Oleanna

As noted in a previous blog post, CTL (now the Center for Faculty Excellence) at Carolina has acquired a DVD of David Mamet's "Oleanna."

After repeated viewings, I am prepared to recommend that this film be required for faculty in the present Age of Identity Politics. For surely here is a dramatic presentation of the most troubling risk inherent in the provision of a Socratic education (i.e., one that does not shrink from engaging students in "difficult dialogues") in any time and place: hemlock.

Was John (the college professor on the cusp of tenure depicted in this film) an innocent victim of the "dark forces" of identity politics (represented in the film by Carol, the professor's disgruntled student)? Did his actions truly conform to the particulars of the "crime" of which he stood accused? Was the sanction that he received fully justified?

These questions (and many more) haunt the film's narrative and denouement as so many Socratic imponderables.

I do not wish to spare anyone the pleasures (and pains) of watching this film, so I am hesitant to say more about it. What I will say is that teaching that dares to touch nerve-endings is a risky business. For my money, it is the best business for any teacher to be in--but caveat doctor!