Did you ever try to talk to teenagers about international politics or modern history? At our house, their eyes usually glaze over and the subject changes. Last night we watched Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, produced by the Morgan Spurlock who also made Fast Food Nation. This is the kind of documentary that takes on big issues but in a not too serious way, using humour to make its point.

I would recommend this movie as a starting point for discussions on terrorism, geopolitics, the war on terror or religious studies. Morgan ties together a story of discovery as he travels through North Africa, the Middle East and finally Pakistan, asking where is OBL. At various points he adds in computer-animated history lessons, which cover an entire semester’s worth of material in a few minutes. This movie keeps your attention, tells a serious story but doesn’t beat you over the head with the lesson. Judging by the comments on Twitter last night, this movie was a better use of my time than watching the Republican National Convention

If you’re looking for good movies on serious issues, see Global Civics 201 and Global Civics 101.