The Ron Clark Story

I speak directly to all the "Friends" fan reading this blog. Ever imagined Chandler Bing wearing a cap and rapping about the names of the Presidents of United States? Would be the funniest Chandler has ever been, right? Then you should DEFINITELY watch "The Ron Clark Story."

First off, it is NOT a comedy movie, as you might have thought after reading the first paragraph. It has a serious, yet a very consistently sweet tone to it. Matthew Perry has made us laugh out loud in Friends and made us go 'Aww' in this film. And with excellent acting, I might add.





THE REAL LIFE RON CLARK


Based on true life experiences, it is the story of a white teacher who voluntarily chose to teach a class of rogue students in a school for minorities. To those of you who cannot picture rogue students, imagine a class where children sit on desks, chew gum during class, talk to each other and the teacher with utmost rudeness, do not even bother to face the teacher in the class, and keep throwing books off the desk onto the floor. This is what Mr. Clark had to deal with.

Why did he choose such a class when he had a multitude of options? The answer, perhaps, is because Mr Clark, a true teacher, knew that rudeness in students is a defense mechanism. Even the toughest of students assume a repulsive exterior only to hide the frustrations of their daily life. Ron Clark knew that he could find their hidden innocence and enthuse interest. He believed that his students could work wonders and surprise everyone, even themselves.
Principal Turner: I have an opening in grade 3. If your credentials check out...
Ron Clark: You have an opening right here.
Principal Turner: No. Last year this class went through six different teachers before Christmas.
Ron Clark: Yes. Nobody wants them, and I do. So what's the problem?





The main reason for Clark's success was the fact that he believed in his students. He remained constantly optimistic that his students were very much capable of securing the best grades, despite the fact that the students considered themselves to be failures. He could see the potential of his dear students. All he had to do was create an environment where their self-esteem would increase and they could realise how gifted they were.
Shameika: Everyone thinks we are losers, Mr. Clark.
Clark: No. You are not losers. These rules? They represent everything you have accomplished this year. Discovering new things, believing in each other, believing in yourselves. And I am proud of you. Compared to all that, this test? Pfth!




To do that, he had to be one of them. "We are a family" was his motto. He wanted to convey to his students that they could trust each other and him. He strived to teach his students about respect for themselvesand for others. He became more involved in the lives of his students, to try and understand them. This included meeting their parents, playing dutch swing with them, and of course, the chocolate milkshake challenge! So involved did he become that Mr. Turner even asked him to stop acting like a 12 year old!

What Mr. Clark had to deal with was something people have termed as "occupational hazard". Not only were the students rogue, they received absolutely no encouragement from their families. Why shouldn't they think that they are losers?

Shameika Wallace was a smart little girl who believed that Clark was an intruder in what she saw as her school. She lived at home with her mother, who worked two jobs. She had to take care of her little brothers, so she couldn't do her homework and couldn't be a kid. To cover her feelings about not being able to do anything, she just pretended she didn't want to work. She turned out to be the district topper.





Tayshawn was the worst of all the students Mr. Clark had to teach. He had no father, lived in a foster home, where his foster dad did not care at all about him, and even abused him violently. He had never really built up any social skills, and, as a result, he didn't have any friends. He came together with Mr. Clark and they bonded. There was something about him that let Tayshawn know he really cared, unlike his previous teachers. Tayshawn had failed two grades and was the class bully. But Mr. Clark instilled pride in him and let him know he can succeed.

Badriyah was different than all other students. She liked to read and study. But she came from a patriarchal society, which did not allow her to exploit her talents to the fullest extent. During her new teacher’s visit with her parents, she tries introducing herself to Mr. Clark, but her father shuts her up, saying, “Men are talking.” The fact that she was a nerd also had some role to play. She was constantly teased upon by the other popular stylish girls of her class, and she could not fit in.

Julio was a student who always tried to con his way into getting good grades or getting money, even though he couldn't do math or count. He was one of the troublemakers in Mr. Clark's class - the class clown in the school. But he felt a weird sense of comfort in Mr. Clark's presence. In the presence of Mr. Clark, he had the courage to kick his bad habits and say 'NO' to the bullies who influenced him.




It is said that teachers play a very crucial role in shaping the society. This movie distinguishes between people who are teachers and people who consider teaching as just a job. The latter group of people simply make the students learn the facts, so that they receive good grades. The former group, however, teach more than mere facts. They connect with students and teach them how to face life. They INSPIRE!

A Spoonful of Sugar

I'm a teenager. Seventeen in fact and this review is on Mary Poppins. Before I start though, I would ask you to wonder for a moment, why would I, a girl in my late teens, invest so much time and thought into this extremely childish film?

