The first public pay-movie event was held in Paris at the Grand Cafe on December 28, 1895 by the Lumière Company which attracted 33 spectators. The series of short one minute films were documentary subjects. The Cinematographe was invented by the Lumière Brothers, Auguste and Louis who lived in Lyon in the Monplaisir District. This event and the history the various Lumière Brothers inventions are on display at the Musée Lumière in Lyon, France.
Cinématographe-en-caméra
Workers Leaving The Factory is among the short (one minute) films included in the first screening program. Arrival Of A Train is not included, which may be one of the first to reach large audiences, and is known as the first “Actuality” documentary as it simply recorded the reality of the train arriving in the station.
Timothy Treadwell lived with the wild Grizzly bears in Alaska for thirteen summers until he and his visiting girl friend, Anne Huguenard overstayed the usual time Timothy spent there, resulting in them both being attacked and devoured by a Grizzly bear. Grizzly Man, directed by Werner Hetzog, incorporates a mix of footage shot by Treadwell over thirteen years, interviews shot by Hertzog with people who knew Treadwell and archival footage. Herzog also narrates parts of the documentary. It is a well made compilation style documentary.
Grizzly Man is a tragic story, a documentary about a self-appointed naturalist who believed he had a special ability to communicate with these ferocious predators who will even eat their own kind. Treadwell named the bears he lived near and basically talked about them like they were big grumpy “Mr Chocolate” Teddy Bears when he gave talks to children. The documentary directed by Werner Hertzog begins with footage Treadwell shot of himself with the bears. In these scenes Treadwell talks about his relationship with the bears and how he is able to survive around them by controlling how they react to him.
Early in the documentary it’s revealed that Treadwell and his girl friend Amy Huguenard were discovered dead by the seaplane pilot who came to pick them up. While trying to find the couple the pilot relates how he narrowly escaped the bear who killed and ate the couple. After flying over the area searching some more he spots a human rib cage on the ground and calls for help. Later a forensic expert explains how difficult it was to piece together the bodies from parts, some of which were found in the bears stomach. At this point the documentary begins to look at Treadwell’s life up to the time he died though the people who knew him best. Hertzog’s interviews with friends of Treadwell are revealing, insightful and edited into the fabric of the documentary.
What emerges is the strange life of Timothy Treadwell and his ultimate fate. This documentary explores the reality Treadwell created for himself. Did he really have some sort of rapport with these wild bears or was he delusional? What made him identify with these wild creatures more than other humans? Grizzly Man isn’t a nature documentary by any means but it does attempt to explore why some humans, even someone like Jane Goodall, would choose to live among wild animals who may do them harm. Grizzly Manmay be more of a cautionary story regarding understanding the realities of nature, predatory animals and man’s relationship with the environment.
J R MARTIN
GRIZZLY MAN – A TRUE STORY OF A LIFE GONE WILD – WERNER HERZOG
2005 – 103 Minutes – SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ALFRED P. SLOAN AWARD
Have you ever wanted to spend a year as a monk in a monastery where conversation is not allowed? Where there is basically a vow of silence? Where you can read, meditate, sing and pray? Well,Into Great Silence is your opportunity to experience a year at The Carthusian Monastery in the French Alps. A year with the monks, all in less than three very quiet hours. Director Philip Gröning allows you to experience daily life at the monastery over four seasons of the year, beginning during the winter months. Two young men are initiated early in the film providing a glimpse of what it would be like to enter the order complete with having your head shaved.
At first, life in the huge monastery in the French Alps, seems tedious. A monk is seen kneeling in prayer, not moving. Daily life is slow and cloistered by the winter snows. When spring finally arrives there is new energy including the monks taking a walk, which is the one time they are allowed to chat. Something they seem to enjoy as they walk around on the mountain. It is obvious that they are in touch with the modern world, fresh fruit on the table, a monk doing some accounting on a laptop and an electric razor to shave the head of the new monk. However, they choose to live a very simple life with few conveniences.
