Dead Poets and Wonder Boys Teaching Writing in the Movies

Dead Poets and Wonder Boys

Teaching Writing in the Movies

Joseph Harris

Duke University

Teaching Writing in the Movies

The Familiar View

The Heroic ViewDead PoetsWonder Boys

The Problem with the Teacher as Hero

An Alternate Approach

Teaching Comp:The Familiar View (1)

“I’ll be doggone.” Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller settles the bet in Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Teaching Comp:The Familiar View (2)

Susan Sarandon as the ditzy Annie Savoy in Bull Durham (1988).

Teaching Comp:The Familiar View (3)

Burt Reynolds as the inept Phil Potter in Starting Over (1979)

Teaching Comp:The Familiar View

Plodders

Dilettantes

Novices

Teaching Writing:The Heroic View (1)

Robin Williams inspires as John Keating in Dead Poets Society (1989)

The Dead Poet as Teacher

What sort of teacher is John Keating?

What does Keating do in this class/scene?

What do the students do?

Teaching Writing:The Heroic View (2)

Hillary Swank fights on as Erin Gruwell in Freedom Writers (2006)

Updating the Dead Poet

In what ways does Erin Gruwell teach like John Keating?

How does her pedagogy differ from Keating’s?

The Dead Poet as Teacher

Performs

Inspires

Exhorts

Lectures

Directs

Assigns

Oth

er D

ead Po

ets

Katherine Anne Watson (Julia Roberts) in Mona Lisa Smile, 2002

Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) in Mr Holland’s Opus, 1995

Lou Anne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer) in Dangerous Minds, 1995

Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) in Stand and Deliver, 1988

Sylvia Barrett (Sandy Dennis) in Up the Down Staircase, 1967

Teaching Writing:The Heroic View (3)

Michael Douglas as the burned-out Professor Grady Tripp in Wonder Boys (2000).

The Wonder Boy as Teacher

Describe Grady Tripp as a teacher

What works in this class?

What doesn’t?

Oth

er W

onder B

oys

Hector (Richard Griffiths) in The History Boys, 2006

William Forrester (Sean Connery) in Finding Forrester, 2000

Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) in Educating Rita, 1983

Some Differences

Dead Poets

Female and Male

Invested

Energetic

Public schools

Plot moves downward

Wonder Boys

Male

Disaffected

Blocked

Private schools

Plot moves upward

The Writing Teacher as Romantic Hero

Charismatic

Empathetic

Flirtatious

Rebellious

Talented

The Critique of the Heroic Writing Teacher

Performer

Seducer

Cheerleader

Anti-intellectual

Three Views of Teaching Writing

Familiar Heroic Critical

Mundane Performative Intellectual

Para-professional

Erotic Disciplined

The Problem

Who is the hero of the critical approach?

How can we build upon (rather than simply endorse or resist) the images of teaching writing offered in the movies?

An Alternate Approach

A shift in focus from

the image of the teacher

to

the work of teaching and learning writing

Teaching Writing in the Movies

Students writeWe see or hear the texts students create

Teachers respondTeachers are coaches as well as cheerleaders

Students reviseWe see learning occur

Representing the Work of Teaching (1)

Michael Caine responds and Julie Walters revises in Educating Rita (1983)

Thinking about the Work of Teaching

What does Frank demand from Rita?

How does she respond?

How would you describe their relationship?

Representing the Work of Teaching (2)

Hector (Richard Griffiths), Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore), and Lintott (Frances de la Tour) in The History Boys, 2006

Thinking about the Work of TeachingWhat options do Hector, Irwin, and Lintott pose for their students as writers?

Representing the Work of Teaching (3)

Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery, 1990

Thinking about the Work of Teaching

What does Annie teach Paul about writing that he didn’t know before?

Representing the Work of Teaching (4)

John Keating responds to student writing

Thinking about the Work of Teaching

What work does Keating do here as a teacher?

What does Todd learn about writing?

What opportunities for learning are missed?

How might we out-Keating Keating?

Continuing the Conversation

Check out my courseEnglish 173: Images of Teaching and Learning

In Fiction and Film, Duke University, Spring 2007

Email me [email protected]

Films D

iscusse

d Gilbert, Lewis (dir.). Educating Rita. Columbia,

1983. Hanson, Curtis (dir.). Wonder Boys.

Paramount, 2000.

Hyner, Nicholas (dir.). The History Boys. Fox, 2006.

Lagravenese, Richard (dir.). Freedom Writers. Paramount, 2007.

Pakula, Alan J (dir.). Starting Over. Paramount, 1979.

Reiner, Rob (dir.). Misery. Castlerock, 1990.

Shelton, Ron (dir.). Bull Durham. MGM, 1988.

Spielberg, Steven (dir.). Saving Private Ryan. Dreamworks, 1998.

Weir, Peter (dir.) Dead Poets Society. Touchstone, 1989.