Of the pedagogical movies I can think of off of the top of my head this is the only one that deals with the broader problem of the educational system, and not just a school, or a class. Many movies focus on reforming a classroom, or even just a school--and the school reformation is usually a principal led thing ("Lean on Me" and "The George McKenna Story"). In "Won't Back Down" Jamie Fitzpatrick (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Nona Alberts (Viola Davis) wanted to fix Adams Elementary through a grassroots movement. Their plan was to unite teachers and parents to fix a school that was broken by going through the school board and the teachers' union.
The movie takes place in Pittsburgh, PA. Jamie is a struggling single mother with a dyslexic daughter. Her daughter is not getting the proper attention she needs at school and the teacher she has, Deborah (Nancy Bach), isn't even a tidbit interested in helping her. Deborah is supposed to be the cinematic representative of all the lazy teachers out there that ignore public school students.
Nona also has a child who needs extra attention. When she and Jamie both lose the lottery to get their kids into Rosa Parks Elementary charter school Jamie hatches a plan to take over Adams Elementary. It will take considerable effort, time, people, and will power.
If there was one flaw with the movie, it was making the teacher's union the bad guy. They didn't completely pillory it, but they attacked it enough to leave it wounded. Of the pro-union teachers in the movie, which was just about all of them, only two were common sense pro-union teachers; the rest were made to seem like lazy leeches just looking for the union to protect them. That couldn't be further from the truth for the majority of teachers. The few tenured teachers that are there to simply collect a paycheck are not even close to representing the MANY teachers who are doing that low-paying job because they love teaching.
So, whereas I loved the intent of the movie and what the two protagonists wanted to accomplish, I did not like who (or what) was painted as the villain. The school board and the district were also made to be an obstacle to doing what's right for the kids, but their culpability paled in comparison to the culpability of the teachers and the teacher's union. I'm afraid that what many people may take from the movie is a simplistic message of "parents good, unions bad," when that's not the case. But let me end on a positive note because I liked the movie.
It had an excellent cast with Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bill Nunn, Holly Hunter, Ned Eisenberg, Ving Rhames, and Lance Reddick. Rosie Perez was also in it, but I'm not a fan. And I love that this was based upon a true story. It shows what a motivated community can do to make a change.
Free on IMDb TV.
The movie takes place in Pittsburgh, PA. Jamie is a struggling single mother with a dyslexic daughter. Her daughter is not getting the proper attention she needs at school and the teacher she has, Deborah (Nancy Bach), isn't even a tidbit interested in helping her. Deborah is supposed to be the cinematic representative of all the lazy teachers out there that ignore public school students.
Nona also has a child who needs extra attention. When she and Jamie both lose the lottery to get their kids into Rosa Parks Elementary charter school Jamie hatches a plan to take over Adams Elementary. It will take considerable effort, time, people, and will power.
If there was one flaw with the movie, it was making the teacher's union the bad guy. They didn't completely pillory it, but they attacked it enough to leave it wounded. Of the pro-union teachers in the movie, which was just about all of them, only two were common sense pro-union teachers; the rest were made to seem like lazy leeches just looking for the union to protect them. That couldn't be further from the truth for the majority of teachers. The few tenured teachers that are there to simply collect a paycheck are not even close to representing the MANY teachers who are doing that low-paying job because they love teaching.
So, whereas I loved the intent of the movie and what the two protagonists wanted to accomplish, I did not like who (or what) was painted as the villain. The school board and the district were also made to be an obstacle to doing what's right for the kids, but their culpability paled in comparison to the culpability of the teachers and the teacher's union. I'm afraid that what many people may take from the movie is a simplistic message of "parents good, unions bad," when that's not the case. But let me end on a positive note because I liked the movie.
It had an excellent cast with Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bill Nunn, Holly Hunter, Ned Eisenberg, Ving Rhames, and Lance Reddick. Rosie Perez was also in it, but I'm not a fan. And I love that this was based upon a true story. It shows what a motivated community can do to make a change.
Free on IMDb TV.