Today the blackboard jungles main claim to fame is that its soundtrack incorporated bill haley and the comets rock around the clock, the first time a rock n. This should be required viewing in all education programs. This gritty, unflinching film centers on richard dadier, a war vet who gets a job teaching in a tough. Blackboard jungle and juvenile delinquency in the 1950s. Blackboard jungle film analysis paper blackboard jungle film analysis paper the film blackboard jungle is about raceethnicity, urbanity, and the socalled growing rejection of middleclass values at the hands of teenagers.
Blackboard jungle, the dvd glenn ford and sidney poitier star in a gritty urban drama about a highschool teacher who will not allow himself to be defeated by his toughinner city students. World war ii veteran richard dadier glenn ford takes a teaching position at a rough new york city school for boys. This is the movie where sydney poitier gained stardom. We hear today that americas future is its children. It is remembered for its innovative use of rock and roll in its soundtrack and for the unusual breakout role of a black cast member, future oscar winner and star sidney poitier as a rebellious, yet musically talented student. For all its advertising and reputation as a picture of moral depravity, blackboard jungle is mostly just preachy. Selected moments of the 20th century daniel schugurensky. Responses to juvenile crime see attached pdf to explore the composition, causes, and responses to 1950s juvenile. Blackboard jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an interracial innercity school, based on the novel the blackboard jungle by evan hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by richard brooks.
The blackboard jungle is the prototypical example of a film or any work of art that survives not for its art but for its historical import. It also shows what a dangerous job being an inner city teacher can be. Do you condemn the board of education for not making the exams stiffer, for not. Jun, 2017 the experience provided the inspiration for his debut novel, the blackboard jungle 1954, which was published under his new legal name and adapted into an academy awardnominated film starring glenn ford and sidney poitier. James drury the virginian in blackboard jungle 1955 duration. This groundbreaking classic film shocked viewers by exposing the realityof americas schools and by featuring then. This was evident and proven to be correct because when dadier finally realized that it wasnt miller that was causing him stress and that it was wes, and when miller realized that the real racist was wes and not dadier, the two were then able to oppose wes, thus, making their bond stronger. Blackboard jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an interracial innercity school, based on the novel the blackboard jungle by evan hunte. The absurdity of blackboard jungle was taken to its logical conclusion in the 1980s ripoff class of 1984, where teacher roddy mcdowell lectured his delinquent pupils about the miracle of science at gunpoint. Evan hunters blackboard jungle, which tells a vicious and terrifying tale of rampant hoodlumism and criminality among the students in a large city vocational training school, was sensational and. Yes, there are some well constructed and acted scenes, such as when the class views a cartoon of jack and the beanstalk, and opine on it philosophically, thereby furthering wests loss of control over. Caterdavis his 111 november 10, 2016 blackboard jungle film analysis in the film blackboard jungle, and jason barnosky s article on, the violent years. A work in progress edited by daniel schugurensky department of adult education and counselling psychology, the ontario institute for studies in education of the university of toronto oiseut 1955 the blackboard jungle, first hollywood movie on school violence.
Responses to juvenile crime see attached pdf to explore the composition, causes, and responses to 1950s juvenile delinquency. In the film blackboard jungle, an inspiring teacher fights to gain the respect from his class of juvenile delinquent boys, a lot of who belong to a gang that is mostly led by a white boy, and one of the students, artie west. Ford tries hard, but is easily upstaged by the fiery, scenestealing poitier. Originating the genre of dedicated teacher reaches troubled kids in a ghetto school, this is. The british board of film censors bbfc, which had banned both the wild one and blackboard jungle, ordered cuts in rebel without a cause and limited its exhibition to those over 15 years old simmons 1995. Tell the world what you think about blackboard jungle. Sidney poitier steals the show in the blackboard jungle and makes it a. Read the full synopsis of blackboard jungle, 1955, directed by richard brooks, with glenn ford, anne francis, louis calhern, at turner classic movies. Apparently sobut nowadays it plays out like a pious lecture delivered by middleaged squares. Evan hunters blackboard jungle, which tells a vicious and terrifying tale of rampant hoodlumism and criminality among the students in a large city.
Blackboard jungle, american socialcommentary film, released in 1955, that highlighted violence in urban schools and also helped spark the rockandroll. Blackboard jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an interracial innercity. Blackboard jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an innercity school. The blackboard jungle directed by richard brooks dan schneider any film that stars sidney poitier is going to rise and fall on the basis of his presence. Rock around the clock is the only rock song used in blackboard jungle.
The staff warns him that the students are nearly impossible to control, but the optimistic richard remains unfazed. Warnecke, about the schools discipline problem and is assured that at north manual high, there is no discipline problem. This book is a work of fiction and i chose it because it looked interesting and it gave a glimpse of what high schools were like in the 1950s. Presumably, this promised future includes americas economic future. Rent blackboard jungle 1955 starring glenn ford and anne francis on dvd and bluray. Evan hunters blackboard jungle, which tells a vicious and terrifying tale of rampant hoodlumism and criminality among the students in a large city vocational training school, was sensational. Blackboard jungle film analysis paper my best writer. Dec 08, 2007 a clip from the wonderful movie blackboard jungle. He is one of those classic actors, like a jimmy cagney, spencer tracy, or john wayne, that simply captures the attention of an audience, for good or ill. Juvenile crime, there have been many accusation and reason as to why the juvenile crime rate in the 1950 s were so high.