Into Great Silencehas no interviews, no voice over, no archival footage, no historical information, and no musical score, with the exception of the monks singing or chanting as part of their routine. The filmmaker lived at Grande Chartreuse, in the monk’s quarters. No artificial lighting was used. The documentary style is pure observer, what is known as “Direct Cinema” in the United States or a form of “Cinema Verite” in Europe. ButInto Great Silence goes beyond “fly on the wall” voyeurism. The film brings you into the notion of monastic life as if you were part of it. In some ways it promotes the feeling that you are an initiate who is unsure if he can endure this life style. Early in the film there is a shot of the clear blue French Alps sky as a passenger jet flies across. A glimpse of a mundane faraway world you have left behind. Later in the film another shot of a passenger jet flying over, but this time you may experience the feeling that you would like to be on it!
It took twenty-one years for filmmaker Philip Gröning to makeInto Great Silence. This includes sixteen years waiting to get permission to make the documentary, two years of preproduction, one year of production at the monastery and two years of postproduction. In fact the documentary also has a “not in a hurry” kind of ambiance. Ken Burns is quoted as saying “…that all meaning accrues in duration,” when responding to the length of his documentary films. Into Great Silence may be a prime example of “meaning accruing in duration.” In this case, what life is like in this monastery.
The cinematography in the documentary captures moments of light and texture at the monastery. Shadows on the floor, a drape blowing in the wind, light coming in a window or door, monks walking down the halls, the change of seasons, weather, and food preparation. These are moments that are often not contemplated; overlooked in the rush of shooting actuality as it happens.
Into Great Silenceis not an experience for impatient people. It is removed from the fast moving, action-oriented films that dominate the cinema today. However, if you can relax and get into the rhythm of a way of life that is basically the same as it has been for hundreds of years, you may find yourself experiencing a reality that is much different than the one with which you are familiar.
The Into Great SilenceDVD release includes two discs. Disc Two includes additional scenes, including a segment about the world famous Carthusian Chartreuse Liqueur; Night Office, a fifty-three minute video except of the monk’s nightly ritual of psalms, laudes, and matins; The Carthusians, an extreme guide to the history, rules, architecture and paintings of the monasteries world wide; and several other interesting video features.
Why We Fight, directed by Eugene Jariecki, was made in 2005, but it opens with President Dwight D Eisenhower giving his farewell address to the nation in 1961. In his speech, this conservative, ex Army General, the supreme allied commander, Europe in WWII, warns against an ever expanding military-industrial complex, which he perceived as a danger to the democracy. “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic process,” he said.
Why We Fight examines the growth of the military industrial complex including the effect on military spending after September 11, 2001, as corporations like Haliburton, with the help of politicians like Vice President Cheyney, have grown to enormous proportions. Their influence and lobbying has made war a business. In many respects Why We Fight uses the “911″ attack as way of looking at how the military-industrial complex under G.W. Bush became involved and has profited from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are a number of parallel themes explored in Why We Fight that go beyond the expansion of the military-industrial complex since WWII. One theme is the influence of the industry in Congress, which allows them to change political decision-making. The documentary points out that, including discretionary spending, at least half of the budget is used for military and security issues. Another issue is that being so well armed facilitates an aggressive military posture, making it to easier to consider going to war.
Since September 11, 2001, trillions of dollars have been spent on war and security issues. Why We Fight is as relevant today as the day it was released because the issues it looks at are still current. This documentary takes a hard look at how and why the United States went to war in Iraq. It also considers the notion of United States and why it has developed a huge defense system.
Why We Fight is a strong advocacy documentary that deals with the actuality of how how so many concerns profit from war. It makes use of interviews, archival footage and new footage to piece together this story. Among other interviewed John McCain puts forth an argument he has apparently changed his mind about, after voting to go to war in Iraq.
