Culturally Relevant Movies

Miss Carroll’s list of cultural relevance:

This list is in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. If you have arguments or corrections, please feel free to comment or add!

Movies/TV Shows:

2001: A Space Odyssey (“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave.”)
54 (it will SO make you want to go back to the 70s)
8 Seconds
A Beautiful Mind
A Few Good Men (“You want the truth?! You can’t handle the truth!”)
A River Runs Through It
Adventures in Babysitting
All 10 Seasons of Friends
Almost Famous
American Beauty
American Graffiti
American History X
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
Anchorman (“Excuse me, everyone, I have an important announcement: CANNONBALL!!)
ANY Pixar film or short
Apollo 13
Armageddon
Avatar
Awakenings
Back to the Future - only the first one counts, in my opinion
Bad Santa
Bandits
BASEketball (“Steve Perry…STEVE PERRY!!”)
Beetlejuice
Being John Malkovich
Big
Billy Madison (“We are all now successfully dumber for having heard you speak. I award you no point, and may God have mercy on your soul.”)
Blades of Glory
Blue Collar Comedy Tour (“They call me…Tater Salad”)
Boiler Room
Boondock Saints
Braveheart
Breakfast Club
Caddyshack
Casablanca
Cats
Charlotte’s Web
Cheers (“Where everybody knows your name…”) See also, Music: Gary Portnoy – real song!!
City Slickers
Closer – If you’ve ever cheated or been cheated on. Hard to get through at some points, but a must watch
Clueless (“I totally paused!”)
Cocktail – because it made everyone want to bartend on an island
Contact
Crash
Cruel Intentions
Cry-Baby
Curly Sue
Darby O’Gill and the Little People
Daria
Dazed and Confused
Dead Poets Society – best Robin Williams movie – hands down.
Death to Smoochy
Deliverance
Dick Tracy
Die Hard
Dinosaurs (“I’m the baby! Not the mama!”)
Dirty Dancing (“Nobody puts baby in the corner.”)
Dodgeball (“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”)
Dogma - and anything Kevin Smith

