Explore the theme of Social Class and Education in the films Dangerous Minds and The School of Rock PDF

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I explored Social Class in two films- Dangerous Minds and School of Rock...

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Explore the theme of Social Class and how this is represented through Education in the films Dangerous Minds and The School of Rock Social Class is a widely referenced issue within the media, with films such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Titanic captivating audiences and showing the difference between the upper and lower classes. In terms of Education, many films have used Social Class as a topic in their movies, films such as Kes (1969) and To Sir, with Love (1967). These films often make a reference to social class in the classroom and how pupils from different social classes perceive and take part in education. This is going to be the focus of my essay- I have chosen to focus on two films, Dangerous Minds and The School of Rock. Both of these films deal with Social Class however they contrast each other as Dangerous Minds deals with poorer children from the racially segregated city of East Palo Alto and School of Rock deals with upper class children attending a prep school in New York. The first way that social class is represented is through the teachers and student’s attitudes. Dangerous Minds is a film based on the memoirs of LouAnne Johnson, an ex-marine who takes a teaching job in East Palo Alto in California. The students she teaches are all from a very impoverished, crime ridden area who’s view of learning and school isn’t a positive one. Robert Bulman (2002) in his paper addressing the urban high school Hollywood genre, explains that “somewhat naive Ms. Johnson walks into her class for the first time only to walk right back out after encountering nothing but abusive and hostile students, who first ignore and then ridicule her”, (Bulman, 2002). This scene in the film is the first one to introduce us, the viewer, to the theme of social class as firstly it shows us the race of the students but also it shows us that LouAnne feels like she can’t teach students who are abusive and hostile. The question is, does class have a factor in the attitudes that students have towards schooling? Mickelson states that “Black children see that efforts in school often do not have the same outcomes for members of their group as do similar efforts of socially dominant groups, such as middle-class whites”, (Mikelston, 1990). This shows us that black children do not have access to the same opportunities as their white counterparts, Mikelston goes on to talk about the “job ceiling”, a social construct meaning that black people cannot freely compete for jobs that they are qualified due to the colour of their skin. All of this means that black students may not have the same attitude to education as othersthey may not care as much about education because they know that they won’t be offered the same opportunities and rewards for trying hard as others (mostly whites) will. This is certainly a major theme of the film, the children are often talking about their circumstance and how they are unable to break out of the cycle, due to where they live and the community around them. In contrast to this, School of Rock shows us a very different view of social class. School of Rock is a film about Dewey Finn, a deadbeat guy who gets removed from his band and accepts a job at a local prepatory school under the name of his older brother, a temp teacher. Dewey realises that all of the children in his class have a gift for music and so, he enters them all into the Battle of the Bands competition. The children who attend the prepatory school are mostly white children from middle or upper middle-class backgrounds.

Their parents are rich and therefore are able to afford a higher class of education, hence the children all attend a private school. This in stark contrast to Dangerous minds as, in the film, the children are all schooled in a “special” school for challenging pupils. Smith talks about the American education system being the most “hierarchized, ordered and regulated institution in American culture”, (2005), he goes on to talk about the divide in pubilc and private schools, he states that “Moreover, because of the vast gulf between public and private education systems, it Is also one of the most salient and visible markers of class difference in American society”, (2005). This shows us well how the two films portray two very different schools and, along with it, two very different types of students. As I have mentioned, the students featured in the film Dangerous Minds all come from poverty and crime stricken backgrounds. Cristensen (1995) talks about how LouAnne Johnson constantly reminds the students that they can “make a choice” and change their live however she ignores the social constraints of their neighbourhoods. Beyerbach states this well, she states that the message from LouAnne to the students that they can change “ignores the context and material conditions of these students ‘lives by not acknowledging the role of poverty, bias, and oppression in influencing students’ opportunities” (Beyerbach, 2005). In Dangerous Minds, the students believe that they are unable to change however in school of Rock, the students believe that they can change and, this is one of the main focuses of the film. As these children are from well off backgrounds, I would question the need for the children to go through this transformation, what are these students gaining from this? As the children are already in a privileged position and will have no difficulty succeeding once they finish school due to their parent’s wealth and connections, I would argue that there is no need for the students to go on a “journey” of self-discovery, as they do in the film. In School of Rock, throughout the film the “Kids” develop a disregard for the school rules, Smith states that “the kids not only violate the school’s policy in order to achieve nonacademic goals, but they effectively undermine Ms. Mullins simultaneous pronouncement to their parents that nothing is more important to the school’s administration than a ‘safe, secure environment’”, (2005). This shows us the change that they undergo, I would argue that as their social class is so high, they do not need this. In contrast, in Dangerous Minds, the students slowly begin to conform to the rules as LouAnne gains their trust and starts to be able to teach them. The one difference with this theme in both the films is whether they are able to change- in Dangerous Minds, LouAnne has difficulty in believing that she can teach the children and that they can change however, in School of Rock, there is no doubting the fact that they can change. I would argue that this is very much due to social class, in the film, Dewey Finn doesn’t not teach the class as he believes they are unteachable, he declines to teach them due to his own selfishness. In contrast, in Dangerous Minds, LouAnn is clearly quoted as saying “I can’t teach them!” (Dangerous Minds, 1995). This is right after LouAnn finds out about their social issues and background. Does social class have an impact on teachers? Jussim and Harber talk about self-fulfilling prophecies, meaning if students believe they they’ll fail then it is more likely that this will happen. They state, “teacher expectations did produce self-fulfilling prophecy effects of .2-.3 among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds” (Jussim et al, 2005). This shows us that if a teacher doesn’t believe in their students it is more likely that they will fail. It also shows us that social class and socioeconomic status has a direct link to attainment, self-fulfilling prophecies and

teacher expectations. Rist states that “Many studies have shown that academic achievement is highly correlated with social class”, (1970). As well as this, as I have mentioned before, in contrast to Dangerous Minds, in School of Rock, Dewey fails to teach the class as he is unmotivated, not the other way around. This clearly shows us the link between the students desire to learn and their social class and background. Another way in which social class is represented is through the classroom and costumes. In School of Rock, the classroom is presented very neatly, as seen in this screenshot