Crumb looks at the life and work of R. Crumb (Robert Crumb) and his often-bizarre, at times sexually obsessed, world. It is an intimate portrait of a talented artist.As a documentary film, Crumb explores the gray area of erotic art, fantasy, dysfunction, and reality of Robert Crumb at one point in his life. The documentary opens with a slow pan across the living/working space in Crumb’s home in California, where Robert Crumb is found sitting on the floor, knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. The lighting in the room is subjective and high contrast. Crumb seems isolated in his own world. ”If I don’t draw for awhile I get really crazy. I get depressed and suicidal,” Crumb says, voice over while he’s seen creating a pen and ink drawing. He mentions the influence his brother Charles had on him, but when he calls his Mother to visit her and Charles in Philadelphia, to possibly have Charles interviewed for the documentary, his Mother tells him that Charles doesn’t want to do it. Robert is one of five children, two girls and three boys. Brothers George and Maxon both appear to have mental problems that preclude normal functioning; an apparent result of childhood experiences. Both sisters declined to be interviewed for the film.
Early in the film Robert does a presentation for art school students in Philadelphia where he talks and shows slides about his early successes, like the Mr. Natural ”Keep On Trucking” drawing that became a well known cultural icon in the sixties. Another icon is the cover for Janis Joplin’s Cheap Thrills album. It sold millions of copies but Crumb earned only $600 from CBS records for drawing it in 1968. He also talks about his involvement in the Adult Cartoon film Fritz The Cat.
Crumb’s second wife Aline Crumb is interviewed at their home in Winters, California furnishing additional insight into Crumb’s life. His first wife, and their son, are also interviewed at different points in the film Later many of his drawings are shown revealing some of the workings of his mind. He talks about his childhood in Philadelphia and the influences there. Finally Crumb visits his apparently reclusive brother Charles who hasn’t left their Mother’s house in many years. Crumb talks about how Charles was obsessed with comics as a boy and this led him to drawing comics. He also visits his other brother Maxon. What emerges is an exploration of the apparently abnormal family life that shaped Robert Crumb and influenced his art. Of the three brothers, Robert appears to be the only one who has been able to function in the real world.
http://www.crumbproducts.com/
Through Crumb’s eyes, life experience, apparently dysfunctional family, and his drawing, the filmmakers explore America from the sixties to the present. Much of Crumbs work is erotic or pornographic by some standards but it has a satirical ring of truth as it represents much in modern life through the filter of the relationship between men and women. Many women find some of Crumb’s work offensive and demeaning to women in a number of ways. Other women state that they find it empowering. The work could be considered offensive to men as well. But like most satire Crumbs distorted point-of-view takes a shot at many cultural sacred cows by laying bare the secret fantasies hidden from view. Perhaps the catharsis provided by Crumb’s comic book world provide a release for these taboo subjects.
Crumb, the documentary, is a portrait of a gifted artist and the possible influences that led him to create his work. Director Terry Zwigoff does not glorify or condemn Crumb the man. Zwigoff offers a glimpse into the art, influences and world of fantasy that Crumb pulls out of his subconscious shadow world. The documentary examines the dysfunctional influences Crumb experienced in his childhood and adulthood, but does not draw any conclusions regarding their impact on Crumb; allowing you to decide for yourself what the reality may be. Because of this there are many questions left unanswered, the surface of Crumbs world barely scratched before Crumb and his wife apparently leave California to start a new life “in a remote area of France!” Aussi difficile que cela est d’imaginer “une région éloignée de la France.”
Crumb is well directed by Terry Zwigoff and achieved a screening at Sundance Film Festival, after which it became popular. Cinematography and lighting are excellent. The music appears to be pulled from Robert Crumb’s large collection of LP’s. It aways feels appropriate to the subject.
Crumb is a worthwhile, profile of an artist, for anyone interested in what influences an artist’s work. Viewer discretion regarding sexually oriented art work is advised.
