Movie Nights in English

CRASH

Directed by Chris Haggis (2004)

Rated: R

You can watch a trailer for Crash here. Crash paints a picture of the intersection of seveal very different lives in Los Angeles. In a country built upon heterogeneity and a so-called “American Dream,” as well as the country home to the architects of the Civil Rights Movement, it is unsettling to view continued racial tensions existing today. Crash explores these covert and overt tensions, highlighting an often unmentioned racial dynamic in the U.S.

Discussion Questions:

Are there parallels that can be drawn to society in Mexico from this movie?

Does racism exist in Mexico? In what forms?

Why do you think that the racial tensions we see in the movie exist?

Do you think more subtle forms of racism (as depicted in the movie) are more damaging than previously more overt forms (such as segregation pre-Civil Rights Movement)? Or less damaging? Why?

What did you find to be the most powerful scene in the movie? Why?

Why do you think the characters’ lives are so connected/intertwined? What is the point of this connection?

What do you think is meant by the title of the movie, Crash? What is “crash” alluding to?

Who did you see as the protagonist of the movie? And the antagonist? Or is there one? Why or why not?

What do you see to be the main themes of the movie? Discuss them.

What do you see as possible solutions to the tensions and problems that this movie presents?

MILK

Directed by: Gus Van Sant (2008)

Rated: R

Milk documents the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the United States, as he struggles in his fight for gay rights and election to office. This moment in American history is pivotal when discussing the development and setbacks of gay rights in the U.S. today. You can view the trailer here. 

Questions for Discussion:

How would you describe Harvey Milk?

What was the most powerful scene in the movie for you?

What do you think was meant by Harvey’s famous line: “My name is Harvey Milk, and I am hear to recruit you.”

Why do you think Harvey Milk was killed?

Why is the story that this film tells historically important?

Why do you think Harvey decide to run for office?

Discuss any themes you see in this movie that relate to Mexican society. How can we draw parallels between U.S. and Mexican society based on this movie? What are the biggest differences?

A BETTER LIFE

Directed by Chris Weitz (2011)

Rated: PG-13

A Better Life explores the life of a father and son living in the United States. Although the son was born in the United States and is therefore a U.S. citizen, his father is undocumented. This mixed status family must deal with the incredible challenges faced by many undocumented immigrants living in the United States. While the son faces the temptations of gang life and involvement in illicit activities, his father struggles daily to find work to support them. The title of the movie invokes an ironic appreciation for immigrants living in the U.S. What exactly is a better life? This movie highlights the complexity of an immigration story – an issue clearly affecting both the United States and Mexico in powerful ways.

You may watch the trailer for A Better Life here, and read a NYTimes article written about the filming of the movie.

Questions to Ponder for Discussion:

• Why do you think the name of the movie is A Better Life? What is ironic about the title?

• What do you see as one of the largest problems concerning immigration from Mexico to the United States?

• Do you see any ways that the current system of immigration between the two countries could improve? What policies would you recommend?

• Why do you think the son is so defiant with his father in the beginning of the movie?

• Why do you think the father remains relatively calm in the scenes that are especially stressful, like when his truck is stolen?

• What do you see as the central tension in the movie (besides the stolen truck)?

• What was the most powerful scene for you? Why?

• What is your reaction to the fact that the son seems to have completely forgotten the culture that he originally came from?

• Do you recognize any reoccurring symbols or motifs in the movie? What are they and what do they signify?

• What do you think the purpose is of the scene in which they visit the Congreso Nacional de Charros?

• Discuss the main themes that this movie brings up for you.

More discussion on the state of public education in the United States in a few opinion articles from the New York Times from today, January 3. 

Today the New York Times ran an op-ed piece, How to Rescue Education, that concerns the exact themes that surfaced during Waiting for Superman. Perhaps you will find it useful for further thought and discussion.

By: Karen (Escuela Normal de Atlacomulco; 4th year student)

When analyzing the educational field, a major dichotomy comes into sight: centralized and decentralized systems. Both of these education systems are definitely facing serious problems worldwide; in fact, the American superpower and Mexico are prime examples of the complex situation. Therefore, regarding the American education system and its decentralized organization some advantages and drawbacks might be identified.

