Analytical Movie Review

EDUC 201

This project is a critical analysis of a movie on education. A list of movies you may use for this assignment is on the website. (I have copies of some of the movies. So, if you are broke or don't have transportation, I will lend out my copies. Keep in mind, though, that I only have a few.) You will need to watch a movie and then write a paper analyzing the film in relation to three of the issues of the course (finance, governance, race, gender, SES, law, religion, language, teacher working conditions, curriculum, purpose of schooling, the nature of teaching, etc.)

First, you need to determine how the issues are represented in the movie. Then, you need to critically examine those representations. To critically examine the representations of the three issues, you need to question the representation -- especially if you agree with the representation. Is the representation accurate or inaccurate? How does this representation influence how the audience views the issues in education? If someone were to disagree with you on the representation's accuracy or inaccuracy, what would their argument be and how would you respond to it? You can not wholly accept or reject the representation of the issues. You need to be able to step back and examine the movie from a variety of point of views. Your primary purpose is to discuss how accurately the movie portrays schools, schooling, teaching, teachers, students, administrators, etc. Critique the representations. Be absolutely sure that your paper answers this question: If this were the only thing we knew about education in America, what would we really know?

As you can see, an analytical movie review is not a summary of a movie or a discussion of what you liked or did not like about the movie. The purpose of the analytical movie review is to explore the presentation of three educational issues in the popular media.

No more than two individuals may work on the same movie. Allocation will be on a first-come basis, so if you have a particular one you want to do, the sooner you tell me, the more likely you are to get your first choice.

Even though more than one person may be reviewing the same movie, your work must be your own (though I don't mind if you watch it together).

Identify your papers as follows: in the top left corner of your paper put the following information.

Your Name [John Doe]

Name of assignment [Review of Lean on Me]

Date Due: [May 19, 2008]

Date submitted [May 24, 2008]

On the next line, centered, put the "Review of [your movie's title]" as the title of your paper.

On each subsequent page, in the upper right corner, put your last name and the page number.

I expect well-written essays. I expect them to be neatly typed, carefully edited, and following all the usual conventions of college-level writing. I expect your name and the page number on each page, I expect the pages to be printed on only one side of the paper, and I expect the pages to be stapled together. You should get help from the Writing Center if you need it.

I require that you print off and include a copy of these instructions with your paper to insure me that you have read them.

Your grade on these papers will be a combination grade reflecting both the quality of the writing and the discussion of the issues. I will grade these with an A through F scale. The grade criteria are as follows: A = Excellent/Superb--good beyond my wildest dream; B = Better than Average, goes beyond the requirements; C = Meets the requirements, but doesn't go beyond them; D = Doesn't meet the requirements, but shows some effort; F = shows little to no engagement in the assignment.

Movie List

"Goodbye, Mr. Chips"(1939)

"The Corn is Green"(1945)

"Blackboard Jungle"(1955)

"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"(1969)

"To Sir With Love"(1967)

"Up the Down Staircase"(1967)

"Conrack"(1974)

"Teachers"(1984)

"Stand and Deliver"(1987)

"Dead Poet's Society"(1989)

"Lean on Me"(1989)

"Renaissance Man"(1994)

"Dangerous Minds"(1995)

"Mr. Holland's Opus" (1996)

"High School High"(1996?)

"One Eight Seven"(1997)

Lending Conditions

If you borrow my movies, you must agree to these conditions:

1. You will borrow it one class meeting and return it the next class meeting.

2. If you damage or lose it, you will immediately replace it with another legally-purchased copy of the movie -- not money.

3. If you permit others to watch it with you, you will not charge them for doing so.