Hey, Corporate Reformers: Guess What? We Won’t Back Down, Either

By Jessie B. Ramey

This new film, set to open Friday, is not merely anti-teacher and anti-union, it’s also anti-democratic, according to one education expert.

Have you heard the buzz around “Won’t Back Down,” a major new Hollywood movie opening nationwide on Friday? It’s time for that buzz to start sounding like a swarm of angry bees coming from anyone who cares about our public schools. Here’s why.

The film, which was shot in my hometown of Pittsburgh and also set in that fair city, claims to be “inspired by real events.” Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, and Holly Hunter, it tells a stirring tale of parents fighting for their kids against downright cruel teachers and uncaring school administrators while also vilifying teachers’ unions. But there is absolutely no evidence that anything like the events depicted in the movie ever occurred in Pittsburgh. In fact, “Won’t Back Down” is very clearly an attempt to promote school privatization and ALEC-backed parent trigger laws , which have not even been on the radar screen in Pennsylvania.

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