Introduction
Precious Knowledge is a documentary on politics and education produced in 2011; it focuses on banning Mexican American studies (MAS) program in the Tucson unified school District of Arizona. The founder of Doz vatos production, Ari Luis, directed the documentary while Eren Isabel McGinnis produced it. The filming began on October 31st, 2011, after the producer and directors were allowed to access the ethics program by the Tucson unified school district in the year 2008-2009. Before they began the filming, they had planned to use interviews and footage to explore the various perspectives of the people.
The documentary is an excellent example of getting students interested in national and state policies affecting how we talk and teach ethnicity in the United States. The discussion is intended for high school but can also apply to other ages. Precious knowledge raises a question on how the curriculums can focus on students’ lives where the educators are actively involved in pursuing the objective. The film addresses racial justice, which is essential for teachers, institutions, and professional development.
Content
The film Precious Knowledge focuses on the fall and defense of the ethnic studies program within the Tucson district. The MAS was a program created to encourage students to attend school and graduate. The enrolling of the Ethics program was to enhance the children to learn more about their origin and culture. The program was a success as the number of students attending classes increased, and hence the rate of those graduating also increased. In addition, it transformed the students as they became engaged, informed, and active in their communities. The MAS program was a success as it rekindled the students’ love for learning.
It is evident in the film as one student says, “I started coming to classes, and I started seeing, like, why do I believe all this? Instead of feeling it, I should change it” (Kannan et al. 74). However, many opposed, such as Benjamin Franklin, the program concluding that it instilled anti-American values to students and anti-Americans. The negative thoughts of the education reached the superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne, who also had similar views.
Therefore, he proposed and succeeded in passing a bill that banned the program in institutions. The politicians wrap their racism in a language of opportunity, Individual Rights, and Americanism (Kannan et al. 76). In the remainder of the documents, we see students and teachers protesting the bill and attempting to prevent the account from being passed. Precious Knowledge provides an insider perspective on historical battles as the students’ fight to save their ethics classes. The students mobilize rapidly through the use of megaphones, Facebook, and texting. The central question that arose from the students and teachers protesting was if the program failure would be preventable or not.
Codes and Convections
Understanding what a film is about, code and convections usage occur as the viewer’s anticipate comprehending the film’s meaning. For instance, in the scene introduction, film titles are shown, the Precisions Knowledge and where the film took place Tucson unified school District of Arizona. The film production logo presents so that if the film was exciting, one could watch another movie of the production, and it is a form of advertisement for the producers for their movies.
The codes are the symbols or signs used in a particular film to institute the genre and sub-genre film. The convections and regulations are there to address the Spector’s on type of film through relating sounds, shot types, and making use of characters. For instance, in the film Precious Knowledge when students protest the ban of the MAS program, the camera takes a long shot to show the event’s exact location, and a close shot takes place on the characters to show their facial expressions.
More codes occurring are the characters’ body language, which permits us to observe how the characters are feeling. For instance, the students are pacing all over the place as they are demonstrating. It indicates they are uneasy as they advocate for justice for ethics programs to continue running in schools. Music is also another form of code used in the film to show the film’s pace and genre.
For instance, the Precious Knowledge film has face-paced music to make us feel the agony of the students as they are protesting. Moreover, music has been affected in the movie to keep us engaged in the scenes happening. Voice-over is also part of the film to guide the audience through the film plot. Actual footage is applied to bring out the realism of the events happening in the movie. For convection in the film, the students lift billboards, revealing that they are protesting. Codes and convections work hand to expound on the thematic symbolism of the film.
Credibility
Eren Isabel McGinnis establishes the credibility of the film by the use of some specific documentaries techniques. These techniques are applied for the viewer’s not to doubt the presentation of the film. Other than the narrator and titles, which probably confuse viewers of authentication the events, archival photographs, actual footage, interviewers, and eyewitnesses, are also used to authenticate the film. The separation of fictional narratives from non-fictional counterparts through a narrator’s presentation in the movie. The Precious Knowledge film uses an authoritative narrator to establish credibility. The narrator’s voice in the film is followed by interviews and videos footage of the event.
The viewers may fail to understand what is occurring in the film; hence, the narrator’s voice clarifies the situation. Thus, the narrator has enough proof to explain the movie and authenticate his voice. Moreover, interviews with students on how they feel about the program serve to understand their views on the program and why they thought it was injustice for the program to be banned. Footages of the various events of the students protesting are capable of telling the truth of the story. The use of actual footage helps establish the film’s credibility as the students address their views.
Summing it up, the film establishes an implication for the educators, students, and communities to work on the achievement gap in their communities. The film is a source of inspiration to many as many social justices groups have formed and students present ethnic classes in their communities. The message of the film has been an inspiration to many students to change their lives. It is also a source of inspiration to the students to be better teachers. In addition, it has inspired people to work together to bring positive and progressive changes to their communities. The struggle in the Precious Knowledge film has been an impressive call of action to many.
Work Cited
Kannan, Vani, t al. “Warriors, Not Victims”: Precious Knowledge, the Fight for Ethnic Studies, And Accountability to the #Metoo Movement.” Radical Teacher, vol.18, 2020, pp.75-78. University Library System, University of Pittsburgh.