I understand their wanting to distance themselves from this movie, but it has been unleashed now. Too late for regrets and concerns from those involved. I will remember the three stars harshly, though...Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Holly Hunter. I believe this kind of movie will cause even more harm to public education and public school teachers.
Crew Member of “Won’t Back Down” Speaks
Hi, um, I had the… good fortune of working on this film that, at its heart, is fiction. Notice the careful phrase “based on real events” rather than “a true story.” It is a STORY that is being hijacked by political people to support a cause that many of us, now that we are watching this disgusting spectacle unfold, are conflicted about the film. We are in the business of telling stories, human stories about relationships that have an emotional effect on audiences. We are certainly not told, from the beginning, that our work will be used to support a position we oppose… in the end, honestly, we are just grateful to have a job in a HIGHLY competitive market.
I will ask you to please understand that the actors, crew, and other hard working people that worked to tell this story were not engaging is supporting an agenda. We are just paying bills like everyone else. Once involved, we are also committed to the film’s success (read ticket sales and marketability).
What is needed is more voices rising up and disrupting these carefully staged events – voices which support the position that public education is a cornerstone… a vital foundation upon which democracy is built. To surrender it to corporate greed and financial motivations is to decimate the future of this country, the equality of its citizens, mobility between classes, and our very freedom.
Make noise, be heard, make sure that this debate does not go the way of health care reform that gave us no single payer system but, instead, a gift to insurance companies.
Yeah, well, I and others have been raising our voices a lot to be heard, but so far very little progress. We are just bloggers and teachers, retired and otherwise, and the opposition is very wealthy and powerful.
The Parent Trigger push is NOT a grassroots movement. These are charter school companies manipulating parents into forming a revolution. It's happened before, you know, as in the Town Hall "rallies" during the health care reform activity. You can thank Rick Scott for that. It's a dangerous movement.
So dear Crew Member of Won't Back Down...thanks for the regretting, but the movie is still being released. Many fear it will cause parents to rise up unfairly against schools in a way that will accomplish nothing but chaos.