newton as roger ebert

Three of our crew–Leah, Cole, and Andrew–need credit for EIU 4170G (History on Film, 3 c.h.). Partially to accommodate them, and partially because it is the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, I asked everyone to view Amazing Grace (about William Wilberforce and the attempt to end the slave trade from the 1780s onwards). (If you weren’t able to view it, Harlaxton has it on order and it may be on DVD in the UK by the time we arrive.)

I just viewed The History Boys (2006) and, if you are able to do so, please view this film this week. (It was in London as a play last year, but even Keanu Reeves' people couldn't get that intellectual a seat, so what chance was there for me?) It is about some grammar school boys in the early 1980s who have passed their A-levels with flying colors and are pegged to apply to Oxford and Cambridge. It is their 7th term, since abolished in favor of a more “secondary modern” style of education which is not unlike the U.S. high schools. The term-long period of swotting (studying hard, cramming) for the exams was focused almost entirely on the field they want to go into (in this case, history). Not only are there a number of references to Oxbridge (combined term for both prestigious universities) and the college system within the universities (and some beautiful footage of both towards the end shot at these locations), but the grammar school system was also traditionally a way of bringing working class and lower middle class children (often boys) up to a level competitive with students of an upper class background who had gone to the elite “public” (prestigious private) schools. So a bit of class, a bit of discussion of what history is, a bit of preparation for Cambridge, even a bit of English history: what’s not to like? I should warn you: the "boys" in the movie are healthy 18-year old men, so the subject and language of sex does arise (this is not your grandmother’s Masterpiece Theater). But for our class on class, our study of the British in Britain, this is highly recommended (even the extra features are recommended).

I will arrange a showing of one film a week in the evening @ Harlaxton, from the following (all are in the Harlaxton library):

• Pride & Prejudice (2005 version, which used Chatsworth House as Pemberley, see locations)
• Amazing Grace (2006) [on order]
• The Shooting Party (1985) or Chariots of Fire (1981)
• Gosford Park (2001) or The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
• Scandal (1989) or Billy Elliot (2000)
  

All of these are about some period/issue in British history and all have at least a sub-theme of social class interrelations (brief synopses of these and other films on British history are available at a Modern Britain Film List webpage). I will ask the students above in particular, and all in general, to see at least two of these films, including Amazing Grace or The History Boys (you may view them before arriving at Harlaxton if you wish, of course), and to comment on same in your journals (something related to class relations, of course, and “It’s a good film about class” will not do).