Waiting for "Superman"

The documentary takes the condition of public schools in America. It follows five children in different cities, none of whom wants to attend the school in their own district. Their families are trying to get into a better one. But the places are limited and the selection is by lottery. The film proceeds to those lottery days. Alongside this it describes education policy: test results, teachers' contracts, union arrangements and alternative school models. Davis Guggenheim directs. The documentary dates from 2010. The solution it argues for is the charter school model and the narrative puts that forward openly. What was most criticised is its placing the teachers' unions at the centre of the problem; educators and researchers objected to that frame and counter films were made. Its strongest section is the lotteries; numbers are read out in a hall and the families learn the result there. Those who speak include administrators running education programmes and writers. It was widely argued over in America and entered the education policy agenda directly. Its limit is balance; the narrative does not take up the known problems of the solution it chooses. Who it is for: people following arguments about education policy. Who it is not for: the narrative is partisan, the data selected, and the emotional register directive.