4 Little Girlsis set in 1963; Birmingham, Alabama in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement struggles, but it also includes a look back at the earlier history of Birmingham. The documentary story centers around four young girls who were killed on September 15th 1963 when a bomb went off at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Joan Baez sings Richard Farina’s Birmingham Sunday, as archival photographs of the girls, their graves and shots of troubled Birmingham stream by. Directed by Spike Lee, 4 Little Girls makes extensive use of archival footage showing the deeply rooted racism prevalent in Birmingham in those days. The film also uses archival photographs of the extended families of the four girls, as parents and others are interviewed. 4 Little Girlsis a documentary film that brings to life an episode in American History that needs to be shown to each new generation.
Spike Lee depicts the reality of Birmingham for African Americans living there at the time. Birmingham in the 1960’s was totally segregated in every possible way. There was a very active Klan with a large number of members on the police force. Homes and churches were bombed continuously while the police pretended they didn’t know who was doing it. It’s important to understand the reality of Birmingham and Alabama at this time. The church bombing was one of a long line of atrocities committed by certain racist elements living there. The state Governor, George Wallace, not only turned a “blind eye” to the problems, he vowed to stop any form of integration. He is famous for standing in the doorway of the University of Alabama to block the first black student from entering.
One of the most vicious racists was the police commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor who drove around town in a white tank. Using the police force, he took every opportunity possible to intimidate the African American residents of Birmingham. There are scenes, using archival news footage, that graphically depict this behavior including a famous photograph of a bunch of white men beating up a Black man and children being mowed down with water cannons.
4 Little Girls, beautifully edited by Sam Pollard, introduces you to each of the girls and their families. Denice McNair, Carol Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie May Collins are the girls who were killed that Sunday. The interviews with their parents, siblings and friends intercut with photographs reveal who these girls were and helps to establish them as real people, not just pictures in a newspaper. The sound design including the use of Joan Baez singing Birmingham Sunday over the opening scenes, other music and occasional sound effects helps tell the story.
4 Little Girls combines the reality of living in Birmingham and the coming of the civil rights movement to the city. Martin Luther King was jailed for demonstrating in Birmingham. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was also organizing students, leading protests and sit in’s at lunch counters. The actuality of Birmingham presented in 4 Little Girls is clear, supported by witnesses, archival footage, photographs and newspaper clips. The toxic atmosphere in Birmingham, for so many years, enabled and harbored the men who committed this heinous act on September 15, 1963.
About fourteen years after the bombing and murder of the girls Bob Chambliss was finally tried and convicted of murder. One of his accomplices was dead. The two other accomplices escaped trial for two more years. One was judged incompetent to stand trial and the other convicted and given life in prison, as was Chambliss. As more than one family member points out, it is hard to reconcile the fact that these men were able to spend most of their lives free after committing murder and other hate crimes continuously; especially since it was well know who they were, even by the FBI under J Edgar Hoover.
There are interviews with Rev. James Bevel, Rev, Wyatt Tee Walker, Ossie Davis, Rev Jessie Jackson, Bill Cosby, Walter Cronkite, Andrew Young, and even George W Wallace who mutters away about giving text books to Black students and having a Black friend. This Black friend is apparently his male nurse who Wallace repeatedly asks to join him in the shot.
4 Little Girls is a documentary that can’t be ignored. It brings to light not only the tragic murder of the four young girls but also the terrible results of racism and the persecution of humans by other humans. 4 Little Girls makes it clear that the result of all bigotry, all racism and religious intolerance leads to disaster for all concerned. Viewing this documentary today or at any time in the future should remind everyone what hate produces.
Today racial and religious intolerance is once again on the rise, not that all the racism against African Americans has disappeared. But you can now add the religious intolerance of the places of worship of those of the Muslim faith to the list of targets. In addition the anti immigrant legislation springing up that is directed at Hispanic Americans is another example of the same kind of bigotry seen in 4 Little Girls.
