By Gary Dickson
I am still wiping egg off my face. In last week”s column I mistakenly used CDC as short for the honeybee problem known as colony collapse disorder. Obviously, I should have used CCD.
This week”s message falls under the category of my view of what is wrong with America.
During the last few weeks I have seen two movies made this year about teachers: “Bad Teacher” and “That”s What I Am.” The financial success of one of these movies and the economic failure of the other is a perfect illustration of how our society has deteriorated.
We now seem to be a population that accepts the fact that crude movies with horrible ethical and moral messages are pushed by major studios to a national audience while fantastic movies that show what happens when people have high standards and bring out the best in others don”t even make it to the theaters.
My wife and I only have ourselves to blame for wasting our money on “Bad Teacher.” What the trailers showed was the whole truth about the movie. We just assumed that in the end there would be some redeeming quality that would come shining through. There wasn”t one. The movie was about a bad teacher who never changed. Cameron Diaz starred as the bad teacher. She portrayed a sleazy woman who was only teaching to pay the bills until she caught a wealthy sugar daddy in her web.
During the course of the movie the bad teacher abused students, both verbally and physically, used drugs while at work, stole, lied, had a foul mouth and showed no respect toward other teachers, students, administrators or parents. Because she was beautiful, though, she expected to get away with her indiscretions and usually did.
Recently, while adding choices to my Netflix queue, “That”s What I Am” popped up as something I might like, so I added it. When it came and I began to watch it, I was amazed by the movie and more shocked that it was produced by WWE Studios. You know, the same people who produce wrestling smack downs that feature some of the most ridiculous acting you”ve ever seen. I can”t vouch for the rest of the movies from this studio, but they definitely got this one right.
The movie has a “Wonder Years” feel to it. The story is being told by the main character years after the action takes place and it involves the junior high or middle school timeframe. It is set in the mid-1960s. The story revolves around an excellent junior high school teacher, played by Ed Harris, who pairs Andy, the narrator, with Stanley , who is viewed as the biggest nerd in the school, for a full semester project. At first, Andy believes that being linked to Stanley will ruin his status with the other “cool kids” at school.
Even though the story takes place almost a half-century ago, I believe that nearly everyone, even today”s middle school students, can relate to the scenes and the characters depicted in the film. We are shown the gamut of pre-adolescent student life, including student status categories, bullies, those being bullied and how, at that time in life, students are really beginning to be attracted to members of the opposite sex.
The movie elegantly reveals how much Andy learns about life during the course of the semester, by working through the project with Stanley. It also indicates the magnitude of impact a great teacher can have on the lives of his or her students and it shows how this particularly teacher faces the biggest challenge of his career.
I think it is deplorable that “Bad Teacher” was promoted with a multi-million-dollar marketing budget, was released nationwide and was actually the top box office draw for a period of time, while “That”s What I Am” went straight to DVD release, may have lost money and compared to “Bad Teacher,” a very small audience will see it.
The fact that trash outsells class in America is something that we really need to give serious consideration to.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
