Reel Time: Required Viewing

In which the Schoolmarm of America goes all multimedia.

No curriculum is complete without the multimedia element. And by multimedia, I mean the old-school '90s definition: the VHS tape. (This was before every student was hooked up to a series of tubes called the intarweb.) Sure, I guess the principals of the era counted the overhead projectors and blackboards as "media"—but it was really the portable TV cart with the attached VCR that made their hearts swell with pride.

We students also thrilled at the sight of the TV cart. Not only did this mean an hour with no lecture, but it was also guaranteed that the teacher would spend a good 15 minutes treating the VCR like an exotic animal he had never seen before. After gingerly attempting to jiggle the wires, press every button, and cue up the tape, he would throw up his hands and threaten to lecture—at which point, the one techie kid per class would leap to his aid and have the video playing in no time.

The substitute teachers, however, had it down. They understood that their sanity depended on dulling our senses with whatever magic light show the teacher had provided, which meant it was up and running the minute the bell rang. In high school, our health teacher was the most regular sub, and she was no nonsense about the VCR. After pressing Play, she would plant herself at the teacher's desk (where she could not see the video) and periodically glare at us over her book. I'll never forget her livid face when our European history class erupted at the orgy scene during Caligula, the PBS series we were watching as a supplement to our lessons on the Roman emperors. She had her back to the TV when she threatened us to settle down or else—so she didn't see the guys in togas playing the Roman equivalent of spin-the-bottle behind her. For us Catholic school girls, whose in-class videos were usually about martyrs in South America, this was funniest thing we'd ever seen! And you can bet that we remembered this scene from Caligula long after we forgot the succession of emperors.

All this is the long way of saying that if I were magically to become Leader of the World (as posited in the last post), I would supplement my subjects' required reading with some required viewing for extra indoctrination. Here is what would play on the VCRs across my domain:

• A State of Mind. This eye-popping British documentary follows two young girl gymnasts who are preparing for the Mass Games, a massive-scale pageant in honor of North Korea's Kim Jong-il. They train for hours every day for months to prepare for this one event. The film, released in 2004, provides an intimate look at family life in one of the world's most enigmatic dictatorships, and the disturbing devotion the people of North Korea have to their Dear Leader, despite the terrible conditions (especially food shortages) that plague the people. In one telling scene, family members pause to curse the United States when the electricity goes out during a routine blackout. North Korea isn't known for open access to journalists, so this might be the closest any of us gets to the viewpoints of its citizens.


• Hell House. Lest anyone believes that scary brainwashing only happens on the other side of the world, welcome to Hell House, a chilling look at one iteration of fundamental Christianity on our own soil. This 2001 documentary follows the young members of a Baptist church outside of Dallas who put on a graphic, haunted-house-style pageant depicting what happens to those who don't live their version of a Christian life. Visitors to Hell House go from room to room to witness horrifying skits featuring "un-Christian" choices and subsequent damnation—at the end of which, each attendee is offered a conversion opportunity. It's jaw-dropping. Make sure you have a light comedy on hand for a chaser. You're going to need it.


• Koppel: Iran, The Most Dangerous Nation. Ted Koppel is basically the man. In this 2006 documentary for the Discovery Channel, Koppel plumbed the source of tensions between the United States and Iran by (gasp!) actually speaking to people in Iran. The range of interviews and perspectives he gets from people of all walks of life there is truly enlightening. We need more journalists like Koppel, who delves into the complexity of the problem rather than just regurgitating the propaganda from both sides.


• Koppel: The People's Republic of Capitalism. Koppel's four-part series on modern China, which aired on the Discovery Channel right before the Beijing Olympics, focuses on the economic boom in that nation and how it affects our own economy. With the same balance he brings to his series on Iran, Koppel talks to everyone from farmers and industrial laborers to business moguls and American factory workers. He also spends a fair amount of time on the rising middle class. Did you know that a black Buick is the ultimate status symbol over there? I didn't. This series captures China at a pivotal point in global history—and it serves as an invaluable primer for those of us who don't know much about today's Chinese culture.


• The Hobart Shakespeareans. Some titles on this list left me whimpering in the fetal position; others just made me anxious—but this 2004 documentary warmed the frigid cockles of my heart. Under the guidance of Rafe Esquith—author of the excellent book about his unorthodox teaching methods, Teach Like Your Hair Is on Fire—the fifth graders of Hobart Boulevard Elementary School in Central Los Angeles put on a full-length Shakespearean play once a year. For most of these students, English is not the primary language spoken at home—so their perfect, passionate delivery of the Bard's dialogue is truly moving. The film also highlights the many ways Esquith goes above and beyond in the classroom: extra math lessons before school begins, guitar classes at recess, and even a field trip to Washington, D.C. Esquith puts all of his energy into helping his students become hard-working, courteous, independent thinkers who refuse to be held back by the sometimes harsh economic realities of their childhood. It's a continuing story of hope and a must-see.

Anything else I should add to the list before I put on my world-domination tiara?