A Public Service Announcement! ;)

A Public Service Announcement! ;)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Waiting for Superman Film to Debut Soon

The makers of the documentary film Waiting for Superman sure know how to use a comics reference (or are they channeling Nietzche?).

It's already getting some big press, and teachers are responding. Here's an editorial by Dan Brown, a teacher at one of the schools profiled in the film, for example (thanks, MH!). Here's a review from EW.Com. Here's a review from Politics Daily. It reveals the inspiration behind the film's title:

The Superman in the title comes from a quote early in the film by Geoffrey Canada, founder of Harlem Children's Zone, who remembers his disappointment as a child and comic book fan to learn that there is no superhero in our culture that can fly into a crisis and set injustice right. But Mr. Canada proves there are still heroes. The engaging, charismatic teacher's vision to end the cycle of poverty serves 17,000 New York City children in Harlem's 100-block area.

Sorry, Friedrich.

Looks like 2010 is going to be an interesting year in education. And how very,very interesting to see a comics mythos thrown into the mix. Will this bode well for comics-and-literacy advocates or foster some sort of backlash? Or will the Superman reference go noted but largely unexplored?

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