“…the most blatant stereotypes and caricatures I have ever seen…”
“I don’t recognize the teachers portrayed in this movie…”
“Unfortunately, this film depicts a story that is more about good vs. evil than about the truth behind public schools today and the movement to privatize them.”
These and similar reactions have been prompted by a new film that decries the heartlessness of the public education system and champions the teachers and parents who take action to do right by the children.
I’m speaking, of course, of…. Here Comes the Boom, a soon-to-be-released movie starring Kevin James as a “high school biology teacher who looks to become a successful mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to prevent extra-curricular activities from being axed at his cash-strapped school.”
The film is the work of a production company created by a registered Republican and financed by a huge corporate conglomerate. It suggests that teachers can solve a school’s financial problems and “inspire students” simply by becoming a cage fighter. This ignores the realities of poverty, homelessness and the utter lack of teachers who look like Salma Hayek.
Left unchallenged, we could see a wave of young teachers becoming pugilists, street fighters and wrestlers. Do you want someone like this teaching your children?
I’m calling on teachers’ unions across the nation to put together a communications strategy to combat this propaganda, and set up informational pickets outside theaters that show it. Let’s give Here Comes the Boom a solid knee to the groin… for the children.
