MovieChat Forums > Half Nelson (2006) Discussion > Another film which perpetautes the idea ...

Another film which perpetautes the idea that teachers live in poverty...

posted 9 years ago by nlagoon
6 replies | jump to latest

Like Detachment, Half Nelson can't help but portray the lifestyle of teachers as one of poverty. Situating Dan in the squalor of a bare, grimy apartment, the film loudly declares that a teacher would surely not be able to afford anything better!

Not only is this inaccurate, it's insulting.

Teachers actually enjoy a lifestyle which is solidly middle class, with salaries comparable to those of many other professional occupations. In Brooklyn, where the movie takes place, the average compensation for a public school teacher is $62K. Oh, the horror! [For comparison's sake, the average household income there is under $45K.]

And yet we wonder why we can't attract our most intelligent high school graduates to the profession...

[–] jadecats123 9 years ago

I don't think the film was trying to say that teachers "live in poverty," but rather that he lived that way due to the fact that he had to put so much money into keeping up with his addiction.

[–] nlagoon 9 years ago

That stance would be more convincing if such similar scenarios weren't so predominant in many other films.

[–] tzukeeper 8 years ago

Are you a retard? The whole fu^king movie is about his drug addiction. Go away.

I just wasn't made for these times. (Brian Wilson)

[–] averydave 8 years ago

Not only addicted, the bright young romantic is in love. And does not even know why. The challenge of fulfilling his responsibilities must seem overwhelming.
The secret must lie in avoiding his ex.

[–] aubie84 8 years ago

I hear ya- I see your point - but I didn't get that vibe of Teaching equaling poverty. As an outsider of Teaching and New York- I find it admirable for any teacher and maybe more admirable to teach in an inner city environment. To your point- I felt that his strife was his Choices and the hold of addiction within as his limiting circumstance. If he were making $62K... He was spending $63K a year on Nose candy... Thus his poverty was self inflicted and a portrayal of his life in all different areas of the movie. My 2 cents-

[–] henrimaine 8 years ago

I would rather accuse this film of perpetuating the idea that single men cannot keep their home clean.