Spike Lee has created a definitive work that brings to life the issues and questions around the tragic death of the 4 Little Girls. He has done this in a traditional documentary fashion that passes all the tests for actuality and objective reality. The film documents a tragedy, but 4 Little Girls is not intended to stir old wounds. It seems to stand as a reminder that the destructive mindset of hate and bigotry can rise it’s ugly head again to be used against any group of people.
Scratch explores DJs, Hip Hop history, MCs, Rap, Beat, Digging, Breaks, DJ Battles, Turntablism and how they all connect to the “chizza chizza” scratch breaks of the best DJs. Scratch is a documentary that submerges you into the music, actuality and growth of this phenomenon. Scratch is directed and edited by Doug Pray in such away that the filmmaking itself comes to life along with the subject it is documenting. This is subjective editing that helps you to emotionally feel and understand the subject. It allows you to experience the passion these new musicians feel for their brand of music. What some might say isn’t music at all.
Scratch successfully explores the evolution of “DJing, and its relationship to other parts of the Hip Hop universe. Interviews with pioneers and others who were there are intercut with archival footage, and contemporary action. The list of participants is long including, DJ Premier, Mix Master Mike, Z-Trip, Rob Swift, DJ Jazzy Jay, Grand Mixer DXT, Afrika Bambaataa, Electric Bogaloos, Almighty K.G., Steinski, Double Dee and DJ Qbert to name a few.
You don’t have to be a fan of Hip Hop or DJ’s to appreciate the story told by this entertaining and informative documentary. The story is broken down into several sections beginning with Elements, which examines the connection or conflict between DJs, MCs and Rap, leading ultimately to the idea of “Turntablism.” In the words of Grand Wizard Theodore, “Hip Hop is all elements into one. Hip Hop [music] Graffiti, Break Dancing, DJs, MCs, Dress, the way you talk… All the elements into one, that’s hip hop.”
Scratch skillfully presents the evolution of all the elements as seen through the eyes and work of Grand Master Flash, Steinski, Mix Master Mike, and DJ Qbert amongst others. As the documentary moves though jam sessions, DJ Battles, and sessions with DJ Relm, DJ Flare, and DJ Shadow it becomes clear that DJing needs to be recognized as an art form using a turntable and mixer, inventing a new instrument to create music. “The turntable is a musical instrument as long as you can see it being one.” –Naut Humon
Picture a huge basement warehouse full of Vinyl Records of all types. A big find if you are “digging” for that special LP with a “break” no one else has ever used or even heard. Scratch takes you to such a location where a DJ spends days looking through all the selections. Watch DJ Qbert and other DJs “making beats” or producing tracks that other DJs may use. This once controversial practice is more common with DJs marketing these tracks for use by other DJ’s. John Carluccio, director of Battle Sounds has created a way to score “scratches” to create compositions. According to Naut Humon, “the art of mixing is analog, right in front of you to manipulate with your own hands.”
Doug Pray writes, “Whether you’re a life-long fan of underground hip-hop, or an 80-year old who’s wondering if this is the ‘new jazz’ (it is), we hope the SCRATCH DVD rocks your world in the same way that all these fabulous DJs rocked ours. If it doesn’t, please go back to the top and repeat the instructions #1-10 (it probably wasn’t loud enough).” The special Edition, 2 – Disc Set includes, “How To Rock A Party, with DJ Z-Trip – Some tips on how to help you get there, A Multi-angle do-it-yourself lesson with DJ Qbert and a host of other bonus features.
There are documentaries about all types of subjects and categories. Rarely is there a documentary that you can watch and enjoy just because it is entertaining. Scratch is such a film. On top of that it’s a documentary that in fact also informs on many levels. It could be listed as a social, cultural, musical or historical documentary because it brings to light issues in all of these areas. It is pure documentary presentation with excellent direction, editing, cinematography, interviews and use of archival footage. You would have to be comatose not to enjoy some or all aspects of this film, although, SCRATCH might just wake you up!
