Coach Carter - 6

During the opening credits of this film I noticed that this film was produced by MTV films. This was interesting as I thought about other films that they have produced (Dead Man on Campus, Varsity Blues, Save the Last Dance, Orange County, The Perfect Score, and The Dorm). MTV films has a knack for making films that promote school, especially higher education as a way to get ahead in life. Learning in these films is a combination of both hard work and fun, and school is the best place for teenagers to be socialized into American culture (I also have an acute eye for this at present because I am currently reading Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids as we study status structures in high schools and colleges). This film in particular promotes the use of athletics to get into college. In most respects this is a typical sports film with a head coach that turns losers into winners. It is based on the true story of Ken Carter who taught his team both to play well and to work hard in school, even having a lock out when the teams GPA was under 2.3. The story is really a challenge to the apathy of school culture, especially as it plays out with the American racial divide, and the learning that is suppose to happen. I don't know if a film can single-handedly change this put this is a stab at it.