Date of Award

12-1-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Alexa Dare

Abstract

This paper provides an insight into the ways that teachers are portrayed in films, impacting the way audiences view progressive education, versus current traditional education. The individual qualities and characteristics associated with teachers have been constructed through social practices, traditional hegemonic beliefs and maintained and reinforced through the media. The study examined the cultural significance of the representation of teachers in three film artifacts, Dead Poets Society (1989), Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) and Freedom Writers (2007). Using Stuart Hall’s (1970) cultural studies, they were analyzed to determine how the meanings of dialogue are culturally constructed. The results of the dialogical analysis of all three films determined the portrayal of teachers in contemporary media to be that of a sacrificial martyr and villain. Secondly the study analyzed the role of cognitive dissonance within a classroom and how it is portrayed in films today. Despite technological progression, our educational system is functioning within limited parameters and outdated ideologies, reinforced by the media.

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