Into The Arms Of Strangersis the story of ten thousand German/Jewish children who, in an effort to save their lives, were sent to Great Britain by their parents in the year before Germany and England went to war and WWII began. This process was known as Kindertransport. England agreed to accept children of up to seventeen years of age, as refugees providing they did not take jobs away from English workers.They were placed in menial and domestic jobs in foster homes, and with families who took them in as members of the family.
Into The Arms of Strangers makes extensive use of archival footage, photographs of the day and interviews with a range of individuals who experienced this time. Interviews include the parents who survived concentration camps or escaped, the now adult children who came to England and the British guardians who took the children into their homes.
The documentary begins in 1938 as conditions for Jews in Germany and annexed areas of Czechoslovakia became increasingly hostile. These hostile conditions were also implemented when Hitler invaded and annexed Austria. Many Jews believed that things would pass, but it grew increasingly clear to everyone that Jewish people were being persecuted and forced to into concentration camps. Families scrambled to immigrate to any country that would take them, but getting visas and meeting all the conditions could take months. As time went on it seemed the only hope for the time being would be to get the children out. IntoThe Arms Of Strangers, using interviews and archival media does and excellent job of showing conditions for Jews in Hitler’s Germany. There was no place to go except out of Germany and many families did not have the resources to get everyone out. Kindertransport was the last chance to at least save the children.
Into the Arms of Strangers Photo Courtesy Michael Steinberg
Into The Arms Of Strangers shows the human side of war and genocide as experienced by those who were there. This film is about the Holocaust but seen through the eyes of innocent children who only knew that the were being sent away by their parents to live with strangers in a far away place. The children thought they would soon be reunited with their parents. Many took on the responsibility of trying to get their parents out of Germany. Some actually succeeded in doing this. Many never saw their parents again. Others were ultimately reunited with parents they no longer knew or barely remembered after seven or more years.
Into The Arms of Strangers is a historical and social documentary that examines many issues regarding relationships in time of war; also the psychological aspects of separation and living in fear of your life constantly. Before World War II got underway the British accepted these 10,000 children but as the war went on they started arresting people as foreign aliens and deporting them to faraway places like Australia. Many of the children who were in their mid teens were now older and looked on as possible enemy aliens. Looking back this seems extremely unlikely, as they were Jews. This view changed after a time and the now adult persons were welcomed back and asked to serve in the British Military. Both men and women enlisted to fight Hitler.
Into The Arms of Strangers is a well-made documentary that should be watched by anyone interested or studying this tragic period of history. Into The Arms Of Strangers: Kindertransport are nonfiction, stories about and told by, the actual people who experienced these events. Their interviews and recollections are supported by actuality documentation including newsreel footage, photographs and other documentation.
Inside Job tells the nonfiction story of the global economic crisis of 2008 including the history that leads up to this disaster. Inside Job goes beyond documenting the event from a historical perspective; it discusses the cause of the catastrophe, and names the culprits who cashed in, benefiting at the expense of the taxpayers. The documentary does all this in a way that is insightful and not difficult to comprehend. Inside Job is the rare documentary that definitely looks at problems, issues, causes, and outcomes, then offers solutions to stop it from happening again. This 2010 Oscar winning documentary should be seen by citizens of the United States and citizens of countries world wide.
Inside Job makes a strong case for the prosecution of individuals, bankers and others involved in criminal activities including fraud and for the reinstating of regulations that would prevent the banking industry from repeating the same crimes.
From the first frame of Inside Job it’s clear that main factor facilitating the crisis is deregulation. The film opens by exploring what happened in Iceland, after this once prosperous country of 350,000 people, decided to deregulate their banks. The meltdown of the economy in Iceland reflects a miniature version of what happened globally and in the United States.
As a documentary film Inside Job combines archival material, interviews, narration by Matt Damon, and footage that supports the interviews and complements the story. What might have been 109 minutes of talking heads becomes a well paced, visually interesting documentary. The cinematography by Svetlana Cvetko and Kalyanee Mam is excellent. The use of graphics helps make points and explain issues. Sound design is effective. Because of the controversial nature of the interviews it seems appropriate that the questions being asked by the interviewer are heard off camera. No one can claim that his or her answers to the questions were taken out of context.
