Still waiting…

Liberal Hollywood is all set to shoot its wad over Davis Guggenheim’s “Waiting for ‘Superman,’” which held its Los Angeles premiere last night at the LA Film Festival and opens in theaters sometime in the fall.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because if nothing else Guggenheim’s film will start a much-needed conversation.  The decision-makers at Paramount, Participant, Walden, etc., they’re all unlikely heroes for getting the film out there to the widest possible audience.  It’ll be a big kumbaya moment for everyone involved.

That doesn’t change the fact that the film casts a broad net when it would have been something more as a focused study.  The most effective elements include the revelation of a KIPP schooling program that proves a failed system can be changed, perspectives from four children who clearly want a brighter future and a warranted attack-dog position against the AFT and president Randi Weingarten, as well as the NEA, unions that consistently slow the process of change.

However, those highlights are a bit overwhelmed by Guggenheim’s addiction to flashy infographics and figures that wash over you rather than landing with impact.  And as someone whose mother was a teacher, I couldn’t help but notice (and with her in attendance, be verbally reminded of) some modest stretching to make the point all the more sensational along the way.

For instance, a map detailing what a Johns Hopkins researcher dubbed “dropout factories,” schools where barely half of the freshman class makes it to senior year, showed a large number in North Carolina, where I grew up.  But North Carolina has a system in place by which a school is given a number of years to change its course.  If after that time it hasn’t reached the proper goals, the state will step in and clean house if necessary.  And they often do change their course in time.

This would make it appear that North Carolina has a lot of these “dropout factories” just sitting there, stinking up the joint, without conveying the proper nuance of that particular state’s situation.  Not to mention the fact that dropout rates themselves are misleading statistics, given the various factors that might contribute to a student giving up on his or her education that have nothing to do with the school’s performance or effectiveness.

But hey, it makes for a galvanizing graphic, even if the nuance could have played more to another point the film makes about state legislation conflicting with federal education mandates.

I sincerely applaud Guggenheim for tackling this complex and vast issue on celluloid, make no mistake.  But I think he might have made a better film if he had concentrated on, say, the charismatic Geoffrey Canada and his successful program, or just an overall more acute approach buttressed by figures where needed.

Writing all that just makes me kind of a prick, though, because the fact is there is a lot of information in this film that will finally make its way to ignorant eyes and ears, and in a big picture mentality, that makes it an overwhelming success.  Journalism is about simplification, so I suppose I can forgive this or that about the stats.  And no one will look into the eyes of Anthony, Daisy, Emily and Francisco and not see genuine determination and feel the immediacy of a desperate situation.

John Legend performed a pair of songs, including the film’s original track, “Shine,” at a reception following the screening.  I’m told he was in South Africa for the World Cup, flew to New York for a film-related event, flew back to Italy for something, then back to LA for last night’s event, and rushed right out of there to hop a flight back home.  Talk about being a trooper.  The subject is dear to his heart and he approached Guggenheim toward the end of post-production about writing a song for the film.

Also in attendance were filmmakers Alejandro González Iñárritu, Brett Ratner and Scott Cooper, as well as actress Rosario Dawson, among others.  Like I said, Liberal Hollywood will eat it up.  Here’s hoping the rest of the country at least pays some much-needed attention.