“Waiting for Superman” is a provocative look at the United States public education system.
Occasionally, there is a film that from the moment you see the trailer, your heart, mind and soul are engaged. One such film is “Waiting for Superman.” On June 21 and 22, 2010, the Los Angeles Film Festival is hosting two screenings of “Waiting for Superman,” a documentary film from Davis Guggenheim, the director of the film “An Inconvenient Truth.”
“Waiting for Superman” invites us all to examine the difficulties faced by the U.S. public education system. The film illustrates the hope and hopelessness faced by all students by examining the lives of a handful of students and their families caught up in the quagmire. It also portrays the successes achieved by educators and reformers working diligently to find a solution to the decreasing amount of funds and motivated teachers. Mostly, it aims to challenge a lethargic general populace to be outraged and inspired.
Our children are our future. Yet we frequently turn a blind eye towards providing the necessary educational tools and opportunities so that our children are guaranteed the best education possible. We cite the increasing need to use tax dollars in medical care, security, infrastructure, job training, and incarceration of criminals. But one should stop and ask themselves if having a safer world and perfect health will be as vital if one does not have a sufficient education to appreciate and thrive in the world we have provided our youth. It is time to make our public education system a priority and ensure that we have a nation of educated and contributing citizens, opposed to sentencing them to a life of blue collar work simply because they did not get the education our nation promised them.
Attending these special screenings will be Academy Award winning filmmaker, Davis Guggenheim, producer Lesley Chilcott, education reformer and President & CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone Geoffrey Canada, and musician John Legend. The screenings will take place at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 at 1000 West Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles, just across from Nokia Live. Advance tickets are currently sold out, but there will be some tickets available the door for those driven to find out why our children are “Waiting for Superman.”
To find out more about the Los Angeles Film Festival, go to: LAFilmFest.com and for more information about “Waiting for Superman,” go to: www.waitingforsuperman.com
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