We can see here that not only are the desk in perfect rows but there are very minimal posters on the walls. As well as this, each child has on school uniform correctly, re enforcing their social class and social status. There are no posters on the walls and the colours in the film are dark, this shows us that the school as a whole are very elite with many rules. A scene in the film which most aligns with my view is the scene where Miss Mullins says to Freddie whose sleeves are rolled up, “where are your sleeves?” (Linklater, 2003). This shows us how Miss Mullins does not look favourably upon people disrespecting the rules of the school. This can be attributed to being middle/upper class and having a life filled with rules and regulations. In Dangerous Minds, the classroom is surprisingly similar, Anyon notes that “There are obvious similarities among United States schools and classroom” (1980). We can see this from this screenshot:

This shows us that, in Dangerous Minds, it is the students themselves who are responsible for their lack of education as opposed to the school setting. As I have mentioned above, this is, in part, due to their background, where they come from, their families and more general social situation. Lareau states that “Quantitative studies suggest that parental behaviour can be a crucial determinant of educational performance” (1987). This reinforces the fact that their social situation has a part to play in how well the children achieve. As well as this, students from upper class backgrounds have access to many more activities than students from lower class backgrounds, Kraus et al states that “Relative to their upper-class counterparts, lower class individuals have fewer economic resources, fewer educational opportunities and less access to social institutions such as elite schools, universities, and social clubs” (Kraus et al, 2010). The classroom in both films is used as a setting for the students to change and realise their potential. In Dangerous Minds, the children eventually learn that they are more than their social situation and in School of Rock, the children have their eyes opened to their abilities and what they are able to achieve. The classroom is the ideal setting for this and, the classroom is used brilliantly in both movies in order to convey social class. In Dangerous Minds, the children throw rubbish around the classroom and have little regard for the “things” in the classroom such as the chairs and tables while in School of Rock, all of the children are incredibly considerate of the classroom, we can see in the scene where Dewey Finn tears off the “grade” chart on the wall, Summer flinches. How they treat the classroom is a reflection on their social class and how they have been bought up- they are middle class and so have been taught to respect their surroundings, as the students in Dangrous Minds are from impoverished backgrounds, it is likely that their parents would have either not taught them respect or there would have been a lot of fighting at home, leading the students to chose not to respect as a result. In conclusion, I believe that both films show a very different view of social class. School of Rock shows us the upper class children who excel at school and Dangerous Minds shows us the other side, the bright but uninterested children from the “ghetto” area of California who believe that they are incapable of change. Both films show social class extremely well by their use of location, namely the classroom, teacher attitudes and attutides of the pupils themselves. In both films, the students go on a “journey”, I would argue that it is more important for the students in Dangrous Minds to go through this than the students of School

of Rock as the students in School of Rock have a major advantage over the students in Dangerous Minds, due to their parents/families social standing in society.

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Bibliography Anyon, J. (1980) 'SOCIAL CLASS AND THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM OF WORK', The Journal of Education, 162(1), pp. 67-92. BARBARA BEYERBACH (2005) THE SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS CLASSROOM: Themes in Sixty Years of Teachers in Film: Fast Times, Dangerous Minds, Stand on Me, Educational Studies, 37:3, 267-285, DOI: 10.1207/s15326993es3703_5 Bulman, R. (2002). Teachers in the 'Hood: Hollywood's Middle-Class Fantasy. The Urban Review, 34(3), pp.251-276. Cristensen, Linda. 1995. “Dangerous Minds: Decoding a Classroom.” Rethinking Schools (Fall). Jussim, L., & Harber, K. D. (2005). Teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies: Knowns and unknowns, resolved and unresolved controversies. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 9, 131-155. Lareau, A. (1987) 'Social Class Differences in Family-School Relationships: The Importance of Cultural Capital', Sociology of Education, 60(2), pp. 73-85. doi: 10.2307/2112583. Mickelson, R.A. (1990) 'The Attitude-Achievement Paradox Among Black Adolescents', Sociology of Education, 63(1), pp. 44-61. doi: 10.2307/2112896. Smith, 2005. "The Edge of Seventeen: Class, Age, and Popular Music in Richard Linklater's School of Rock." Screening the Past, 18, Smith, J.N. (Director) 1995. Dangrous Minds. [Film] Piff, P. K., Kraus, M. W., Côté, S., Cheng, B. H., & Keltner, D. (2010). Having less, giving more: The influence of social class on prosocial behaviour. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(5), 771-784. Ray Rist (1970) Student Social Class and Teacher Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Ghetto Education. Harvard Educational Review: September 1970, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 411-451. Webb, M. (2007) “Rock Goes to School on Screen: A model for teaching non- “learned” musics derived from the films School of Rock (2003) and Rock School (2005)” Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 6/3:...