The Monday Movie Meme comes special delivered today from my participation on the 2012 Blog Action Day.
Each year around mid-October, bloggers from around the world (including me) bring awareness to one particular issue or cause. I’ve been participating in #BlogActionDay for about four years now and am glad to be a part of something that reminds us all that we can do our part, no matter how big or small, to make the world a better place. So, this week’s Monday Movie Meme topic is the same as the #BAD12 theme this year: The Power of We.
Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies that depict people working together to make a positive difference in the world for the benefit of their own communities or for strangers whom they may never meet in person.
Remember the Titans
Segregation was a huge part of one small town in this movie, until two football coaches brought their community together by setting aside their own differences, prejudices and assumptions about each other to build a winning team that just happened to be racially diverse. The positive impact that they made had a trickle-down approach from the coaches to the football team, thanks to the efforts of Gerry and Julius -- two team captains who changed the way their teammates, parents, friends and neighbors treated each other on the football field and out in the street.
Lean on Me
One evening, the entire population of Eastside High School Students walked to their local courthouse and demanded that their principal -- who was jailed for fire code violations at the time -- be freed. Rewind to the beginning of this film and it would be hard to imagine that students at this particular school cared about anything other than the drug trafficking and violence that littered their hallways and classrooms.
Thanks to the hard work and leadership of one no-nonsense principal, however, these students learned the value of not only education but also how working together as a team can bring positive results. They learned this because their principal lead by example -- demanding excellence from his teaching staff and holding parents accountable for students’ behavior, punctuality and literacy skills. The delegated responsibilities for improvement didn’t stop there, he also held the students accountable for their choices -- inside and out of the classroom.
Of the many unforgettable scenes and lines in this movie, there is one that sums up it’s Power of We: “Free Mr. Clark!”
Very Young Girls
This documentary follows the lives of teenage girls who are being exploited in human trafficking , particularly street prostitution. It mainly features the work of non-profit organization Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), a service that helps girls rebuild their lives and escape from violent pimps. A few years back, I rented this movie from Netflix just out of curiosity since I had never heard of it before browsing the rental offerings and although I didn’t necessarily like the documentary overall, I did find GEMS’s work to be very inspiring.
What movies have YOU watched that showcase The Power of We concept in some way, shape or form?