Blackboard jungle is like the movie that boomers saw when they were kids, and then internalized all the moral panic surrounding it and none of the lessons in the actual film to whip out decades and decades later. Blackboard jungle film analysis paper utilizing the film and barnosky s interpretation of the historical evidence, write a paper in which you use the violent years. The main theme of the novel is the clash between a traditional american idealism which proclaims education the main goal and bulwark of a democratic society and the realities of what was happening in the citys schools after the war. In a sense, blackboard jungle created the movement, others brought the tunes. Blackboard jungle 1955 as famous for its rocking theme song as for its gritty portrait of 1950s juvenile delinquency, blackboard jungle is one of those films, like easy rider 1969 in the next decade, that has come to define its era, at least as seen through the eyes of hollywood. The teenagers in the movie inhabit an unnamed big american city, perhaps in the 1950s. Responses to juvenile crime see attached pdf to explore the composition, causes, and. Blackboard jungle directorscripter richard brooks, working from novel by evan hunter, has fashioned an angry picture that flares out in moral and physical rage at mental slovenliness, be it. These concerns were partially voiced from the increasingly important foreign market. Now, pretty soon, youre gonna be reading in the newspapers want ads for jobs, apartments, something to buy.
This was evident and proven to be correct because when dadier finally realized that it wasnt miller that was causing him stress and that it was wes, and when miller realized that the real racist. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the u. Blackboard jungle film analysis paper the film blackboard jungle is about raceethnicity, urbanity, and the socalled growing rejection of middleclass values at the hands of teenagers. The movie, freedom writers, created in 2007, and directed by richard lagravenese, is an exceptional movie about a class at woodrow wilson high school that was involved in gang violence in the early 90s. Farr who can be spotted among the films delinquents, glenn fords. Official james drury and the virginian tv series channel 4,636 views. Blackboard jungle is a 1955 drama about teaching at an inner city school. Yet despite the fact that hunters novel tackled a range of pressing educational problems, the blackboard jungle, along with the successful film it inspired, has survived in our popular memory.
Rent blackboard jungle 1955 on dvd and bluray netflix. Evan hunters first novel, the blackboard jungle, released in 1954, is the story of richard dadier, a young man who shortly after finishing his time in the military and graduating from college gets his first teaching job at north manuel trades high school. Blackboard jungle meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. It belongs to a period when mainstream movies were no longer all about escapist entertainment and.
The film hit a nerve with its unusually brutal depiction of the social conditions of urban schools, and the music and the theme made the movie hugely popular with teenage audiences. Richard dadier glenn ford is a newly graduated teacher who really wants to inspire children. Blackboard jungle 1955 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. This groundbreaking film, which opens with bill haleys rock around the clock, concludes with switchblades. Very tense in the firsthalf of the movie acting is great. Set decoration includes a cardboard alphabet running across the top of the blackboard something rarely seen past a thirdgrade classroom, let. Their hero is rusty james matt dillon, a young, handsome, doomed gang leader. Blackboard jungle the institutional voice of the film and read diachronically across a selection of teacherprotagonist films from the five decades that follow which again and again warn of the dangers of uncontrolled, or unacculturated, 26 cinema journal 46, no. A new english teacher at a violent, unruly innercity school is determined to do his job, despite resista. A segment of american male teenagers was graphically shown as being dangerous, unruly, disrespectful and otherwise detrimental to society. A year earlier, blackboard jungle shows a student attempt to forcibly unbutton a womans blouse as he drags her away. Dadier, soon finds a connection with one of his black students, miller. Blackboard jungle one of the great transgressive moments in 50s hollywood was bill haleys rock around the clock playing over the opening credits of this blackandwhite melodrama 1955, 101 min. Some cities banned it because of its multiracial content while others did it because of fear that it would spark violence.
This relates to, blackboard jungle, because for dadier and miller to become friends wes, the white delinquent that takes the role of the female in the triangulation, had to be removed. Selected moments of the 20th century arizona state university. The original 50s classic about a decent middle aged school teacher who goes to teach in an unruly high school filled with thugs led by vic morrow. Blackboard jungle meaning in the cambridge english. As richard dadier, a softspoken exserviceman, accepts his first teaching job in a tough new york city high school, he asks his new principal, mr. It is based on the novel of the same name by evan hunter. A new english teacher at a violent, unruly innercity school is determined to do his job, despite resistance from both students and faculty. John wayne talked cryptically about it happening to his niece, in the searchers. Advertising space is expensive so abbreviations are used. Blackboard jungle was a shocking film for its time and several cities banned the movie which only served to contribute to its success. A film like this would not have been made in the 40s but still, the 50s was a new era for film making. Blackboard jungle was based on a popular 1954 novel by evan hunter.
Blackboard jungle, american socialcommentary film, released in 1955, that highlighted violence in urban schools and also helped spark the rockandroll revolution by featuring the hit song rock around the clock 1954 by bill haley and his comets. Cop hater 1956, the first entry in the 87th precinct series, was written under the pen name ed mcbain. A new english teacher at a violent, unruly innercity school is determined to do his. Utilizing the film and barnoskys interpretation of the historical evidence, write a paper in which you use the violent years. This is the original film that has had several unofficial updated remakes over the years. Theyre clones from blackboard jungle and all the punk gang images in dozens of other films. I will be exploring why hayleys song is often cited as being the first rock and roll song and why it captured young peoples attention and imagination all around the world following the song played over the end credits of mgm film blackboard jungle. The blackboard jungle respects teenagers and teachers, and is one of the most honest films i have ever seen, which is all the more impressive considering the era in which it was made. The experience provided the inspiration for his debut novel, the blackboard jungle 1954, which was published under his new legal name and adapted into an academy awardnominated film starring glenn ford and sidney poitier. Today the blackboard jungle s main claim to fame is that its soundtrack incorporated bill haley and the comets rock around the clock, the first time a rock n. Do you condemn the kids for not having been blessed with i. When blackboard jungle was first released, it was no doubt a shocking film. Can you condemn the colleges that give all you need to pass a board of education examination. Reviews analyses cannot be changed once submitted please post carefully.