HenryPaulson, Ben Bernaki, Timothy Geithner -- Inside Job
Director Charles Ferguson (also directed No End In Sight) spent a great deal of time researching the subject and consulting with many individuals including, Charles Morris author of Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown, Nouriel Roubini, Professor, NYU Business School, Elliot Spitzer, Former Governor and former Attorney General New York, Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve Chairman, and Barney Frank, Chairman Financial Services Committee, US House of Representatives, among others. Ferguson’s intensive research on the subject is apparent in the facts presented and his ability to ask the right questions of interviewees.
The actuality portrayed by Inside Job is historical, investigative, and educational in content. To go along with the documentary the filmmakers have created a “Study Guide for Teachers” that can be downloaded as a PDF from InsideJobStudyGuide.com. This study guide adds an interactive dimension to the documentary, opening up the advocacy aspect of the film. One major issue examined is the complicity by economic studies educators and institutions who enabled the wrongdoing by many of the players in this story.
J R Martin
Professor Frank Partnoy who wrote the study guide states: “Inside Job, the critically acclaimed movie by Academy Award nominated [Oscar Winner] filmmaker, Charles Ferguson, is the definitive film about the economic crisis of 2008 and the role of Wall Street in modern society. It is a substantive and entertaining film that is ideal for educational purposes. I have shown it to my class, and I encourage you to show it to yours. The film is sweeping and non-partisan in its critique, and covers both the historical roots of the crisis and the central flaws of global financial regulation. It includes comprehensive coverage of the major financial players at the center of the recent boom and bust. The film draws heavily on interviews with a ‘Who’s Who’ of financial markets, including major financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics. (I have a very small part as well). These interviews, and the film’s engaging and provocative narrative by Matt Damon, will introduce your students to key financial issues, economic history, and current debates and news about the markets.” — Professor Frank Partnoy is the George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance and the founding director of the Center for Corporate and Securities Law at the University of San Diego. –
Waiting For Superman is an advocacy documentary that explores issues facing Public Education in the United Sates. The film appears to be making a case for charter schools to replace the traditional public school systems especially in low income areas. Charter schools take public money, but are run privately. Charter schools compete with public schools and are independent of the local school board. The point-of-view of the film and its sponsors appears to be that public schools have failed nationwide and that the only solution is privatization with public money. A charter school may also take private donations. Some charter schools are independently created by parents and teachers in a neighborhood, others are chains run by corporations.
Waiting For Superman primarily deals with issues facing over crowded, under funded intercity public schools. The children who live here have no choice but to attend substandard schools or try to get into a charter school. The charters are popular and only have room for a certain number of students. By law when charter schools have too many applicants they must hold a lottery to see who will get the limited number of places for children outside schools district.
As a documentary Waiting For Superman quickly establishes its point-of-view. The camera work and editing are basic. There are good graphics and animated examples of facts. The quasi-documentary style of this film is suspect and annoying. There is someone asking questions, off camera who is never really seen, only heard. The voice asks children leading questions, then coaches them to elicit certain responses. The film spends a lot of time portraying the agony of families trying to get their children into the better schools through lotteries. You can empathize with the mothers, fathers and young children, but what purpose does it serve in the film except to create a more dramatic ending? What is never addressed is how these schools compete with public schools for tax money? Is this money coming from the federal and/or state government?
Waiting For Superman examines some possible solutions and successful attempts by charter schools to remedy certain problems. Unfortunately the filmmakers take the simplistic view that all the problems with public schools are the fault of teachers, teachers unions, and tenure. “Teachers and the unions are blocking progress.” The main problem as presented is tenure, which, apparently, is given to public school teachers in two years according to the documentary. Tenure as depicted means that an individual now has the job for life and can’t be fired. This is not exactly true, but it does preclude meritorious advancement and pay rises according to the filmmakers. The documentary doesn’t mention that the majority of K through 12 teachers are women who have faced lower pay and other hardships in the workplace.
