where the white guy comes in to save all the poor black ppl and learns a little about himself along the way? seems so from the premise. havnt had the chance to see it yet. can someone tell me if this is another one of those movies?
shareWell, in a nutshell yes, but the thing that lifts it above those "stories" is that it's true and based on a book by Pat Conroy (Prince of Tides) about his actual experiences as a teacher.
It's also very empathetic and doesn't have a "happily ever after" ending.
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Is that a rumor or did you just make that up? -Mom
I thought the ending was so depressing...just all that work for nothing. Nothing he did would change their futures at all.
Fiery the angels fell, deep thunder rolled around their shores, burning with the fires of Orc
You don't know whether or not he did something to change their lives or not. I imagine these kids growing up and using what they learned from conrack.
shareIn reply to isotop:
18 out of the 21 students became teachers. Oh yes, I'd say he changed most of their futures to some degree.
I'm glad to hear that.....so his effort and sacrifice wasn't wasted. A great guy who followed his principles at a time when the establishment would crush you for just that.
shareSaying this movie is "one of those stories" would technically be true - just like saying Disneyland is "one of those roller coaster parks" would also technically be true. This movie is more original and inspired than the formulaic "white teacher uplifts underprivileged minority students" plot.
And to correct the poster above, I don't think it was 18 out of 21 of his students became teachers - it was 18 of the film child actors became teachers. Perhaps the real moral of the story is that we should cast underprivileged students in movies rather than send them to school. ;-)
Hello scott-1441, I stand corrected, as I was unaware of the status of the "students". However, I still believe that he did change their lives somewhat towards the better, and I liked your last sentence regarding underpriveleged students.
shareIt's very easy to say that this is a 'Great White Savior' story, but it's far from accurate to do so. The point is that these kids lived a very isolated and relatively primitive existence; they were being groomed by their community (with the complicity of the school system)for a life no different that the ones that their forebears had been living for 200 years. Conroy's desire was to simply spark their intellectual curiosity, awaken them to the fact that there was a very large world for them to explore beyond the confines of their island, and to let them know that their lives offered them more choices that they had previously known.
shareCP, I live close to that island and you stated it better than I could have stated it. He most certainly did have an impact on their lives.
"If I don't suit chu, you kin cut mah thoat!"
You sure did CP. And all it takes is ONE TEACHER to light a fire in someone.
The film is based on a true story, yes the happy Hollywood ending would have been that he taught there forever. But he didn't, but he did have an impact.
Agreed! Well put.
And to the OP...regarding the "white savior to downtridden blacks" theme...in real life, Conroy planned to leave the island after one year, partly because he was uncomfortable for just that reason. He didn't want the kids to grow up expecting that only white people could change their future. He hoped to arrange for black teachers to follow him.
I would be interested to find out what the next year or two (and beyond) were like at that school.
It's not that simplistic. It's a moving story ho matter what anyone's color happens to be.
Dini
What Pat Conroy did in real life was to lift the lid on that island and expose the fact that the school system was keeping those kids in a bubble, uneducated. The school superintendant didn't even want the students to leave that island to go to the mainland for Trick-or-Treating on Halloween--something his students had never heard of. The movie doesn't show some stuff, like the fact that he took his students to Washington, D.C. He changed their lives. Have you heard of Sallie Anne Robinson? She is one of his former students. She has published two cookbooks. If you watch videos of her on Youtube, you will see that she is very articulate. He inspired them to learn. His color has nothing to do with it. If you read about his life, you will see that he is a very loving person.
shareOf course that is like saying that To Sir With love is another movie about a black man who shows kids how to be groovy. The color of the players is really irrelevant in this excellent film about seeing the potential in everyone regardless of their circumstance.
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