News & Interviews for Education

Small Axe Director Steve McQueen: “It Doesn’t Matter Where You’re From, You Can Identify With These As Human Stories”

Small Axe Stars Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, And More On the Power of Steve McQueen’s Vision

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Audience Reviews for Education: Season 5

• Jan 02, 2022

  The protagonist of this film is a young Black boy who dreams of being an astronaut and is sent to a "special school" for his disruptive behaviour in class and his IQ test results. While he doesn't get much positive attention even from his family up till then, he does start to get saved with the help of some activists who are secretly looking into just what those "special schools" are all about. I liked how this film dramatized some social problems that are often mostly dealt with in dry bureaucratic reports or journalism but this film really puts a face on the problem.
  
• Jun 25, 2021

  Me cuesta simpatizar con personajes descerebrados, y en esta película hay muchos, aunque resulta lo suficientemente potente para que te importe la historia, y la madre es un muy buen personaje
• Feb 21, 2021

  This is how you maximize the key content in a film. Want to be a fine director? Then learn to be a good editor. If you do, then you too can make such worthy movies as these Small Axes films that are 80 min. or under, with three no more than 70 min. Another fine screenplay from McQueen and Siddons along with further deft skill at directing from McQueen breathes very authentic life into this movie that shows the systematic (and systemic) racial bias again West Indians by the British school system and the state. The Intent was to suppress black citizens by insuring their inability to achieve upward mobility by sticking them as children in these 'schools' for 'sub-normal' intelligence which would go on their permanent records and exclude them from any legitimate shot at college. Using bullshit vacant excuses of being 'too rowdy', 'acting up', being distractions, the schools could simply sign the paper work that system sent their way and the kids were gone. Not their problem. So they got put into schools with other minority kids, children with legitimate learning disabilities, those with actual behavioral problems with biological explanations, and even those with mental illness. The scene near the end shows clearly what a school atmosphere should always be like- one with students feeling wanted, welcomed, safe, and so eager to learn; esp. eager to learn what relates to their actual lives. Again, a subtle hand by McQueen is at work. Sandy is quite good as the lead, Kingsley. Also strong are Sharlene White, Naomi Ackie, Jo Martin, and Tamara Lawrence. 3.4 stars
• Feb 10, 2021

  In what serves as the anthology's light-hearted comedy, Steve McQueen captures the full effect of systemic bigotry in one hour; the institutionalized and cultural segregation, the forced busyness of both parents, the emotional and physical exhaustion, even the resilience in the face of seeming futility. As a twist on the teacher-savior narrative, every moment in the classroom is excellent, especially the authentically cringe-y House of the Rising Sun performance.
  
• Jan 10, 2021

  It's trying to make a valid point about balancing an education system, but focusses more on the 'nothingness' of the 'Special School' than actually showing actions that affected real change for those students being shackled. The dialogue makes those points, but all other elements of the story fall short, so it comes across as being messy and disorganised
• Dec 31, 2020

  An absolute powerhouse of a film. Entertaining and relevant ranging from the person to the political.
  
• Dec 28, 2020

  This episode broke my heart. I have witnessed society throw away children who need help to overcome challenges. It was disappointing but not surprising how these children were set up to fail. It takes a village to raise a child and Thank God that village traveled overseas to England to assist in educated of these Caribbean children.
• Dec 13, 2020

  While not as stimulating or memorable stylistically, the subject matter was no less impactful and the last ten minutes or so really hit me. It isn't until very recently with the explosion of the internet that one may be able to get by educating themselves in a purely audio/visual manner, and while illiteracy doesn't equal stupidity, it unfortunately meant you rarely had the choice of what to learn or when to learn it. Sadly that can turn education into a weapon, making it beneficial to any group who already has it and wants to control a group that doesn't. Unfortunately the educated will always have a better chance at maintaining the status quo than the uneducated will in bringing about large scale social change, by the very virtue of their educations or lack thereof. It is always worth questioning people's or groups motivations when they consistently fight to stifle citizen's ability to gain knowledge or a better education, as the reason usually isn't for the citizen's benefit.
  
• Dec 07, 2020

  Episode three, 'Red, White, and Blue' connects.  This, like all of these, is a true story and that packs even more punch.  Understanding how racist our world was is very important to understand.  It also has a lot of relevance to what's going on now (Dec. 2020), despite being set nearly 40 years ago.  Steve McQueen's storytelling is inspired.  There isn't a lot to this, but it's jammed packed with emotion.  McQueen is very aware of time and place and he's able to take you both to the present and the past.  Final Score: 8.4/10