Viola Davis, the film star who appears in the anti-union, pro-charter movie “Won’t Back Down,” recently appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
Davis is a graduate of Central Falls High School in Rhode Island. This is the school that was targeted for closure in 2010, where there was a pitched battle between the district/state leadership and the teachers in the school. When Davis won an Academy Award in 2010, she gave a shout-out to her alma mater, Central Falls High School, and that gave the teachers there a big boost.
So now she is a star in a movie that encourages parents and teachers to “seize control” of their public school and turn it into a privately managed charter school. This is known as the “parent trigger” and is advocated by the rightwing group ALEC, which developed model legislation to encourage privatization of public schools.
When she appeared with Ellen, she was fund-raising for the Segue Institute, a charter school in Central Falls, not for the high school that educated her. Ellen gave her a check for $10,000 for the charter school.
The film will be shown in Central Falls, cosponsored by the charter school and the Central Falls Drama Club, to benefit the charter school.
One more irony: Ellen, who is openly gay, is promoting a film produced by Walden Media, owned by Philip Anschutz, an evangelical and fervent conservative, who funded anti-gay campaigns in Colorado and California.
So many ironies.
Not ironies. Idiocies.
I can only think – or maybe hope – that DeGeneres did not do her homework on the film.
The thing that makes me sad is that so many people really believe competition is the key to improving education in this country. I was talking with a retired teacher from my district who told me that he thinks public schools do need competition.
Why do so few people realize that we can cooperate our way to the top?
To Ellen and Viola…..please take the time to educate yourselves. It is not too late:
Commentary: ‘Won’t Back Down’ won’t be real about school reform
from Helen Gym at Philadelphia Public School Notebook
“But let’s face it. Movie producers Philip Anschutz and Rupert Murdoch didn’t bankroll Won’t Back Down to win Academy Awards. They’ve entered it as a yet another piece in the contentious education reform debate using as their premise the idea of “parent empowerment” and “parent choice.” And on that level, there is some serious substance to reflect upon.”
http://thenotebook.org/blog/125153/commentary-wont-back-down-wont-be-honest-about-school-reform
Also, watch Educating Maggie:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=7zuIS0MnNgU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7zuIS0MnNgU
Greed has no prejudices.
Ellen,
You would be horrified if you knew:
Anschutz bankrolls ALEC and ALEC member groups. In 2010, The Anschutz Foundation, gave ALEC $10,000 and his Union Pacific firm was an ALEC sponsor the following year. The Foundation funded three ALEC members who sat on the ALEC Education Task Force which approved the Parent Trigger Proposal: The Independence Institute, Center for Education Reform, and Pacific Research Institute.
Anschutz has also supported the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which backs legislation designed to cripple unions; the Discovery Institute, which seeks to get creation “science” accepted in public schools; and the Mission America Foundation, whose president considers homosexuality to be a “deviance.” He also owns the conservative magazine, the Weekly Standard.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/09/11763/wont-back-down-film-pushes-alec-parent-trigger-proposal
Here is another irony from Ruth Rodriguez: “Sadly, Viola Davis who has a leading role in this film, which is more a propaganda for the privatizers of public education than the granting of real powers to parents, is an alumni of Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, where her sister is a teacher, and was among the group that was unjustly fired. What would possess Ms. Davis to take on such role in this film?”
Please email Ellen…I think she doesn’t know. She would care:
http://www.ellentv.com/be-on-the-show/10/
I’m sorry, but isn’t it her *job* to know *before* she airs a show? Doesn’t she have research people to look into these sorts of things?
If my students are misinformed, confused, unsure, baffled, it would be my problem to solve and it would be my fault. I suppose she shouldn’t call it the ELLEN show then.
Money!
Yes … It’s all about money.
The bottom line rules the Universe…very pathetic paradigm. Once we fall from Grace, we can regain the humility it takes for humane compassion and understanding. Money speaks louder than simplicity. Sooner or later, we all give it up and simplify our lives so we have room for the things that truly matter.
Maybe this will put to rest all of those ‘star struck’ people out there who don’t want to hold Viola Davis responsible for taking a role that attacks teachers and their unions. We are all judged by the decisions we make, so should these actors.
I think it is a mark of the insidious effectiveness and ubiquity of the rheeform narrative that people accept it uncritically. Celebrity, deep pockets, and being ill-informed makes for an especially destructive combination.
Et tu, Ellen? What a disgrace!
I suggest we write to these celebrities and inform them that we will boycott any product they endorse and any program on which they appear.
