While the documentary Catfish might be getting the most attention right now, the documentary Waiting for Superman is out there changing the world, or trying to. Davis Guggenheim (Oscar winning director of An Inconvenient Truth) and the filmmakers have two powerful allies — Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey. Both came together on yesterday’s show, as Oprah enjoys her final year on television.
The people behind Waiting for Superman are not messing around. They are really trying hard to make things happen by supporting the programs that are trying to make public education better here in America.
You can help by going to see the film, especially if you already pledged your support. The Academy can help by nominating the film (deserves it anyway), thus helping to shed light on a broken system.
I was educated very badly in our public school system. In order to ensure your children get a good free education here in America, parents have to be involved. Unless you send your kid to private school, you have to practically go to school with them to make sure they have good teachers, and are doing challenging work. Let me tell you, even from where my own daughter attends school, which is an advanced program within a public school, things are fairly dire.
It’s impossible to predict how the doc branch will vote. It’s always a depressing scene. I feel sure that at least two docs won’t be ignored: Inside Job and Waiting for Superman. The others? Restrepo, Countdown to Zero? Exit Through the Gift Shop? Well, usually the more popular they are, the less of a chance they have to be nominated. The film has to be good on its own because I have a feeling that the doc branch really does do their job. They sit down and they watch the movies – because they have to. They can’t vote unless they do. So, regardless of the film’s popularity, it also has to be the kind of movie that works with no publicity, no celebrity endorsements, etc. Although I’m guessing great box office never hurts any movie (March of the Penguins).