Here’s one from the headlines, tyranny in the classroom, ideology breaking up the family, coming between parents & children! So my friend Flagg Taylor recommended I go on Amazon Prime & watch The Teacher (2016, Ucitelka), that we may do a podcast on it. It’s a Czech story about Slovakia in the ‘80s, about a school where parents & administration have to deal with a teacher who’s high up in the local Communist party. Just before the collapse of Communism, the question of freedom through education comes up—who will educate the first generation of children destined, unbeknownst to themselves or their parents, to become democratic citizens. With freedom in the near future, there’s something maddening about the corruptions of ideological dictatorship, including the intrigue, abuse of power, & despotic behavior it encourages & covers up for.
Flagg talks about Vaclav Havel’s criticism of this post-totalitarian form of tyranny, where nobody believes in the ideology, but they enforce conformism for private advantage; cynicism replaces fanaticism, but despotic rule prevails nevertheless.
I have some things to add about the decadence we ourselves, in our democratic life, are experiencing—this is a 2016 movie, but I saw it a couple of months back, so the first thing on my mind was how schools are corrupting children & bullying parents over ideology in America! Perhaps the most important reason for Americans to watch movies about totalitarian tyranny in Europe is to learn about the dangers facing freedom, democracy, & self-gov’t, which are pretty serious in America, too…
Further, director Jan Hrebejk is an interesting guy, as is his writer, Petr Jarchovsky—their most famous movie is Divided we fall (2000, the Czech title reads Musíme si pomáhat, We must help each other) was nominated for the Oscar. Flagg recommended that one as well, it’s also a combination of comedy & drama, but as concerned with religion as The Teacher is with the politics of freedom. We might do a podcast on it, too!
Wonderful discussion and a great finish!
So glad you liked it, Cathy! A certain passion & concern carried me through that conclusion...