The mantra of Waiting For Superman is, teachers are good; unions are bad; unions protect bad teachers and prevent progress and innovation. If teachers are good individually, it’s difficult to understand why collectively they become bad? Are teachers good only until they get tenure? According to the documentary, innovations instituted in charter schools can’t be introduced into public schools because of teacher’s unions.
One charter school claims success by eliminating “tracking” which they perceive as a problem. Tracking is the process by which students are “tracked” through courses based on their previous work. The charter school, KIPP, LA Prep Middle School (part of a chain) does not track students because they feel not tracking gives all learners a chance to keep up. This sounds good on the surface but the film never discusses if the new system slows down learning for the best students and/or possibly leads to teaching to the lowest common denominator. Article KIPP GETS MORE PUBLIC MONEY.
When it comes to inner city schools the documentary does not consider issues like poverty, state budget cuts, the economy, social problems, bias, class size and mismanagement by school boards. In fact the documentary claims that it’s the public schools fault that the neighborhood is bad.
There is an interview with Michelle Rhee, who had three years teaching experience when hired to be head of the Washington, DC school district. She immediately goes on a budget cutting, closing of schools and sacking of school principals blitz in DC that accomplished very little but alienated parents and teachers. Her contention is that the teachers have representation but not the students. ”… teachers unions stop progress.” There is a shot of her sitting in a class whispering to a student, asking “what do you think of your teacher?” She appears to have treated educators with contempt. She is no longer with the DC school district.
Bill Gates is interviewed and talks about how education needs to create engineers, scientists and mathematicians to help the economy and innovation. Perhaps a billion dollars to help train young teachers in the United States for this task would be proactive. Also help for inner city families, offering their children scholarships for preschool education. Instruction for illiterate parents might also be beneficial.
Inner city schools are notoriously overcrowded, with run down facilities and children who are gang members. Waiting For Superman makes it seem that some how, “good teachers” can make that all go away. Good teachers can teach students to read with no books available! In fact it seems the documentary itself is waiting for teachers to become Supermen! If only the system could get rid of those bad teachers that can’t be fired because of the union. According to the documentary that can’t happen so the only solution is charter schools. Do charter schools compete with public schools for tax money? Is this money coming from the federal and/or state government?
Not addressed in Waiting For Superman is the fact that Public Education in the United States has been under direct attack for the last thirty years. Many educators believe the goal is to “privatize” public education with taxpayer’s dollars. Ultimately families would have to pay to send their children to these private schools. The actual goal for charter schools is to become for-profit private schools. The bottom line for any for-profit entity is profit. The United States would become a third world country with no public education, no health care, no social benefits what-so-ever, thus creating a huge underclass, formally known as the middle class.
Waiting For Superman spends about fifteen minutes of the 111 minutes film running time, on middleclass suburban schools where there are less problems but the students still don’t score as well in math, science and reading skills as students in other countries. Once again the only solution is charter schools.
There are valid criticisms that can be made against teacher’s unions and the Public School systems in the United States. The documentary makes the case that things are so bad the whole system needs to be scrapped and replaced with private schools who don’t have unions.
Waiting For Superman is topical and does show some of the innovative methods used in charter schools. But it could have gone a lot farther to discuss issues and solutions to fixing or reinventing Public Schools. A lot of time that is spent on waiting for the results of charter lotteries that could have been used for a better purpose. The filmmakers do not give enough of the other side of the story for you to come to any conclusions about how to solve the problems facing education in the United States. Is the one size fits all inner city charter school model appropriate for the entire country? Is “privatization” the answer to every problem facing the US today? Why do public schools work well in other countries, the ones with all those high scores in math, science and reading? What role do the arts play in education? Has liaise-fare everything worked well in the past?