Firstly, the genesis of this decentralized system seems to be the belief that each community has its own culture, needs, opportunities, and challenges. Consequently, having a single purpose would be unfair, inequitable, and inappropriate for learners who are evidently different. However, the real circumstances have almost nothing to do with the ideology of education for all as dissimilar populations are not equally served, so student achievement levels and quality of education differ from a state to another; however, it is not a peculiarity of this educative system since centralized education is dealing with problems regarding access, permanence, and student achievement too. The point is that misinterpretations about a standardized curriculum impact on pupils’ academic success since there is not enough connectivity among the components of the education system - who are those components? Of course, students, parents, teachers, and the whole community are those who must act in consonance— . What I do not utterly comprehend yet is how to balance the impact of standards —as a generalization— and the importance of individualized education. “How may diversity and equality coexist someday?” might be the endless interrogation.  

What I perceive as the main advantage of decentralized schools is that educational local decisions are more efficient, flexible, and responsive to specific needs than decisions made hierarchically –as it occurs in Mexico—. For instance, funds that come from various sources —including federal, local donations and the school district budget— might be utilized to fulfill definite objectives depending on specific needs, but the problem emerges again as soon as teachers’ unions control schools personnel, salaries, and general activities —a similar condition characterizes Mexico, of course—. So, autonomy is crucial for schools considering that constant supervision of teachers’ performance; balance among teachers’ unions, schools’ requirements, and students’ right to education; and adequate equipment and supplies contribute to increase the quality of education.

Unfortunately, decentralization efforts do not guarantee the delivery of services and the quality of education –neither does centralization—. It is evident that through centralization or decentralization, the conditions for progress depend upon the type of leadership, enthusiasm, and collaboration of those ones who effectively work –teachers, parents, students, and community—. As William Butler once said: “Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire.” Thereby, it is teachers’ mission to ignite learners’ light no matter their system is decentralized or not by considering teaching as a privilege. Even though it is a complex task, it is ours! Let us stop waiting for Superman! … “Have I done enough?” is not the question, instead we should ask ourselves: Am I willing to do more than enough?

Directed by Davis Guggenheim (2010)

Rated: PG 

We watched Waiting for Superman on November 29th at La Escuela Normal in Atlacomulco. Please feel free to share your thoughts or responses to any issues the movie may have raised for you, or to the discussion questions listed below.

Waiting for Superman takes a look at public education in the United States. It focuses on the education that five different students receive, bringing up controversial discussion questions concerning lotteries for determining what school a child will be placed at, the battle between charter schools and public schools, and the utility of teacher’s unions. This is a polemical documentary within the United States because it is criticized for presenting only one side of the issue, making teacher’s unions look like they are thebad guys responsible for education problems in the United States, and making charter schools look like they are the only good education option. The issue is obviously more complicated than that analysis, which is why it is important for us to think about and discuss this movie critically. What are the similarities and differences you see between these issues and what exists in Mexico?

Questions to Ponder for Discussion:

Describe the bias you see in this movie, and whether or not you agree with the perspectives presented.

What similarities do you see between the U.S. education system and Mexico’s?

What are the differences between the two education systems?

What do you think contributes to a school being a failing school, or as they say in the movie, a “dropout factory”?

Who makes education policy in Mexico? The federal government? States? Municipalities? Do they work together?

Is there any controversy surrounding teacher’s unions in Mexico? Does the contractual notion of “tenure” exist? Do the teacher’s unions have the political influence that they do in the U.S.?

Do charter schools exist in Mexico? (charter school = Public school with public funding, but independently run without government oversight)

Do you ever see the problem of good schools vs. bad schools in Mexico? Do some parents choose specific schools for their children based on reported school performance?

What do you see as the largest problems in education in Mexico?

Teachers Union Challenges “Waiting for ‘Superman”

To: Members of the Media

From: Randi Weingarten, AFT President

Date: September 8, 2010

Re: Response to “Waiting for Superman”

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, issued a memo to the media on September 8 challenging the new documentary, “Waiting for Superman.” The movie is a documentary on charter schools and features Geoffrey Canada from HCZ, among others. AFT is one of the nation’s largest teachers unions.

Is America ready to settle for a good education — for the few? That’s the unfortunate takeaway from a soon-to-be released documentary film, “Waiting for ‘Superman.’” The film, by Davis Guggenheim, shows how tragically far we are from the great American ideal of providing all children with the excellent education they need and deserve. Yet, despite Guggenheim’s unquestionably good intentions, “Waiting for ‘Superman’” is inaccurate, inconsistent and incomplete — and misses what could have been a unique opportunity to portray the full and accurate story of our public schools.