Donnie Darko
Drop Dead Fred
Dumb and Dumber (“That John Denver is full of shit, man!”)
Elf (“SANTA’S COMING!! I KNOW HIM!!)
Emma
Fargo
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – who hasn’t wanted to skip school, not get caught and be in a parade?!
Fight Club (“First rule of Fight Club – you don’t talk about Fight Club”)
Flatliners
Flight of the Navigator
Footloose
Forest Gump
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Fraggle Rock
Free Willy
Fried Green Tomatoes
Ghost Rider - just for Sam Elliott
Ghostbusters
Gladiator
Gone with the Wind (“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”)
Good Will Hunting
Goodfellas
Goonies
Gran Torino
Gremlins - Don’t give them water after midnight…not so cute now, huh?
Groundhog Day
Guys and Dolls - Frank Sinatra AND Marlon Brando – HELLO!!
Hairspray (both the 1988 version and 2006) – you get to see John Travolta in drag dancing with Christopher Walken. ‘Nuff said.
Happy Gilmore
Hook (“Rufio, Ru-Fi-Oh!, RoofeeOhhhhh!!!!”)
Howard the Duck
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Love You, Man
I, Robot
Identity
Idiocracy – so that you understand why some people should NEVER procreate.
Independence Day
Indiana Jones – yes, even the disappointing most recent one
Into the Wild
It
It’s a Wonderful Life
Jaws
Jeff Dunham
Joe Dirt
Jumanji
Jurassic Park – like socialism, sounds great in theory, but doesn’t translate well to actual life.
Kindergarten Cop (“It’s not a tooma”)
King Kong (newest version)
Kingpin – amish bowling. Need I say more?
K-Pax
Labyrinth – hello, David Bowie-with-more-makeup-than-usual. And Ludo – the creature, not the band.
Last Samurai
Legend
Legends of the Fall – Brad Pitt’s best movie. And cheesiest.
Life is Beautiful
Little Shop of Horrors (“FEEEED MEE!”)
Look Who’s Talking
Lord of the Rings trilogy - but read the books too – see Books list
Marie Antoinette
Mary Poppins
Mean Girls – totally clichéd high school – but so scarily accurate!
Men In Black
Metropolis - yes, the 1927 black and white
Minority Report
Momento
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Moulin Rouge – who knew Ewan McGregor could sing?!
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (any episode/movie)
Mystic River
Neverending Story I & II
Oceans 11, 12 and 13 - because everyone loves the Rat Pack – even the updated version with Clooney, Pitt, and Damon
Office Space – for when you get a case of the Mondays.
Old School
Out Cold
P.S. I Love You
Patch Adams -pay special attention to the scene where Williams recites the Pablo Neruda poem over her casket
Pay It Forward
Pearl Harbor
Pete’s Dragon
Pirates of the Caribbean - all three currently released – because Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley, oh hell, the whole cast all kicks ass! And who DOESN’T wish they could be a pirate?
Pretty Woman
Princess Bride (“As You Wish!”)
Pulp Fiction - and any other Tarantino film, really: Reservoir Dogs, Boogie Nights, Kill Bill 1&2, Inglorious Basterds…
Radio
Rain Man
Rainbow Brite
Ray
Rent
Rocky - watch all 5, THEN decided which one is best
Rocky Horror Picture Show – you’ll tremble with antici---------------PATION!
Role Models
Romeo and Juliet - but only the Baz Luhrman one – with Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes
Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion – she invented post-its
Rudy
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary disc set - in particular, the Land Shark skit…
Saved
Scarface
Semi-Pro
Seven Pounds
Shakespeare in Love
Shaun of the Dead
Sideways
Silence of the Lambs - but not Red Dragon – maybe Hannibal
Sister Act I & II
Sixth Sense
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
So I Married An Axe Murderer (“Woman. Whoa-man.”)
Sopranos
Stand By Me
Star Trek - the new movie AND the old series – but only the original with William Shatner and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Patrick Stewart) – the rest are just trying too hard
Star Wars - yes, all 6 – but in the order they were released – i.e., Episodes 4-6 THEN 1-3
Steel Magnolias – (“Don’t touch the drumset!”)
Step Brothers
Stranger Than Fiction
Streetcar Named Desire (“STELLLLA”)
Superbad
Supertroopers (“You boys like Mex-e-co?”)
Swingers
Talladega Nights
Terminator
The Big Lebowski
The Cell
The Craft
The Crow
The Dark Crystal
The Dark Night - and the entire Batman movement – live action only
The Exorcist - 1973 version – not the remake
The Godfather - only the first one
The Gods Must Be Crazy – unique perspective on the discussion of superficiality and consumerism
The Graduate
The Green Mile
The Karate Kid – look for my uncle’s name – Andy/Andrew Wiskas – he did the sound editing!
The Ladies Man
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Mummy
The Muppets - the classic versions – from the 70s
The Notebook - I know, it’s cheesy, but if you feel nothing while watching that movie, you have no heart – guys, you don’t have to admit you like it, but you know you do!
The Outsiders
The Patriot
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Planet Earth DVD Collection - how can we possibly believe we’re the most important things on this planet after watching this??
The Prestige
The Shining (“Heere’s Johnny!”)
The Skulls
The Smurfs
The Sweetest Thing - mostly for chicks – very funny and scary accurate portrayal of typical girl groups!
The Three Musketeers
The Truman Show
The Village - don’t spoil the ending – only watch it once Three Men and a Baby
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar - because Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo, and Wesley Snipes are cross-dressers in the entire movie. Enough said.
Tombstone
Tommy Boy
Top Gun
Transformers - because Optimus Prime is the man, and everyone wants a car like Bumblebee!
Tropic Thunder
Troy
Tuck Everlasting
Turner and Hooch - the original Marley & Me – for anyone who even remotely likes dogs
Under the Tuscan Sun - best break-up movie – EVER! I mean, who doesn’t want to buy a house in Tuscany on a whim?
Varsity Blues (“I don’t want your life!”)
Waiting - for anyone who has ever even been in a restaurant, let alone worked in one
Wall-E
Wayne’s World - again, only the first one…
Wedding Crashers
What About Bob? (“I’m SAILING!!”)
When Harry Met Sally
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - while the new one with Johnny Depp is ‘prettier’ and includes a little more of the book…you can’t beat Gene Wilder…
Wizard of Oz
You’ve Got Mail
Young Frankenstein
Zoolander

