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Essay / It can be difficult to change things, as shown in the film Lean on Me by John G. Avildsen
IntroductionWhen the status quo is saturated with discouragement and mediocrity and festers with ineffectiveness and putrid failure , accepting it seems to be the most comforting default reaction. Nevertheless, Mr. Joe Clarke, in the 1989 film "Lean on Me", demonstrates that challenging the status quo can be tedious, controversial and bitter, but that results, when they come, blossom with gentle fruit of everyone’s commitment and determination. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay The film features many colorful actors, but the main ones are Mr. Joe Clarke, the controversial teacher around whom the film is centered, Ms. Lavias, the vice principal, Mayor Don Bottman, threatened by the state to take control of the schools and who fails the basic skills test, Keneesha Carter, a student whom the author singled out in creating a view that delves deeper into his life, giving the audience insight into the personal struggles a typical EHS student faces. There's also Leonna Barrett, a mother who isn't happy about her son's expulsion and who in turn blackmails the mayor in order to gain the distinction of voting Mr. Clark out of office. Lean On Me ReviewThe movie "Lean on Me" is a film based on a true story that begins with a transitional sequence at a well-run urban high school in 1967 called Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey. At this school, there was a teacher named Joe Clark who was very passionate about teaching. His unconventional methods made learning more enjoyable. However, the other teachers didn't really like his methods. He was found to have alienated his manager, leading to his transfer. It fast forward 20 years later, with Clark more or less teaching at a good school in a seemingly nice neighborhood. Next, we get an updated look at Eastside High, which has become the most deeply troubled high school in the majority-minority city, where violence, drug dealing and bullying are facts of life and where few or no learning takes place. The film continues with Mr. Clark assuming his position as manager ignores the staff's jokes and begins giving orders in a semi-military manner. He demands a list of drug dealers and habitual troublemakers among the students and kicks them all out. To boost morale, he insists that every child learn the school song. One of the expelled students pleads with Mr. Clark to give him another chance and after giving him a brutal "pep talk", another chance is granted. At a parents' meeting, he clashes with Leonna Barrett over the expulsion of so many students, who in turn launches a campaign for the dismissal of his leadership. Mr. Clark implemented an open door policy so students could visit and discuss hardships encountered at school or even at home privately. He then becomes understanding and helpful and visits the parents to offer them useful solutions to help them. Drug dealers continue to break into schools and are let in by their clients, so in an effort to curb this, Mr. Clark responds by chaining the school doors while classes are in session. He receives information that his measure was being reviewed by the fire chief fueled by Mrs. Barrett, but is ultimately stopped and arrested. A school board meeting is called to fire Mr. Clark for violating student safety rules. However, the school bodyorganizes a rally in front of city hall shouting “Free Mr. Clark!” » The mayor visits him in prison and asks him to tell the students to leave. Mrs. Barrett tries to address the students by telling them that they will have a better principal. The students shout her down, declaring that they don't want another principal but Mr. Clark. Ms. Lavias shows up with test results indicating that the Eastside High students passed with flying colors, leading the confrontation to turn into rejoicing, resulting in the court case being dropped. his position retained at school. The film develops several deep and insightful themes, one that stands out is that of leadership. We see this throughout the film, but it is prominent in scenes such as when the entire school body had gathered in one place and he gave the school body an order; teachers and students. At this point, a teacher ignores the directive and acts the opposite. Mr Clarke saw this as an act that could undermine his authority and so he reprimanded the teacher by sending him out of the room and into his office. Another instance in which the theme of leadership was displayed is when he proceeds to chain the doors to keep the students inside the school. This is obviously an unorthodox decision as it defies fire safety codes and has sparked an outcry, but he took this bold and drastic step because he felt it was necessary to achieve the goal that he had set his sights on school. The intended audience for this film would be anyone facing an insurmountable challenge that, from the outside, seems daunting and impossible. This audience would be made up only of humans, challenges are an inextricable part of the life we live. We all come away from the film with a new and invigorated attitude towards watching and approaching our challenges, whether professional, personal or otherwise. The author of the story behind this film adopts a didactic and demonstrative tone. It aims to teach its audience the importance of remaining firm on one's goals and beliefs despite resistance and adversity and that one's vision is not popular. He demonstrates this throughout the film, first showing the challenges Mr. Clarke faced; the dismal state of deterioration the school had fallen into, the drastic path he had to take in trying to turn it around and towards the end of the film, the end results of his efforts. The film succeeds in developing this moral, not least because it presents a stark contrast between the state of the school when Mr. Clarke arrives and the drastic turnaround the school has undergone at the end of the film. The viewer is impressed by this transformation as they are shown a vivid example of the extent to which your efforts and attitude towards your challenges can achieve the seemingly impossible. The screenwriter uses several varieties of English in this film. This also contributes to the film being realistic – able to be seen alongside our daily lives. Two of these are the use of dialect, such as when Mr. Clark remarks, "That's all I'm going to say" during a meeting with parents. There is also the use of profanity – words deemed morally inappropriate. This is what we hear when Mr. Clarke addresses a student and says, "If you want to kill yourself, don't mess around..." A number of literary devices are also used in the film. When Mr. Clarke says in his speech "one bad apple spoils everyone" to justify his decision to expel a number of seriously deviant students, this is a metaphor used. He used this device to make parents understand that he was bringing a change to the school so that students.