Hollywood Films about Schools: Where Race, Politics, and Education Intersect

by R. Chennault

Overview

What do the Hollywood 'school films' of the 1980's and 1990's communicate about education and race? This book looks at The Graduate , Blackboard Jungle , The English Patient , Dead Poets Society , Pulp Fiction , Ghost , The Wizard of Oz , Top Gun and Forrest Gump to answer the question.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349534166
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	04/11/2006
Edition description:	1st ed. 2006
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

RONALD E. CHENNAULT is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Research, DePaul University, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction Reagan, 'Rithmetic, and Race Controlling the Savage Enemy: Punishing the Other and Criminalizing Urban Space Isolating and Protecting Whiteness Brining the West to the Rest: The Transmittion of Civilizing Knowledge The Pedagogies of School Films and the Pedagogical Uses of School Films

Editorial Reviews

"Hollywood Films About Schools: Where Race Politics and Education Intersect should be read by anybody who has ever inquired 'what do these films about schools attempt to teach'? This book is a noteworthy contribution to the study of movies as complex 'cultural artifacts, economic products and political statements.' One of the most remarkable aspects of this project is the careful identification and exploration of three discursive patterns organizing the 'Hollywood movie curriculum': the connection between the urban and the undesirable; the centrality of the White educator; and the reliance on disparaging stereotypes of racial minorities. Ronald Chennault's theoretical bricolage has articulated some of the best traditions in Critical Pedagogy, Media Literacy and Cultural Studies discussing complex notions in simple yet, eloquent language. This book is a timely and most welcomed intervention in the current debates about media and education." - Gustavo E. Fischman, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University

From the Publisher