"I'm frustrated, my brains are fried" - Joan Jett

Seriously, I keep telling myself I love my job, but at one point, when does it cross the line from convincing myself to actually being true? Because right now, I feel like I keep saying it, but the meaning isn't there. How can I love what I do when I feel like what I'm doing is futile? I ask them to put their phones away, and not 5 minutes later, they have them out, texting. I ask them to work independently, and I find them talking during a quiz. Why not just take points off, or take phones away, or some other consequence, you ask? Because it just wouldn't work! I constantly feel like I make an announcement, or give makeup work, or offer help or suggestions on assignments and it's completely disregarded or ignored. I've taken phones, I've kicked kids out of class, I've yelled, I've begged, just about done it all to get them to care. But they don't. Is it that I'm not cut out for this? Is it the district I'm in? What the hell is the answer? I've applied for grad school - I'm really looking forward to that...is it the anticipation of not being here or doing this next year that has me so frustrated? But honestly, I think the questions I'm asking are more philosophical and concerning than just 'What do I do?'...I think I'm afraid of this movement of utter apathy I'm seeing across the board. I mean, I know people didn't care when I was in school, but now, it seems so widespread and almost expected that they just don't care what the outcome is. And it's not just limited to the students - I'm seeing parents take the defensive when I try to explain to them that their student is failing or has done something wrong in class. I'm seeing other teachers putting in half-ass effort in their daily assignments and grades. This whole thing is underscored by this awful 'NCLB' law, that doesn't leave children behind, but pushes them forward with no guarantee that they actually know the material and skills they are supposed to learn in order to progress to the next level. So then I'm forced to work with a majority of kids who quit trying in 4th or 5th grade, but have continued to be shuttled through the system in order to 'not leave anyone behind'. Which brings me to my next point; the district in which I currently work focuses so much more on 'results' and 'data-driven' pictures, that they completely miss the forest for the trees, as it were. All we talk about is how to measure x or y without ever USING this data for something important or to make a change. Also, if this 'reliable' data IS looked at and it's not the numbers the district wants to see, it's MY fault (as a teacher - not ME personally, necessarily...), rarely taking into account the performance or lack of caring from the students. I tried to have a conversation with my principal about the excessive amount of F's I had at one point last semester, and he replied with, "Well, what are YOU doing to help?" Seriously? I work my ass off making lists, making extra copies, handing out reminders, extending my late policy, calling parents, and zillions of other time-wasting things...and then he has the audacity to ask ME what I'M doing to motivate students. And on top of all that, he emails me about 12 different documents on 'Motivation in the Classroom'. At a staff meeting earlier in the year, he made the comment that our students' daily attendance is suffering. He asked us, as a staff, what we're doing in our classrooms to convince students that their attendance is 'worth coming to school for'. Seriously? I mean, for real? So I now almost literally have to create a 'dog and pony' show in order to convince some little apathetic shit that he or she needs to be here. As if I don't do enough. I had someone at a Holiday Party (because you sure as hell can't say 'Christmas', even though the words 'bitch', 'ass', and 'damn' have made their way onto REGULAR network TV...) ask me what I did. When I told him I was a HS English teacher, he gave me one of those disdainful looks up and down and said, "How cute." Cute? I'd hardly use that adjective to describe my job. And don't EVEN get me started on these ridiculous laptops we just HAD to have for every student in the school. 'So beneficial', they said. 'Great technology', they said. Time waster, I say. Access to dumb games and more distraction, I say. As if their cell phones weren't bad enough! Now I have to compete with iPod touch's (WITH text messaging), mP3 players (where they hide the headphones), cell phones (with internet), AND those cursed laptops. What can I possibly offer in the classroom to encourage them to pay attention and do their work? They've got all they need right there! I am so frustrated. I don't want to come to work. I hate the hours. I hope I get into grad school because I need to get away from this to see if it's really what I want to do with my life. Would teaching college be any better? Would it be worth the fight for tenure? Or should I go back into the business world and do PR? Or take the long shot and go into music, playing in piano bars? I wish I had the answer.

Cultural Relevance

I am constantly quoting movies in my classroom. Or referencing books or music to provide examples that my students can connect with. They, however, don't always get the joke or reference. So, jokingly one day, I mentioned that instead of a summer reading list, I should assign any students who will be taking my class "Miss Carroll's List for Cultural Relevance" including any books, movies and music that I could possibly reference during a class period. A couple of my students thought it was a great idea, and challenged me to actually create this list. I am currently working on the movie list, with some annotations defending my choices. I will be posting these lists separately in different blogs (one for movies, one for books, and a third for music). Stay tuned for updates.