Saw the "brothel" clip from The History Boys at the National Theatre's 50th anniversary celebration, it was so interesting, I found a movie based on the play to watch. In the cast list, there is Frances de la Tour who played Violet in the British drama Vicious, and I feel that I have earned it again. Originally thought it was a lighthearted and funny comedy, but after reading it, I felt that I was "deceived". The movie is more aura than expected, and it is worthy of being an NT drama adaptation. The dialogue is wonderful and contagious, and many of them are like poetry.
This is a group of high school top students in Sheffield, whose A Level grades are basically 3A, and they are making final preparations for entering Oxbridge. The history teacher Dorothy gave them a good foundation, and the knowledge taught by the comprehensive teacher Hector was interesting but illusory. The principal felt that the students were smart enough, but lacked the knack and sharpness to take the test. This task was handed over to the newly hired temporary teacher Irwin, and the time left for him was 3 months.
useful and useless
Hector was chubby and white-haired, always wearing a three-piece suit and a bow tie. He taught poetry, plays, songs, and everything related to words, emotions, and beauty in a free, purposeless way. There are not only Yangchun Baixue, but also Xialiba people, because the latter can make it easier for everyone to fall in love with the seemingly unattainable palace of literature. The students play the piano, sing, and improvise in the class. Hector often talks about touching the scene, and pops out a poem... But these are like the breath floating in the air, which can be felt but cannot be touched. For students facing interview pressure That said, it's neither practical nor pertinent.
Irwin, a young Oxford-educated teacher, found the students' perspectives to be boring as soon as the class started. What examiners need is ingenious insights, not one-size-fits-all judgments. He encourages everyone to discuss and dig out different and even opposing viewpoints in the face of seemingly established facts. Like Rudge said, his teaching method is cutting edge. The truth doesn't matter, and it doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. The key is to have new ideas. After all, this is an exam. What Hector teaches students is interesting enough to punctuate an article as a small citation, but that's about it.
The arrival of Irwin has increased the resistance of the students to Hector, who need teachers to focus, teach skills, and teach more useful things. Instead of Hector-style whimsy. But in the end, what is useful?
Timms complained to Hector why he was talking about poetry again, they didn't understand poetry. Hector told him that he had never understood poetry, but now learn it, understand it, and one day you will understand it. When Posner and Hector discussed Hardy's work, Hector said, "The best moment in reading is when you realize something, a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things that you thought was special and that only you can Understand, and here, someone else has expressed it. Someone you've never seen, even someone who's been dead for a long time. And then, as if a hand stretched out and grabbed yours."
To me, things that really work help us face loneliness, have beauty beyond rational explanation, and heal the heart. As Mr. Lu Xun said, the joys and sorrows of human beings are not connected. As social animals, we are ultimately alone. But reading is a dialogue that spans space and time, and when I read some fragments, it seems like a corner of my heart has been hit. Suddenly I felt that someone shared the same idea with me. Although they might not see each other, they all looked up at the same moon. In these moments, the secret of loneliness suddenly becomes beautiful too, with a gentle glow. Other times, we read a book and find that it is also a footnote to our own life, explaining the funny walking dramas. After all, there is nothing new under the sun. The relationship with a book also changes over time. A book that once felt boring and unbearable, one day became vivid and lovely. A book that I once read with joy will always have a new understanding when I read it again.
Sometimes when we look at a lake, we suddenly think of a poem, and walking through the bustling street, we hum a song from a long time ago. The seemingly "useless" beauty allows us to enjoy complete peace and harmony in the busy day-to-day life that is too "useful".
Conclusion and discussion
Hector encourages people to express real, definite emotions, while Irwin leads students to explore other possibilities behind the facts. With the principal's approval of Irwin's teaching methods, Hector's class hours are shared with Irwin, and they teach together in a class. At this time, the contradiction between profound and witty is also stimulated to the greatest extent.
