MovieChat Forums > Mr. Holland's Opus (1996) Discussion > He didn't know Rowena at the audition...

He didn't know Rowena at the audition...

posted 11 years ago by yolhanson
13 replies | jump to latest

...even to the point of saying, "You were very good, Miss...?"
She replied, "Morgan. Rowena Morgan."
Yet, in the cafe scene, Rowena said that she had been in his class and admired his sense of humour.
Why would he fail to recognise her at the audition? She could only have been in his class in the previous few years at the most.
And it can't be a case of forgetting her name. In the final scene, he remembered Stadler's name from the late 1960s. He'd surely remember a student who had been in his class, perhaps two years ago, and who was still at the school.

It just seems a little odd; one of those things that you eventually notice, without letting it spoil the fun.

[–] Elder_Yautija 11 years ago

Can't it be that he recognized her, just didn't remember her name?

[–] yolhanson 11 years ago

Well, as I said, it's unlikely. He had no problem with names, even after decades.
He'd surely remember the name of a talented student like Rowena, but it's as if she takes them all by surprise at the audition.
Maybe he did have a "mental blank", but I think it's a minor error in the writing.

[–] Elynne 11 years ago

Although it's been awhile since I've seen this movie, I can say from personal experience as an art teacher, it's not the same as having one classroom of the same kids all day long, all week long, all year long ~~~ or even 6 or 7 different classes every day for a whole school year. Classroom teachers get to know their students very well.

Music teachers, like art teachers, often see each student only once or twice a week, because they may have 6 or 7 different classes each day, and each day has a different 6 or 7 classes from the day before or the day after. It's not uncommon to have 600 to 800 students each year, and the teacher may see each student for only 50 minutes once or twice a week.

Of course, much depends upon the school district and the way that specialist classes are set up. I still remember many of the students that I taught when I had the same kids every day in 6 classes for 6 weeks before the schedule changed. Then I had a new group of kids in 6 classes everyday for another 6 weeks ~~ and on it went that way until the school year ended. But there were still 35 to 36 kids in each of those classes, so the grand total of kids that I taught in one year could be as many as 800. Such is the life of a "specialist" teacher who teaches art or music.

[–] gabby_bm 11 years ago

It's also possible she played an instrument in those classes (as opposed to her standout singing) and not very talented on her banjo. And with a name like Rowena, he may have remembered her, but thought he might stumble on her name and didn't want a moment of embarrassment.

And maybe her look was completely different after getting her braces removed, using contact lenses and finding a more attractive hairstyle. Girls change a lot in high school.

My "#3" key is broken so I'm putting one here so i can cut & paste with it.

[–] road_runner_outsmarts_the_coyote 11 years ago

Yeah, I'm betting that she had changed her appearance significantly!

[–] ron-1007 11 years ago

The auditions were presumably at the beginning of the year and the performance at the end. She may have just started in his class to the point she hadn't stood out yet.

[–] koala_t_98 8 years ago

I will have to disagree with you on the timing of this. Shows usually run on a 6-to-8 week production schedule, NOT the full school year.

[–] stevenackerman69 11 years ago

He can't remember everybody. Maybe he had her several years before. She might not have stood out in his class.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Hoffman31 10 years ago

Just to agree with several of the points already made, I can how he easily could not have remembered her.

As someone who was an exceptional student (not bragging) on paper, but who was fairly reserved and quiet in terms of classroom discussion, very few of my teachers remembered me by appearance when I went back for a reunion a few years after graduating.

If she was very unassuming while attending his classes, it is possible that he could have recognized the name without immediately being able to connect it to a face.

[–] swc11-48-550133 10 years ago

That is what I thought. Not sure if every highschool is like this but we had a rotational system so each teacher had atleast 8 classes (sometimes more) a day and not all classes were year round (most were, not all) so she might have taken one of those single semester classes. So, if you don't stand out in class (teachers pets, disruptive kid, front row) you can easily be unnoticed.

---
What you say in public is what you want people to hear; what you say in private is who you are.

[–] registers-944-48791 8 years ago

It's a plot hole.

In the first scene she's presented to us and to him, that's when they meet.

Later, director forgets they've just met and makes her seem to know him from old and make a comment about one of his characteristics that she likes, to sum to the argument of why she felt in love.

Maybe, just maybe, time passed more than we feel and, after the first meeting, some months passed by and they got to know better each other.

[–] phantomF-12 8 years ago

I always thought she had only been in his "Music appreciation" class, where he never had the opportunity to hear her sing, and where it was less likely that she might stand out.

That might've been why he was surprised during the audition.

Also she did say that she remembered his classes fondly, so she had had him in some previous year. I remember from my own time at school, that a couple of girls really changed from one year to the next.