTS IN ALL CASES WERE GRATIFYING, AS EVALUATED BY A TEAM OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGISTS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS, AND INDICATE THAT THE METHOD HAS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL. THE METHOD, ADAPTABLE ALSO TO MOST OTHER MEDIA, REVOLVES AROUND THE USE OF THREE QUESTIONS--(A) "WHAT DO YOU SEE.""WHAT DO YOU HEAR." (B) "WHAT INFERENCES CAN WE MAKE ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR WAY OF LIFE ON THE BASIS OF THE DATA WE HAVE AMASSED BY FIRST ANSWERING QUESTION (A) THOROUGHLY." (C) "WHAT IN THE FILMS CAUSES US TO FEEL THE WAY WE DO," OR "WHAT IN OUR BACKGROUND OR EXPERIENCE MAY CAUSE US TO REACT THE WAY WE DO TO THE FILM." QUESTION (C) IS BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION (1) THAT PERCEIVING AND CONCEIVING ARE CULTURALLY INFLUENCED AND THAT STUDENTS CAN BE MADE AWARE OF THIS, AND (2) THAT A GROWING SENSITIVITY TOWARD THE SELF AND THE OTHER ARE PROFOUNDLY INTERRELATED. THE METHOD TAKES ADVANTAGE OF STOP AND HOLD FEATURES ON THE BELL AND HOWELL NO. 552 16MM. PROJECTOR. (AUTHOR)