The Language and Image of American Educational Institutions in Frederick Wiseman’s

Opis

The Language and Image of American Educational Institutions in Frederick Wiseman’s Documentary Films

Autorzy: Veronica Metlenga

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego

The purpose of this book is to multimodally analyze a selection of media visions of the world which show the changes that have taken place in the US education system from the 1960s to the present. Conclusions were based on the analysis of three films directed by Frederick Wiseman: High School (1968), High School II (1994) and At Berkeley (2013). The work issues are narrowed down to the analysis of the social hierarchy at the various schools, and more specifically to the relationships between the teachers and the students and, furthermore, between the parents and the admi­nistrators. The work also includes descriptions of scenes in the above-mentioned films, concerning the development of the socio-political situation in the US from the 1960s to the present. Film, like other audiovisual media, uses language, sounds and images to explain and create meanings and senses that relate to all areas of life and the socio-cultural reality surrounding people. Thus, the presented scenes refer to the Vietnam War, the Rodney King case, and the Free Speech Movement and its consequ­ences. These themes act as a background for Wiseman’s films.