Please do..Ellen’s email connection is posted above. Anyone have one for Viola?
Here is my letter to Ellen –
Dear Ellen,
I have been a fan of yours for many years now – admiring your courage in standing up for your beliefs. Thus, it was with much disappointment to see you fall for the education reform agenda being pushed by big money backers like The Walton Foundation and the ALEC organization. Perhaps you didn’t know, but the movie “Won’t Back Down” is a propaganda movie produced by the very people who are advocating a corporate, for profit takeover of our educational system.
I am a NYC school teacher and a parent of three children. I can’t begin to tell you how the last 10 years of NCLB and Michelle Rhee style politics have been insidiously destroying our children’s historic education based on critical thinking and creative problem solving.
It was a disappointment to see you donate money to a charter school. Did you know that charters syphon off public money to educate a “select” group of students? They are notorious for excluding students who would bring down their almighty test scores.
I implore you to form your own opinion about our educational system. Please do your research. Currently, big money is being thrown at a reform agenda. Follow the money!
You can start at Diane Ravitch’s blog, https://dianeravitch.net/2012/09/26/an-ironic-story/. There you will find many links to the latest pedagogical research on education.
Best,
Great! I sent the two posts above. I wonder if anyone has a closer connection to her.
I like Ellen so I’d like to believe she just doesn’t know or that her staff failed to properly brief her.
On the other hand, we’ve all seen the hypocrisy of celebrities and “family values” guys and ministers who have succumbed to some scandal. It has generally been a do as I say and not as I do.
Her actions over the next few days should determine her true stance.
Please email her…we can say we tried. We did what we had to do. We reached out, provided her with information to consider. We TAUGHT her another point of view…exactly what we do everyday. By the way, I have the day off due to the Jewish holiday and I am grading, reading and posting…teacher bashers will wonder how we have so much time to post today.
I’m off also and I’m following your lead.
I had an agreement to go onto Ellen’s show in 2003, when my book about censorship (The Language Police) was published. At the last minute, the show canceled because I was too “controversial.” Apparently bashing unions is not controversial.
Now that’s so ironic it’s almost embarrassing. Ellen made her name as one of the first openly gay celebrities – in other words, she made her name on being controversial.
Just sad.
And so hypocritical…oh well.. just another day. And no love for fellow union members either!
Please write to Ellen to ask her why she is promoting a rightwing propaganda film.
Please write to Viola Davis (anyone have an email for her) to ask why she is undermining the school that educated her.
Please ask both of them if they plan to quit the union they belong to.
I too emailed Ellen explaining the truth behind the movie, charter schools and the people Behind it. I mentioned she should have Diane on the show.
Bill Moyers on ALEC —
ALEC : The Scheme to Remake America, One State House at a Time
You may already know this, but the Tennessee Association of Charter Schools and Nashville’s mayor, Karl Dean (D) showed this movie BY INVITATION ONLY to charter school proponents this past Monday night. How is that for an inclusive, civic minded event.
I wonder if there was a multiple choice bubble test afterwards?
Similar event here in Ct…mayor of Bridgeport had an invite only showing. It read Mayor Bill Finch’s Community Cabinet are cordially invited to a special VIP movie screening of WBD.
Ironically, while this movie promotes parent empowerment, supposedly, Mayor Finch has a craftily worded referrendum on the ballot in November giving him full control of the BOE.
So he invites select people to see a movie about parents taking over a school while he plans on mayoral control come Novmember.
Are these people not intelligent, living in a bubble or too pompous to see the irony?
http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/09/22/in-tampa-it-was-jeb-bush-in-bridgeport-it-is-bill-finch/
http://www.ellentv.com/be-on-the-show/10/ To send a brief email to Ellen.
anyone have an email for Viola Davis?
I found this on Parents Across America:
Viola Davis: email to ewolff@apanewyork.com
Viola Davis – Agent: Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) 45 West 45th St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10036 T. 212.687.0092 F. 212.245.5062
Tweet Ellen @TheEllenShow
Like I said on a different post. The movie is PR gold and a great fund raising tool. Think of it like this. It’s not a movie but an infomercial. If it makes money great. If it loses money-it’s a tax deduction for the company or studio. For them -it’s a win.
Isn’t Ellen D. from Louisiana? I’m guessing she is out of the loop about the situation there as well.
She is. She’s from New Orleans. Haven’t seen to much of anything on involvement.
Ellen was raised in Metarie, a suburb.
Some good news: Won’t Back Down had the worst opening week box office ever: http://eagtruth.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/541/