It’s fascinating and weird to see how the teachers unions are going after the new film, Won’t Back Down. From what I’ve read of the story, it’s about a mom (Maggie Gyllenhall) who gets worried about her daughter’s failing school and how that’s affecting her kid, teams up with a teacher (Viola Davis) at the school, and turn the place around. I think Holly Hunter is in the film as well.
Seems like a solid premise to me. Particularly as I’m a dad with school-age kids. Particularly as the public schools in my part of California are worse than lousy. And I’m being kind. Don’t get me wrong. There are some wonderful, dedicated teachers in the schools here, but the system is stacked against them. Public schools in California don’t exist for the sake of children. They exist for the sake of jobs. Okay, off my high horse on that one (for now).
Anyway, the teacher unions are going batty with fury over this film. And a lot of film critics are labeling it as right-wing propaganda. What is the big, freaking deal? If you’re a halfway decent parent and you see your kid isn’t getting a good education, what do you do? You better get up off your rear and do something about it. That kind of impulse, that kind of story, has nothing to do with right-wing this or left-wing that. It’s about your kid.
Sure, if you’re a film critic or union boss you can politicize the heck out of it. But that’s the cowardly thing to do.
“But despite its polish, “Won’t Back Down” is still propaganda. Not because its production company, Walden Media, is owned by conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz (Walden also makes apolitical kids’ films), but because this movie fears nuance, pushes an agenda and demonizes its opposition.” – per the “critic” on the Long Island Newsday article.
As i was reading his ‘review’ it seems to me that is exactly what the ‘critic’ was doing: pushing an agenda and demonizing the opposition.
A retired teacher friend of mine told me in my state the teachers’ union practically forced the teachers to vote one way or another…
It’s really kinda sad. I mean, are schools and education about jobs or kids? It doesn’t make any sense. I went to a public school when I was a kid, back in the dark ages, and it wasn’t like this back then.
This movie is on our must-see list, too! (As an aside, we’re also looking forward to the new Les Misérables film and, of course, the Hobbit film series!)
I’m totally jazzed about The Hobbit, and I even find myself in approval of the 3 part approach Jackson is taking. Apparently he’s mining certain material from The Silmarillion to add more story (necromancer stuff, etc).
Totally caught off-guard by Anne Hathaway’s voice on that Les Mis trailer. Wow. She can sing. I mean, really sing.