To Sir , with Love : Movie Analysis

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To Sir With Love | Group interactions and stages | ‘To Sir With Love’ is one of the better coming of age “high school “ movies I have seen. That fact is largely attributed to the fact that the movie centers not around the high-schoolers, but their mentor and teacher. Mr Thackery, or Sir as he insists on being called—instills in these students a sense of respect. They are living in a changing world, but he grounds them by showing them how despite the fact that there are new and exciting things approaching, that they are in a cycle of repeating trends and fads. He also helps them to come to terms with the fact that while they may be big shots on campus , that they will soon be entering the “real world” and lack basic survival skills and etiquette to get by in life outside of school. This movie works well when discussing group evolution and dynamics as the group of problematic high school students functions as a close knit group with the same general problems-mirroring many traditional social work groups. And where as previous teachers had given up on these children, Sir comes in with a fresh approach, and guides them instead of telling them what to do. The groups issue I see most in this film is that of cultural diversity, I think this is most obvious to the viewer because of the time when the movie was made. The movie came out in 1967, as a viewer educated with a focus on American history , we know that issues of the time include race riots, Jim Crow, and equal rights movement. Going in associating this time and era with such racial tension, makes me more aware of cultural diversities in the film. Sir is a black man, teaching predominately white students. And while he is teaching in England, where there is less racial tension at the time—the issue of diversity is still present. This starts with Sir’s first day on the job with a snide remark from his

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