The Classroom in Film, w/guest Timothy Shary
The classroom has been a cinema battleground for students and teachers alike — from tales of social outcasts (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Napoleon Dynamite) to crusading educators (Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds), and examinations of school archetypes (The Breakfast Club, Clueless, Mean Girls). How have the depictions of the classroom in film evolved throughout the years? Has there been a shift in emphasis from stories involving athletics to ones featuring scholarly pursuits? How have the classroom archetypes of students shifted over time? And why do we see a great many films about high-school students, but comparatively few about their younger counterparts? Returning as my guest is Tim Shary, director of Film and Video Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and author of the book Generation Multiplex, an examination of youth culture in film. [Originally broadcast on WLUW's Under Surveillance in April 2009.]
Trackback this post