Well, back to the old adage. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Nor a movie. The childishness of Mary Poppins is skin deep. Trust me. Hidden just behind the facade, is a beautiful story of love, loss and redemption. And today, I'll tell you that story.

Let me start with a little girl called Ginty, who used to live with her father, mother and sisters, Biddy and Moya, in Allora, Australia. Her father was charismatic and loving. He taught Ginty to never stop imagining. Ginty loved him very much and they were the best of friends. He used to work in a bank. A bank which perhaps felt like a cage to him. Life's frustrations gradually pushed him towards alcohol. Time and again this caused him to lose his job and that meant, Ginty and her family had to keep changing their houses. He was gradually demoted from the post of a bank manager to a meager clerk. As expected, it also created a huge rift between her parents. Ginty, being the eldest of her siblings, was the straw which strenuously held them together. Her mother even tried to commit suicide by drowning herself. Fortunately, she survived but was never quite the same again. Alcoholism and disease goes hand in hand and soon after, Ginty's father fell grievously ill. To save the day, came along The Aunt. Ginty's great aunt from her mother's side. She was a very stern, no-nonsense lady who promised to take care of the children and save Ginty's father. No sooner than she arrived, she started putting everything in order, as if, with a touch of magic. She took out an array of strange things from her large carpet bag and put Ginty and Biddy to work immediately. But, at the long last, she couldnt save Ginty's father. He died of influenza leaving the family destitute.

Ginty was the childhood pet name of P L Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, which, we can see, have been deeply affected by her past. The aunt inspired Mary Poppins, the very enemy of sentiment and whimsy. Although the stories talk about Mary Poppins taking care of the two Banks children, the one she really came to save was Mr. Banks. What we can only hope for in reality come true in our imaginations. The aunt fails to save Ginty's father but Mary Poppins does save Mr. Banks!

In the Disney movie based on these books, the portrayal of Mary Poppins is very different. She is stern but sweet, loving, caring and "practically perfect in every way". But more importantly, the Mr Banks we see in the movie is anything but similar to Ginty's father! This leads me on to my second story.

There lived a little boy, about eight years of age, in cold Kansas City, Missouri. His father, Elias, had a local newspaper business. Being a tough businessman, he tried to save a penny wherever he could. So, he used him and his elder brother to deliver the thousands of newspapers twice daily. Winters there, were bitter and cold. The little boys would have to wade through knee high layers of snow. Their father didn't believe in buying new shoes till the old ones had completely worn out. The cold and wet snow seeped through their shoes. After the first round of delivery and school, they would return home frozen and nearly faint from cold. And no sooner than they had completed dinner, it would be time for the evening paper. Elias threatened them with his belt buckle lest they should be late. Yet, the eight year old loved his father beyond words.

The little boy in the above story is none other than the child Walt Disney. He could never reconcile with his father's unbearable cruelty. He was tired of remembering his beloved daddy as someone stony and unloving. Elias was his Mr. Banks. And he had a mustache.

Mr. Banks of the movie is not Ginty's father or Walt's dad, it's a bit of both of them! It was never about the children or their nanny; Mary Poppins existed only to save Mr Banks! We see in the movie how Mr Banks finally succeeds in saying "Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious" and exclaims that Mary Poppins was right! With that one word, Mr Banks' outer covers of a strict disciplinarian falls away magically. He returns jobless yet happy. He mends his children's kite which he had scorned upon earlier. That too with tuppence for string and paper! Tuppence that had caused him to lose his job. No more is the cold and distant father as he takes his children's hands and leads them out in song.
"Let's go fly a kite                    
Up to the highest highs
Up in the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
And send it soaring!"
Finally we see Mrs. Banks attaching her suffragette ribbons as the tail of the kite. She doesn't need an escape from oppression anymore!

Thank you Mary Poppins. I wish I had a nanny like you. And so does my friend Sayak. (Actually he wishes he had Julie Andrews herself for his nanny!)

Well, we all know how Mary Poppins rocked every moment of the movie and of course, she's our hero. But, the one person I'd really like to talk about is, Bert. He is apparently a nobody with no proper job. But he is something that no other character in the film is. He is happy! He does what he likes, when he likes and how he likes. He plays a one man band, paints pictures on the sidewalk and sweeps chimneys. He is not wealthy by any means but he makes the best of everything. Somewhere beneath the layers of materialistic interest and wealth, the aristocrats had lost their happiness. But, not our Bert. He is FREE. Free from social proprieties and obligations. Free enough to realise how frustrated Mr Banks was by the iron bars of the bank. He is the only person who seems to be able to appreciate the integrity of the hardworking father and understand that beneath the strict exterior, Mr Banks was a warm and loving. Mary Poppins could never have saved Mr Banks but for Bert. He made the children love their father again even before Mr Bank mended the kite! Bert compels us, the audience, to sympathize with Mr Banks, to feel weary for his cares and to be joyous when he is finally happy.

