Why L.A?
After what happened in New York, why would he choose L.A. of all the places to teach? Seemed a bit strange to me.
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I was also thinking the same thing
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MovieChat Forums > One Eight Seven (1997) Discussion > Why L.A?
well he was teaching somewhere in the san fernando valley so i'm thinking he must have thought that the only real bad areas of l.a. are south central, east l.a., and maybe because he had the determination to not be intimidated by any troubled students
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I just posted about this subject too, as I wondered the same thing. Why California & why choose such an urban area??
He should have moved to the Midwest, where it'd likely be calmer and even more enjoyable to teach.
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."
Did any of you guys even watch the movie? The point was because he was the way a teacher should be. He was a teacher because he loved to teach kids and very few teachers at that school were that way. That is why he liked the white woman teacher , because she too just loved to teach. That is also why he said to the white male teacher " we are nothing alike " because to him teaching was just a job. The point of moving to LA was simply because of that. He wanted to give help where it was needed most. To poor ghetto kids living in the slums. The reason he went from NY to LA was because he did not want to be remembered as the teacher that was stabbed. That was the reason for moving across the country.. this is true because you see the white male teacher bring it up and say "did you hear about the teacher in NY getting stabbed" Then he said " Oh *beep* that was you?" Great story but clearly so many people did not get the full message.
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I understood the part that Trevor loved teaching and wanted to make a difference.
But couldn't he have tried to make a difference and be safe too? Because he was clearly traumatized by what happened to him and VERY paranoid about it happening to him again (judging by his reaction when he first enters the classroom and when he is in the library waiting for Rita).
There are lost kids who would need him in calmer schools as well. I could have used a teacher like him in school, that's for sure! Because he was a good, caring FUN teacher!
There are almost none of them around that I've found.
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."
Maybe this is far fetched but is it possible he chose a bad school to prove to himself that he wasn't going to allow his fear or the intimidation of thugs to stop him from being a teacher? Kinda on the line of facing your fears.
PS: Off topic, I was expecting the typical Hollywood feel-good ending so when the gun went off for Trevor I was in shock ... minute later choked up to he11.
Well... for one thing, it's a movie from the 90s. Of course it's not accurate or that realistic. The point is; if a student in your class that was part of a gang that attended class for some reason (cuz everyone here just skips and pushes "merchandise") and they knew where you lived, you'd be harassed. Which is why you see the teaching rules such as never disclosing your address to your students. It's not even in the slums or ghettos where kids will harass a teacher. Even in a nice middle-class neighborhood, kids are stupid and young as were all of us.
Didn't see Boy Meets World where Mr Feeney gets his house egged and TP'd by students because of a exam schedule? I mean that happened to a teacher of mine in high school. Including a kid throwing a bucket of wet paint at a teacher in the middle of class.
It's not specifically just violence they are targeting. It's those that choose to have conflict with teachers; and in the end the teachers are to do nothing about it because "students are kids." Jackson's character would go along and teach to his heart's content. However, once the threat emerged, he began to go a little crazy and defend himself. No biggie though. I honestly think every person has the right to defend himself/herself. It's not that violence was extreme in that school. Mr G's teaching ethics just happened to annoy Cesar and it became a war.
Yes, it's true. Students in the ghettos are not like that. Trust me, if you're in the ghetto and the students are even present at school, they want to at least graduate or try hard. Those that are more like Cesar usually don't even show up. Except for a few exceptions that are forced to go due to family reasons.
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As for using actors/actresses much older than high school age... it's a movie. Plus, they're not going to hire Rita to strip naked in camera without her at least being 18-21 depending on state laws at the time. Even now, for TV shows or movies about high school life and whatnot; majority of casts are at least 21. That's just the way it is.
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