Academy Awards judges snub 'Waiting for 'Superman''

IWAS RIDING high in September when I wrote a column touting "Waiting for 'Superman,' " the excellent documentary on school reform, and its director, Davis Guggenheim (who also directed Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"). I quoted John Heilmann, of

New York

magazine, who thought that the film and its director were part of a perfect storm that would push back hard at our failing schools.

I got a lot of flak from bloggers for my money quote of Guggenheim saying to me, "In recent years, we've cracked the code. The high-performing charter schools, like KIPP and others, have figured out the system that works for kids in even the toughest neighborhoods."

Unfortunately, we haven't cracked the Hollywood code.

That's the code that touts itself when people like George Clooney talk about tough and uncomfortable subjects like AIDS, race, gay rights and other elements of the Hollywood canon.

But it's a code that doesn't allow for even a self-identified liberal like Guggenheim to take on the sacred cows of the teachers unions and the Democratic Party. How dare they be asked to put the needs of poor kids wanting a decent education over their own agendas?

Hollywood stiffed this film. Remarkably, "Waiting for 'Superman' " failed to even be nominated in the best-documentary category. And if you think the voting policy of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and their Golden Globes is a farce, the voters of the Academy Awards are giving them plenty of competition with this one.

"Waiting for 'Superman' " was the most widely seen documentary of the year, sparking tremendous debate. (I hosted a screening here.) As New York Post movie reviewer Kyle Smith pointed out, the film was roundly praised by most of the nation's leading film critics. "Exhilarating, heartbreaking and righteous," wrote John Anderson in Variety. "One of the most galvanizing documentaries I've ever seen," wrote David Edelstein in New York.

So, how stiff was the competition? The nominees include "Exit Through the Gift Shop," a movie about the earth-shattering world of guerrilla street art by a London graffiti artist. And "Waste Land," a film about a guy in Brazil who makes art out of junk. How could a film that dramatically explains the lotteries for charter schools, which determine whether a child goes to a good school or is consigned to a dropout factory, compete with these blockbusters?

There is a backstory to " 'Superman' " not getting an Oscar nomination. Guggenheim admitted to the New York Times that one scene with an emotional mom in the film was recreated. When the scene was filmed, the lottery to get into a charter school had already taken place and Maria, the mom of Francisco, knew that he hadn't made the cut.

As Guggenheim told the Times: "In the case of Maria, we met her at the school but the cameras weren't there, so we asked her to go back and tour the school. And as a filmmaker, I wanted to see her reaction to the school and her genuine emotion. So that scene is real; her reaction, her talking to the kids touring the school, is how she would play it."

I believe this explanation is a sound one for something apparently done in other documentaries. (I reviewed Michael Moore's inaccuracies in his Oscar-winning "Fahrenheit 911" - yet Hollywood can't get enough of the guy.)

It's sad also that not just the Hollywood types but a number of people in the field of education have celebrated the exclusion of " 'Superman' " from a big Oscar platform.

The Washington Post's education section was among the most hostile, almost gleeful that the film was snubbed, and a lot of it centers around their attacks on Michelle Rhee, the former head of Washington, D.C.'s, schools and the heroine of the film. (What is it about this woman that so enrages people? My praise of her in this column has led to defenders of the status quo in Philadelphia taking me on.)

The bottom line is that those who continue to try to defend the castle of the failed public-school monopoly in America are losing, as more and more charter schools are sprouting up.

And right here, we have a real chance at seeing a partial voucher system become law. State Sen. Anthony Williams is the leader of the movement in Pennsylvania, and he's going to be very hard to stop.

Not only is he respected in Harrisburg, but as an African-American elected official, he represents those who are most affected by the problems the film details.

Critics who want to talk about the "complexities" of the problem, and rail that Guggenheim's film is a dangerous oversimplification, can celebrate their Oscar win - and marvel at the silly films that did get nominated.

Hollywood didn't give "Waiting for 'Superman' " two thumbs up.

But a lot of folks gave it two feet up - the feet they're using to walk over to charter and private schools.

Teacher-turned-talk-show-host Dom Giordano is heard on WPHT/1210 AM. Contact him at askdomg@aol.com.