Irwin proposed to discuss the Holocaust in class, but Hector objected, arguing that the subject should not be taught to students, and directly condemned the concentration camps as an unprecedented horror. But the students felt that his answer was nothing new and put it into context for discussion. The next conversation is interesting.
Posner, who is Jewish, said angrily that putting things into context refers to things that can be understood or explained. If a thing can be explained, it can also be excused. Rudge added that to be understood is to be forgiven. Irwin thumbs up to the Good point. Scripps and Irwin say you keep saying good points. That's not the point, sir, the point is that it's real. (You keep saying "good point". Not good point, sir. True!) Posner also expressed more resistance that for you, the Holocaust is just another subject we might test. No, Irwin explained, but that's history, and study it yourself as a bystander.
Hector's views and emotions are strong, direct, and pure, and cannot be embellished for any purpose. Irwin, on the other hand, feels that everything has multiple sides. If you pull yourself out of the emotional vortex, you will see more possibilities.
I actually agree more with Irwin, as a skeptic, I always feel that we are not smart enough to be confident in grasping the absolute truth. Trust your own emotions and judgments, but welcome and be willing to explore more possibilities. But the question is, as discussed in this scenario, are all issues multifaceted? can be discussed?
calm and hidden
Most people hide their fluffy tails because we are afraid of being laughed at. Irwin claimed to be an Oxford graduate, but he was actually a Bristol graduate. Irwin, who seems so confident, also has an inferiority complex, and feels that he is not smart enough, and that everything is not good enough; Hector is gay, but has been married for many years. He often rides students home on a motorcycle, extending his buttery hand every now and then. Although there was no serious problem, it was finally discovered by the traffic coordinator. The principal asked Hector to retire early for this reason.
Rudge, by contrast, knew exactly what he wanted and made no secret of it. He was the worst performer of the group, but had a strong interest in sports. In the mock interview, the teacher asked him how to define history? Rudge said, it's just one jerk thing followed by another. Hector told him that even if the Oxbridge team needs you, give the interviewer a step down and show some other qualities. Rudge put it bluntly: "I'm really bad at this [interview]. Sorry. If they like me and want to admit me, they'll admit me because I'm boring and mediocre."
The sensitive Posner has a calmness that he does not know. He never hides his admiration for Dakin. The book says maybe same-sex love at a young age is just a phase that will pass, but Posner said, I don't want to let it pass. At the end of the film, the future Posner becomes a teacher like Hector, and he says he is not happy, but not depressed (I'm not happy, but I'm not unhappy about it). He came to terms with life, with himself.
Pass the Parcel
The students ended up in good places and were admitted to Oxford and Cambridge. They used Irwin's way to write Hitler as a misunderstood person in the essay, saying that Elizabeth II was average and only had the opportunity to display it...
But Hector had influenced them more than they knew.
Dakin's essay is about a turning point in history. He told Irwin that when Chamberlain resigned as prime minister in 1940, Churchill was not the first choice, and Halifax was actually more popular. But on the afternoon of the decision, Halifax decided to go to the dentist. Had he had good teeth, Britain might have lost that war. Irwin thought it was interesting. Dakin says it's subjective history, and Hector's favorite is the subjunctive. Irwin laughed at this.
Towards the end of the film, Dakin gives Posner a hug, joking as a reward for his scholarship. Posner complains, is this the moment I've been waiting for? Also too TM short. Dakin rushed over again and hugged him with a smile. This is youth. How wonderful it would be if the movie didn't have the last 5 minutes...
Hector is gone, but his "fairy tale" world never ends. In his eulogy, the principal said, "He opened a regular account for students in the Hall of Literature, allowing them to become a stakeholder in that wonderful world of literature."
The best teacher in my mind is a teacher like Hector, who not only teaches knowledge, but arouses students' interest, curiosity and ability to identify beauty, and encourages them to feel, explore and express freely. It is true pleasure to appreciate the vain and useless beauty.
"Pass the parcel, that's sometimes all you can do. Take it, pass it, feel it and pass it on."
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