.COM
The argument that America's public schools are becoming overly authoritarian due to increasingly strict "zero tolerance" policies makes for a fascinating documentary topic. However it's difficult for director Cevin Soling to prove conclusively that zero tolerance is a bad thing for schools in his non-fiction feature, The War on Kids. Without Soling playing the oncamera role of a Michael Moore-like narrator to guide audiences through the complicated safe schools debate or spectacular photography to boost the many face-the-camera interviews, War on Kids fails to ignite much passion or controversy. Spectacle Films, which plans a limited platform release of War on Kids beginning Friday in New York, will find a modest audience of documentary fans interested in the subject. Without much-needed critical praise and enthusiastic word of mouth, War on Kids will fail to attract crossover audiences or a substantial screen count in the highly competitive specialty film market.
Talking heads throughout War on Kids include Henry Giroux, author of Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture's War on Children ; Mike A. Males, author of Scapegoat Generation ; Judith Browne, Associate Director of The Advancement Project and Dan Losen from The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. Giroux provides the liveliest interview with bold examples of the excessive uses of zero tolerance policies. The most insightful comments come from Losen, who talks about how young students have no rights when it comes to disciplinary action.
The problem is that Losen and the other interviewees represent only one side of the zero tolerance debate. They argue that today's schools are becoming prisons and schoolchildren are losing their democratic freedom. Yet even Michael Moore allows people of varying opinions a place in his films. Without a variety of viewpoints discussing the need for classroom safety for teachers and students War on Kids becomes one-sided and less persuasive.
Editor Jeremy Carr keeps the multiple interviews as well and archival educational footage coherent and fast moving. Music by various artists including The Chumps, Tommy Gardner and Laura Mayer with Scott Grinthal brings the film some much-appreciated zip.
War on Kids begins energetically with great opening graphics and lively music but Soling, whose previous documentaries include The War on the War On Drugs and A Hole in the Head, fails to maintain the momentum. Despite a series of outrageous news stories, including one about a young girl getting in trouble because she brought a Tweety Bird keychain to school, Soling never builds a strong argument involving the shocking fact that 97% of zero tolerance cases involve no guns or weapons.
Key questions involving problems facing public schools remain unanswered by the film's conclusion. How important is the high percentage of public school children living in poverty? Is school funding sufficient? Soling never provides answers. Instead, he introduces the additional topic of ADD (attention deficit disorder) and the over-medication of today's children.
To his credit, Soling does save his most powerful image for the film's closing minutes—a teary-eyed young girl being placed in handcuffs at her school. It's a powerful scene, easily the best in the film. Unfortunately it's too little and too late to help Soling connect with audiences.
Distributor:
Spectacle Films
Director:
Cevin Soling
Producers:
Cevin D. Soling, Jeremy Carr and Dawn Fidrick
Rating:
Unrated
Running time:
95 min.
Release Date:
November 18 NY
Lawrence_B on 11 May 2010
I wmarket."
"Key questions involving problems facing public schools remain unanswered by the film's conclusion. How important is the high percentage of public school children living in poverty? Is school funding sufficient? Soling never provides answers."
Lawrence_B on 11 May 2010
"Without much-needed critical praise and enthusiastic word of mouth, War on Kids will fail to attract crossover audiences or a substantial screen count in the highly competitive specialty film market."
- The film received high praise from the NY Times, Variety, and the Huffington Post among others. You would think he would do his homework before making a statement that the film did not receive critical praise(!)
"Key questions involving problems facing public schools remain unanswered by the film's conclusion. How important is the high percentage of public school children living in poverty? Is school funding sufficient? Soling never provides answers."
- The film's argument is that poverty and funding are irrelevant. A prison is a prison. Maybe better funding can enable a prison to have nicer silverware, but thost elements are irrelevant. This criticism is illconceived and would be like me complaining that Ramos never mentions what color pants he was wearing when he wrote this review. The film addresses these questions by stating they are irrelevant.
"it's difficult for director Cevin Soling to prove conclusively that zero tolerance is a bad thing for schools."
- Really? What film were you watching? I guess when the cops had guns pointed to the heads of dozens of students that wasn't sufficient evidence that things had gotten out of hand? Are you a fascist? Seriously... I really hope you don't have kids or come into contact with any. I certainly would not let you near mine with that kind of attitude. Yikes!