Some Constructive Advice for Superman's Fans
by Frederick M. Hess • Sep 27, 2010 at 11:09 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
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Last week, as was much remarked, I had some fun expressing my concerns about the cult of Waiting for Superman. A couple folks asked if I might have anything constructive to say about how the attention the movie is generating might be put to good use. Heaven knows I'm skeptical about claims that Waiting for Superman is going to have an outsized impact on school reform. And I'm borderline nauseous from constant urgings to praise and promote the flick. All that aside, though, I think it's a fine movie, a useful contribution, and could do some good--if the short-term bump in energy and enthusiasm are channeled well. The key is to use its energy in a constructive way before education is once again relegated to back-burner status by Oprah, Geraldo, Katie Couric, and Entertainment Weekly in three to six months.
Seizing that window requires being smart about leveraging this kind of media spectacle. Unfortunately for those eagerly helping Paramount get viewers to the multiplex, those two hours getting outraged in a darkened theater won't do much for anything except Paramount's bottom line. Why not? Because that anger quickly dissipates,