Childhood is like soft clay. However much we may credit adolescence to be the forming years of life, childhood is its very foundation. Childhood scars run deep. A child cannot forget loss. Rather the pain piles up and piles up and results in guilt that the child itself had been responsible for its loss. Ginty couldn't forgive herself even when she became P L Travers and Disney couldn't forgive his dad. But, they needed to. They couldn't live happily and in peace till their childhood scars still hurt. So the books and the movie, were attempts to remake the memories through imagination! And, it was all for the redemption of their beloved fathers.

It really wouldn't be fair to end this without talking about the ultimate reason why I watched and loved this movie. JULIE ANDREWS! Those who have watched this movie will know what i mean. She is phenomenal here. She gave Mary Poppins the face that we will always remember, cherish and love. You could think I'm biased as she happens to be my favorite actress. But lo behold! History says that the world was on the same page with me on this. She won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress and the 1964 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance. She and her co-stars also won the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. I could never imagine or believe in a Mary Poppins who is not her. 

What's more, Julie Andrews was expected to play the lead role in the film version of the popular Broadway musical, "My Fair Lady", a role which was the stepping stone in her career at Broadway. But the producer of the film, Jack L. Warner, in an attempt to "sell" the movie, chose Audrey Hepburn, saying that Andrews did not have much experience on the big screen. During her acceptance speech in the Golden Globe awards (which she won against Audrey Hepburn), she thanked Jack L. Warner for giving her the opportunity to participate in Mary Poppins. Sweet revenge it was!

Because this would never have existed without your insistence, perseverance and help. So, thank you Sayak Mitra.

My Favourite Thing

"When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things, And then I don't feel so bad." 
There are only a few things in life which help me and Sohini get going when the going gets tough. "The Sound of Music" happens to top that list. So, our first post is about the one movie that has inspired us since childhood and is sure to captivate us for the rest of our lives. 

I find it needless to comment on the wonderful acting by the cast, especially Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker and Charmian Carr. Nor will I keep on praising the songs which we all so frequently hum. Instead I'll be focussing on the various aspects of the movie that appealed to us.

As many of you, who have seen Oscar ceremony of 2015 would know, "The Sound of Music" celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. I often wonder at this question, what has made such an ordinary film, with no action, no revenge, no 'spice' as such, stick with us for 50 years? After all, Judith Crist, in a biting review in the New York Herald Tribune, dismissed the movie as "icky sticky" and designed for "the five to seven set and their mommies"!
The answer is in the question itself. It is the lack of people hitting each other, or heroes riding impossibly fast bikes, that make it anything but an ordinary film. Its simplicity and honesty makes the movie something people can overwhelmingly relate with. Richard Rodgers, the co-composer of the original Broadway musical, had this to say about his marvellous creation:
"No one is comfortable with an excess of hearts and flowers, but there is no valid reason for hiding honest emotion. This has always been a major element in the theatre, and it's my conviction that anyone who can't, on occasion, be sentimental about children, home or nature is sadly maladjusted." 

The film opens with Maria singing "The hills are alive, With the sound of music." A verse that reflects what I said earlier about "The Sound of Music" getting me through depressing times:
"I go to the hills, When my heart is lonely
I know I will hear, What I've heard before
My heart will be blessed, With the sound of music
And I'll sing once more!" 
After the overture, the screen reads "Salzburg, in the last Golden Days of its Thirties". These few words not only establish the time and setting of the film but also gives us a peek into the future. The Anschluss was near.

When an external force threatens to desecrate all that we hold close to our hearts, it becomes essential that we love and love a lot more than usual. Hard times demand strength and love is the only indefinite source for it.

This movie is about unconditional love. The love of a parent. Something no child should ever be deprived of. Loving is easy because it can't be helped. Revealing that you love is much more difficult as it makes you vulnerable. Allowing yourself to become vulnerable, knowing how much it could hurt, requires great strength. Our beloved Captain was brave and strong. But, the death of his first wife had left him scarred more than any battle ever could. He had built up defences to prevent further bruising of his heart. He ran his home like one of his ships and barred music from his house, lest anything should remind him of his loss.  Maria was the key to unleash Georg Von Trapp's love for his children, hidden under the great sorrow for the loss of his first wife and frustrations of the army. The children, on the other hand, yearned to gain their father's attention, even if it meant putting spiders on their former governess's bed.

