Review of Waiting for "Superman" (2010) by Jeffrey L — 29 Apr 2011

As educational systems and the need for better teaching has been consistent in the United States from the beginning of time, the subject of a how a childâ(TM)s schooling experience affects his or her future and current civilization in the country is a subject worth pondering constantly. Waiting for Superman is an observant documentary shedding light on school systems (centering on poor, undesirable areas) and the daunting task many underprivileged kids and their parents are forced to face daily. Needless to say, oneâ(TM)s opinions may alter on many levels after an initial view of this.

Davis Guggenheim (who previously directed An Inconvenient Truth and many television episodes) takes on surely his biggest film challenge to date here and wastes no time informing us on how rugged so many American school systems remain today. Particularly near Washington DC, our nationâ(TM)s capitol of all places! By conducting interviews (mainly of children and their parents currently in underprivileged school districts) and evidently attempting to discover why so many people have it so rough, many beliefs are presented pointing fingers at different scapegoats. Whether it be lack of funding, poor class instructors, lack of motivation or studentsâ(TM) personal problems spreading to others like a chain, these barriers add up so high that hope of going anywhere seems doubtful.

Though the film generally is hard to take with pathos taking over almost immediately and lasting straight through, it certainly has a great deal to say about hard times in our society. As ghetto areas and rundown school buildings are filmed in the most unappealing ways possible, those who didnâ(TM)t have an idea of how unpleasant some places in the world are will get a huge eye opener in no time. Interview footage of victims affected by this travesty adds credibility to this dark yet applicable topic.