Dead Poets and
Wonder Boys
Teaching Writing in the
Movies
Joseph Harris
Duke University
Teaching Writing in the
Movies
 The Familiar View
 The Heroic View
 Dead Poets
 Wonder Boys
 The Problem with the Teacher as Hero
 An Alternate Approach
Teaching Comp:
The Familiar View (1)
“I’ll be doggone.” Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller settles the
bet in Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Teaching Comp:
The Familiar View (2)
Susan Sarandon as the ditzy Annie Savoy in Bull
Durham (1988).
Teaching Comp:
The Familiar View (3)
Burt Reynolds as the inept Phil Potter in Starting Over (1979)
Teaching Comp:
The Familiar View
 Plodders
 Dilettantes
 Novices
Teaching Writing:
The Heroic View (1)
Robin Williams inspires as John Keating in Dead
Poets Society (1989)
The Dead Poet as Teacher
 What sort of teacher is
John Keating?
 What does Keating do in
this class/scene?
 What do the students
do?
Teaching Writing:
The Heroic View (2)
Hillary Swank fights on as Erin Gruwell in Freedom
Writers (2006)
Updating the Dead Poet
 In what ways does Erin
Gruwell teach like John
Keating?
 How does her pedagogy
differ from Keating’s?
The Dead Poet as Teacher
 Performs
 Inspires
 Exhorts
 Lectures
 Directs
 Assigns
 Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss)
in Mr Holland’s Opus, 1995
 Lou Anne Johnson (Michelle
Pfeiffer) in Dangerous Minds, 1995
 Jaime Escalante (Edward James
Olmos) in Stand and Deliver, 1988
 Sylvia Barrett (Sandy Dennis) in Up
the Down Staircase, 1967
Other Dead Poets
 Katherine Anne Watson (Julia
Roberts) in Mona Lisa Smile, 2002
Teaching Writing:
The Heroic View (3)
Michael Douglas as the burned-out Professor Grady Tripp in
Wonder Boys (2000).
The Wonder Boy as Teacher
 Describe Grady Tripp
as a teacher
 What works in this
class?
 What doesn’t?
 William Forrester (Sean Connery) in
Finding Forrester, 2000
 Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) in
Educating Rita, 1983
Other Wonder Boys
 Hector (Richard Griffiths) in The History
Boys, 2006
Some Differences
Dead Poets
 Female and Male
 Invested
 Energetic
 Public schools
 Plot moves downward
Wonder Boys
 Male
 Disaffected
 Blocked
 Private schools
 Plot moves upward
The Writing Teacher as
Romantic Hero
 Charismatic
 Empathetic
 Flirtatious
 Rebellious
 Talented
The Critique of the Heroic
Writing Teacher
 Performer
 Seducer
 Cheerleader
 Anti-intellectual
Three Views of Teaching
Writing
Familiar
Heroic
Critical
Mundane
Performative
Intellectual
Paraprofessional
Erotic
Disciplined
The Problem
 Who is the hero of the critical approach?
 How can we build upon (rather than simply
endorse or resist) the images of teaching
writing offered in the movies?
An Alternate
Approach
A shift in focus from
the image of the
teacher
to
the work of teaching
and learning writing
Teaching Writing in the Movies
 Students write
 We see or hear the texts students create
 Teachers respond
 Teachers are coaches as well as cheerleaders
 Students revise
 We see learning occur
Representing the Work of
Teaching (1)
Michael Caine responds and Julie Walters
revises in Educating Rita (1983)
Thinking about the Work of Teaching
 What does Frank demand
from Rita?
 How does she respond?
 How would you describe
their relationship?
Representing the Work of Teaching (2)
Hector (Richard Griffiths),
Irwin (Stephen Campbell
Moore), and Lintott
(Frances de la Tour) in The
History Boys, 2006
Thinking about the Work of Teaching
What options do Hector, Irwin, and Lintott pose for their
students as writers?
Representing the Work of Teaching (3)
Kathy Bates and James
Caan in Misery, 1990
Thinking about the Work of Teaching
What does Annie teach Paul about writing
that he didn’t know before?
Representing the Work of Teaching (4)
John Keating responds to
student writing
Thinking about the
Work of Teaching
What work does Keating
do here as a teacher?
What does Todd learn
about writing?
What opportunities for
learning are missed?
How might we outKeating Keating?
Continuing the
Conversation
 Check out my course
 English 173: Images of Teaching and Learning
In Fiction and Film, Duke University, Spring 2007
 Email me
 joseph.harris@duke.com
 Hanson, Curtis (dir.). Wonder Boys. Paramount,
2000.
 Hyner, Nicholas (dir.). The History Boys. Fox, 2006.
 Lagravenese, Richard (dir.). Freedom Writers.
Paramount, 2007.
 Pakula, Alan J (dir.). Starting Over. Paramount,
1979.
 Reiner, Rob (dir.). Misery. Castlerock, 1990.
 Shelton, Ron (dir.). Bull Durham. MGM, 1988.
 Spielberg, Steven (dir.). Saving Private Ryan.
Dreamworks, 1998.
 Weir, Peter (dir.) Dead Poets Society.
Touchstone, 1989.
Films Discussed
 Gilbert, Lewis (dir.). Educating Rita. Columbia,
1983.