Last in the long line of Von-Trapp family governesses is our beloved Maria. She is a spontaneous young woman with a heart overflowing with love.  She is so at one with nature that the hills have become her home and the trees, larks and brook, her friends. Nothing describes her better than her own words, 

Maria: You see, the sky was so blue today,  and everything was so green and fragrant, I had to be a part of it. The Untersberg led me higher like it wanted me to go through the clouds

Reverend Mother: Suppose darkness had come and you were lost? 

Maria: Mother, I could never be lost up there. 
That's my mountain. I was brought up on it. 
It was the mountain that led me to you. 
When I was a child, I would come down and climb a tree and look in your garden. I'd see the sisters at work and hear them sing. 

She has an amazing way of making the best out of everything, be it consoling herself during anxiety by saying "Strength doesn't lie in numbers, Strength doesn't lie in wealth...", or cheering up the children during a thunderstorm by reminding them of their favourite things.

Despite her apparent frivolity, she has her own beliefs and opinions from which she would never budge. She staunchly refuses to answer to a whistle, saying that whistles are for cats and dogs, not for children and definitely not for her. Also, she is not afraid to argue fiercely with the Captain about his children. She has the bravery and courage to stick to what she believes is right. The following dialogues bring out this trait of her character.
Captain von Trapp: Fraulein Maria, did I or did I not say that bedtime is to be strictly observed in this household? 
Maria: Yes, well the children were scared of the thunderstorm and... You did, sir.
Captain von Trapp: And do you or do you not have trouble following these simple instructions?
Maria: Only during thunderstorms, sir.
Also this scene where Maria argues with Georg so firmly that he drops down to his humility and refers to Maria as 'Captain'. Unconsciously of course.
Captain von Trapp: I don't care to hear anything further from you about my children.
Maria: I am not finished yet, Captain!
Captain von Trapp: Oh, yes, you are, Captain!
[pauses, then corrects himself] 
Captain von Trapp: Fraulein!
Needless to say, this was one of Julie Andrews' best performances in the movie. 

Despite her spontaneity, Maria is not disrespectful and defends the individualities of others.
Max: He's got to at least *pretend* to work with these people. You must convince him. 

Maria: I can't ask him to be less than (what) he is. 

But the best scene of the movie, is the conversation between Captain Georg Von Trapp and Herr Zeller after the ball dance.
Herr Zeller: Perhaps those who would warn you that the Anschluss is coming - and it is coming, Captain - perhaps they would get further with you by setting their words to music. 
Captain von Trapp: If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section.
Herr Zeller: You flatter me, Captain.
Captain von Trapp: Oh, how clumsy of me - I meant to accuse you. 

This brings me to the next and the core aspect of the film. Patriotism.

Patriotism, as Georg Von Trapp puts it, is "a love we all share."  Rolf aptly described Georg when he called him "so Austrian". Georg identifies himself with his motherland. Each missile that hit Austria was a bullet to the Captain's heart. Georg refused to fight for the Germans with the same bravery that he had fought with for his motherland. A true patriot, Captain Von Trapp is a brave brave man.

Max: You know I have no political convictions. Can I help it if other people do?
Captain von Trapp: Oh yes, you can help it. You must help it. 
And I'm sure "Edelweiss" is one of the most heartrending songs about the beauty of patriotism. 

The film also subtly touches the very confusing time in an individual's life- adolescence. I really liked the fact that Liesl was treated as a separate individual who had her own life to live and own struggles to endure, just like every teenager struggling for their identity. 
Leisl was a teenager with no one to guide her through this tough phase of life. Her own mother had passed away and her father was too busy disciplining her. In a way, that made her tough and hence, she said, "I am sixteen and I don't need a governess." Also, when the Captain announced that he would be leaving for Vienna the next morning, she could not care less, even though her siblings reacted quite loudly.
But then came Maria, who did not tell on her the night she sneaked into Maria's room through a window. She even protected her when her father asked where she had gone after dinner. Leisl realised that she had finally found a friend- someone she could trust with her teenage burdens, and someone who could give her advises like this- 
Leisl: Mother, what to do when you think you love someone? I mean, when you stop loving someone? Or he stops loving you?
Maria: Well, you cry a little, and wait for the sun to come up. It always does!
Leisl: There are so many things I think I should know, but I don't! I really don't!

Perhaps the greatest aspect of this film lies in the title itself. It is a wonderful potrayal of music as a binding force and as a weapon. It was music which ultimately led Georg Von Trapp to love his children, and it was music which incited the audience of the auditorium against German rule in Austria during the escape of the family. Maria and Georg fell in love through music. Maria brought music back into the house and with the sound of music, the Von Trapp family was redeemed.

In short, "The Sound of Music" is a film that touches our hearts everyday. Watch it, if only for a lesson in music ("Do Re Mi"), or the marvellous depiction of Austria's scenery. 

Written by Sayak Mitra, with loads and loads of help from Sohini Marik.