gangsta.edu

tonight i realized i missed big love. i'm pissed, but it re-airs at 11:00, so i'll stay awake or dvr it. no biggie. but then, i thought - "no, check on demand it may be on there." wrong... however what i did see made me get that ugh-damn-no-not again-don't remind me- moment..... in other words while i was flipping through on-demand searching for big love, i saw the trailer for the movie "freedom writers." *sigh* (with hands on my cheeks like mccauley culkin in home alone) nooooooooooooooooooooo!
if i see ONE more movie like this, i'm jumping off mount rushmore. seriously though... the premise of these types of movies are always the same:
[while reading this, please have "gangsta's paradise" playing in your mind]
1. black/latino teens
2. inner city school
3. violent/troubled/bad ass kids
4. single parents
5. one of the highschoolers gets pregnant [possibly by the basketball star]
6. lots of name brand clothing
7. teacher tries to reason with belligerent parents
8. failing grades
9. classrooms with lots of graffiti on the walls (i have never seen this in real life)
10. the smart kid who is peer pressured into acting out
11. the teacher who just wants to make a difference.
12. one of the kids in the classroom is affiliated with a gang and/or sells drugs - but he's really smart
13. one of the kids has a hidden talent like singing, reciting shakespeare, or art
14. the first day of school when the teacher walks in, the students ignore him/her in the most creative ways [sitting on desks rapping to music on a huge boom box, freestyling in the classroom, fighting, etc..]

does this sound at all familiar to you? of course! we've seen all the movies, they've given us hot artists like coolio, new actors like lauryn hill (i love her, no love lost), and made us realize that yes - a white man or woman can come into the school and change our lives despite all the threats to their lives and damage to their cars. lol. yes - we inner city kids can really understand the transcendence of racial boundaries and stereotypes when it comes in the name of order! however, really, what's the deal with these types of movies? where there is a school full of unruly minority kids with extreme cases of outstanding odds against them, it only takes one type of person who can always - i mean always step in and save their futures. the only movie i've seen that would oppose this is the one with JOE CLARK... i mean, batman. [don't we all know at least one joe clark?]

i realize there are several instances where many of the themes i listed above actually do exist, but for the sake of movies, the irony/plot becomes a little too extreme. it almost makes us look like uncivilized citizens.

we've seen these characteristics in "dangerous minds", "the principal", "freedom writers", "take the lead".... *sigh* where do i end. anyway, for the record, i give a big big set of props to anyone who takes on the education system. if anybody can make a difference in dc schools or any school period, i give you props. education - it's a courageous task that does not receive enough recognition, my parents were teachers; i have nothing but utmost #1 respect - but i'm sorry, these movies have got to go. i thought i was pissed when i saw college hill aired on bet, damn - and that's college.

my ranting is over.....i have a father's day card to make..... i have attached my latest photos from the botanical gardens with the nikon d40 (just for you bygbaby!). tomorrow, i'll post pics from around dc.
peace.