Sure, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman can come across as a self-important blowhard at times. But he is a smart guy, and more important, he gives a hell of a plug to “Waiting for Superman,” a documentary about public education that opens in Denver in October.
There is a lot of publicity building around this film. In Colorado, education reform groups are going to launch a major campaign to get people to see the movie, and based on their anticipated reactions, to get involved in demanding serious systemic change to education in Colorado, and across the nation.
Can a movie prompt such a movement? We’ll see. It’s directed by Davis Guggenheim, who directed “An Inconvenient Truth,” so there is some track record.
I saw the movie a month or so ago, but was told by studio media handlers I absolutely could not write about it until it opened. Well, if Tom Friedman can bust the embargo, so can I. But I’ll restrain myself and just say this: It is beautifully made and powerful. Unavoidably, it over-simplifies matters to make its points. Still, it surpasses other recent films that focus on the same topic — “The Lottery” and the overtly bombastic “The Cartel.”
So I’ll give it three stars (I’m a tough reviewer) and urge people to see it when it opens.
By the way, if you know where people stand on education issues, you can easily predict whether they’ll love or loathe “Waiting for Superman.”
Popularity: 4% [?]
Exactly what did “An Inconvenient Truth” accomplish?” A whole bunch more people have been exposed to the Truth and continue to behave just as they have. The Right got some ammo to vilify Gore and we have accomplished exactly jack shit in terms of heading off climate change. With that track record, I can’t wait for the next salvo aimed at education.
Except that we all can hope Guggenheim’s new film will achieve a much higher level of accuracy and integrity than the Gore film — which has been documented to contain a substantial amount of factual errors. I don’t know if an equivalent of debunking the infamous “hockey stick” graph or a sensational Climategate scandal could ensue to undermine the message of “Waiting for Superman.” I’m just hoping that the largely deserved reputation of “An Inconvenient Truth” (see “Not Evil, Just Wrong”) doesn’t taint its release.
Ben, it’s good to hear you will scrutinize “Waiting for Superman” with your facto-meter just like “An Inconvenient Truth.” I hope ideology won’t come in to play to undermine the underlying message.
BTW: Climategate? Really?