Blog #422: Why Hollywood Graveyard is a Strong Educational Tool for Schools?
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Mar 12, 2024
- 3 min read
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“Welcome to Hollywood Graveyard: Where we set out to celebrate the lives of those who lived to entertain us…by visiting their final resting places.”
-Arthur Dark, Host of “Hollywood Graveyard”
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For the past couple of years, one of the shows that I have a strong addiction to is not on cable television, but on YouTube and it’s a show about visiting celebrity graves, which may sound morbid to some of you. But to me, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of what this show has to offer in terms of educational value.
I am of course talking about “Hollywood Graveyard” which is hosted and narrated by Arthur Dark. Started in 2017, “Hollywood Graveyard” covers a series of cemeteries mostly in the Los Angeles metro area but has since expanded to covering cemeteries in the United States and beyond.
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Hollywood Graveyard host Arthur Dark
Now, you might be wondering why a YouTube series about cemeteries would be considered educational value? Well, “Hollywood Graveyard” not only teaches the audience about the actors and actresses who have final resting places, but can also transport audiences to the actual gravesite without actually being there.
For one thing, if educators want to focus on a particular genre, such as a specific theme of what their classes are studying, then they can visit the gravesite of an actor who portrayed a specific actor. An example would be that the class can study the grave of actors who played Hamlet such as Laurence Olivier (1907-1989), who is buried in Westminster Abbey in London, England.
Another example would be studying about people connected with Disney and there is actually a special about Disney graves that debuted on Christmas Day a few years back.
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Grave of Clarence “Ducky” Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck
Now, what about classes in the greater Los Angeles area? What if they want to share the experience of actually being there at the star’s grave? Well, going to one of Los Angeles’ many cemeteries can give the students an appreciation of what those who lived in the past have done, but also make the students feel like they are actually there with the individual.
The same goes for classes that have a famous individual buried in their immediate areas. For example, if you are studying the history of the Kennedy’s, the class can take a day and study the graves of JFK and his wife, Jackie Kennedy as an example.
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The truth of the matter is that there is a lot of history in cemeteries that schools can find beneficial in terms of educational value. If you want the students to experience being with a famous celebrity or cultural figure, you are not only feeding into their cultural pallet, but giving them an appreciation for the importance of life as a whole.
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But getting back to “Hollywood Graveyard,” this is one of those shows that I highly recommend on account that there is something out there for those that want to visit graves, but don’t have the money nor the time to do so. And perhaps you might have a large class of 30 students and it would be easier to just virtually bring them to the grave of someone famous, which play’s to the advantages of teachers.
And best of all that it isn’t just all film stars and presidents, even those who contributed to other important areas are featured such as American History and Science.
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Catch you all later!!
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