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” has been screened by private audiences throughout the country and will be released for the general public on Sept. 24. In the event that you write about the film, I wanted to share my thoughts directly with you about it.

One can’t help but be moved by the stories of the five children and their families Guggenheim follows as they encounter a lottery system for admission to the schools upon which they are pinning their hopes for a good education. Their stories, in a very real and emotional way, drive home the point that the opportunity for a great public education should come not by chance, but by right.

But the filmmaker’s storytelling falters in other key areas. The film casts several outliers in starring roles — for example, “bad” teachers and teachers unions as the villains, and charter schools as heroes ready to save the day. The problem is that these caricatures are more fictional than factual.

There are more than 3 million teachers working in our 130,000 public schools. Are there bad teachers? Of course there are, just as there are bad accountants, and lawyers, and actors. I wish there were none. There also are countless good, great and exceptional teachers working in our public schools every day in neighborhoods across the country — although for this film, they apparently ended up on the cutting room floor. It is shameful to suggest, as the film does, that the deplorable behavior of one or two teachers (including an example more than two decades old) is representative of all public school teachers.

Guggenheim has found ways to make facts and data interesting, even entertaining. But, when certain facts don’t advance his story line, he makes them disappear. The treatment of charter schools is one of the most glaring inconsistencies in “Waiting for ‘Superman.’” Guggenheim makes only glancing reference to the poor achievement of most charter schools, despite the abundance of independent research showing that most charter schools perform worse than or only about as well as comparable regular public schools. Nevertheless, he illogically holds them up as the ticket to a good education for disadvantaged students.

I wish all schools had the wealth of resources enjoyed by the charter schools featured in the film, which are part of the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). The charter schools in the HCZ have what we should be fighting to have in every public school-services that help eradicate the barriers to academic success, and funding to ensure that students and teachers have the tools they need to succeed. HCZ schools receive two-thirds of their funding from private sources and one-third from the government. This private money funds staff and curriculum, as well as extensive medical, dental and tutorial services. We know kids’ needs are met when these wraparound services are combined with high-quality instructional programs. In the end, funding these programs will make a fundamental difference for all children.

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” misses two crucial points. First, we have to be committed to supporting a public school system that provides all our children with access to a great education. And second, we must focus our efforts on the most promising and proven approaches-those great neighborhood public schools that work. I’ve seen such success stories across the country in schools that reduce barriers to academic success, as is done in the HCZ schools; schools that offer great curriculum, extra help for students who start or fall behind, and supports for teachers. Where the system has failed is to not take these proven models and scale them up. The solutions aren’t the stuff of action flicks, but they work.

Films like “Waiting for ‘Superman’” are gripping for a reason: They connect us to real life struggles. They may even call much-needed attention to the challenges confronting many students and schools. But the attention will be misplaced, if it centers on off-base solutions and denigrating good teachers rather than on what works to improve our schools.

Imagine a sequel to “Waiting for ‘Superman’” released a few years from now. Would we rather stick to the cinematic model of providing an escape hatch — sometimes superior, most often inferior — to a handful of students? Or would we offer a model in which we had summoned the will to do the hard but effective and far-reaching work required to make meaningful changes to entire school systems, providing all children with the best possible choice — a highly effective neighborhood school?

The most effective solutions didn’t make it into the film. In other words, Guggenheim ignored what works: developing and supporting great teachers; implementing valid and comprehensive evaluation systems that inform teaching and learning; creating great curriculum and the conditions that promote learning for all kids; and insisting on shared responsibility and mutual accountability that hold everyone, not just teachers, responsible for ensuring that all our children receive a great education.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further. To learn more about the AFT’s work to improve teaching and learning, and about public schools that help students succeed despite great challenges, please contact Michael Powell, the assistant to the president for communications, at 202/879-4458, or go to AFT.org.

Please join us for any of the following monthly movie nights. Locations and times will be announced, so check back with this blog to learn more. Although the movies focus on topics within the United States, our discussions revolve around comparisons of these topics between the U.S. and Mexico. Dates, movies, and topics are as follows: 

(1) November 29: Waiting for Superman; Opinions on Education in the U.S.

(2) January 23: A Better Life; Immigration in the U.S. and Mexico

(3) February 21: Crash; U.S. Race Relations

(4) March 20: Milk; Gay Rights and Politics in the U.S.

(5) April 24: Wall-E; Environment and Technology

(6) May 22: Food Inc.; Commercialization of Agriculture and Obesity