Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
We have noted in recent years some outrageous media depictions of the public schools. Several years ago one of the "Inspector Morris" series was set in a
hypothetical public scholl in which murders were being committed. I'm not sure when this was made. We recentkly noted another depiction as part of the "Keen
Edie" series. I'm not sure when the episode aired in Britain, but was shown on Bravo during 2004. It was in the same veign, basically charging that the stuffy
traditions of a school prevented the headmaster from looking after the bester interests of the boys. Bullying in both instances were carried to the extreme of murder.
Granted these are movies, not documentaries, but the premise of the shows are so ludicrous that one wonders about who wrote and accepted the plot and why.
Surely there are legitimate issues involved with private education in Britain. The charge that the schools do not look after the saftey of the children is not one of
them. Are there any media accounts of severe bullying at these schools. We do not know of any. In fact we suspect that there is much more bullying at state
comprehensive schools than the public or preparatory schools. A British reader writes, "The newspapers do indeed feature stories of bullying in Comprehensive
Schools on a regular basis. Hardly ever do I hear of such goings on in Independent Schools. My experience is that the pupils are looked after very well indeed.
Trips at the weekend and suppervised play after school. I thought it was a higher level of care than that which my parents gave." There are left-wing critics of
British private schools. We suspect that what is involved here is the work of people who donot like the public schools and simply use the schools as a setting for an
unprincipled attack.
We have noted in recent years some outrageous media depictions of the public schools. Several years ago one of the "Inspector Morris" series was set in a
hypothetical public scholl in which murders were being committed. I'm not sure when this was made. We recentkly noted another depiction as part of the "Keen
Edie" series. I'm not sure when the episode aired in Britain, but was shown on Bravo during 2004. It was in the same veign, basically charging that the stuffy
traditions of a school prevented the headmaster from looking after the bester interests of the boys. Bullying in both instances were carried to the extreme of murder.
The public and oreparatory schools have traditionally been seen as character building institutions. Noys were susposed to have "stiff upper lips" and face up to difficult situations, including bullying. Public schools used to be very rough places where bullying was a real problem. In fact, the most notable school story in British history is Tom Brown's School Days which centered on bullying at Rugby, a noted public school. The only thing is that the book deals with the mid-19th century!
These recent depictions are a far cry from the way public schools were once depicted in film. The classic depiction is of course "Good Bye Mr. Chips" (England, several productions). Another classic depiction is "To Serve Them All My Days" (England, 1984). Both wre based on poplar novels. Another well known movie was "If ..." (England, 1969). This was also a critical piece on the public schools. Unlike some of the recent depictions, however, it focused in a rather surealistic way on actual aspects of public school life which might legitimately be open to debate, especially begore the 1960s. A film that more responsibly dealt with real issues concening the public schools was "The Guinea Pig" (England, 1947).
Granted these are movies, not documentaries, but the premise of the shows are so ludicrous that one wonders about who wrote and accepted the plot and why.
Surely there are legitimate issues involved with private education in Britain. The charge that the schools do not look after the saftey of the children is not one of
them. There are left-wing critics of
British private schools. We suspect that what is involved here is the work of people who do not like the public schools and simply use the schools as a setting for an
unprincipled attack. A British reader writes, "I suppose the rural setting of an independent school adds atmosphere to the story. Also I suspect, like
you, that there is opportunity to 'blacken' the concept of independent schools by perpetrating the stereotyping of harsh uncaring institutions as depicted in movies such as 'If' and the made for TV muder mysteries."
Are there any media accounts of severe bullying at these schools. We do not know of any. In fact we suspect that there is much more bullying at state comprehensive and primary schools than the public or preparatory schools. A British reader writes, "The newspapers do indeed feature stories of bullying in Comprehensive Schools on a regular basis. Hardly ever do I hear of such goings on in Independent Schools. My experience is that the pupils are looked after very well indeed. Trips at the weekend and suppervised play after school. I thought it was a higher level of care than that which my parents gave." We havevnoted bullying in recent years that often have ethnic/racial overtones. The film "Kes" (England, 1970) shows bullying in a state comprehensive but this is not the main story line.
Bullying is a topic that has been extensively dealt with in American films. Almosy always the films are set in state schools (referred to as public schools in America). "The Never Ending Story" shows bullying in an American elementary (primary) school. I think the original story is set in a German school. Of all the American films we know of depicting bullying, we know of none set in private schools.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer
[School sandals
