I'm not generally one to post about movies..but, wow. This movie is amazing. We took 16 classes from our school to see the movie today--the whole theater was packed with our students. I had expected a sort of feel-good-this-is-a-nice-change-of-pace sort of movie, one that I was glad to see with with my students, but might not see otherwise. What I didn't expect was to laugh, and cry and watch my students laugh, cry, cheer and then become inspired to learn how to spell.
The premise of the movie--a middle school student from Crenshaw in LA who is naturally good at spelling, Akeelah, goes to the regional bee and then the state bee, despite issues at home with her mom not wanting her to participate and several obstacles along the way. One of those is that she's black and almost everyone she sees on the spelling bee videos is white--and she gets teased for knowing how to spell from kids at school. The story is about her preparing for the spelling bees and learning she can do more than she thought at first.
My students LOVED the film. I loved the film. It was awesome to see a main character that's relatable (sp?) to them. Case in point--at the beginning of the movie, before they found out where Crenshaw was, I heard a few people say, "I think that's on the south side of Chicago." And it was cool to see their reactions, and see how they rooted for Akeelah and then talked about making a movie about themselves "Shawan and the Bee" or "Deandre and the Bee." I haven't seen them that interested in school in a while.
In the movie there is a great quote from a Nelson Mandella speech that just blew me away, about fear:
Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,but that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God.Your playing small does not serve the world.There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.It is not just in some; it is in everyone.And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously giveother people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our fear,our presence automatically liberates others.
That's it for today...just random thoughts. Any thoughts on your side??
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5 comments:
hey verity!
I saw the movie last week and LOVED it as well. It's cool that your students got to see it- while I was watching the film i kept thinking that my sixth graders from last year would enjoy it/get a lot out of it.
-Meg
Hi Verity!
Congratulations on your engagement. I think the quote (which I really like) is by Marianne Williamson and is often misattributed to Nelson Mandela. Take care!
Sarah L.
I saw the movie Friday. What a wonderful movie. I have to admit, I am a big fan of the "teacher-helps-students-realize-what-they-can-become" movies anyway, but this one was done even better than most. Though not as gritty as a movie like "Coach Carter," the writers drew the characters in some ways deeper, and the issues in some ways more complex than is often the case in movies like this. The subtlety and layers help make the movie more thought provoking, to me. Samuel Jackson did an excellent job.
Thanks for the recommendation.
I meant Lawrence Fishburne.
Sarah--thanks for the heads up on the quote.
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