Education
- Episode aired Dec 18, 2020
- TV-MA
- 1h 3m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
12 year-old Kingsley is held back by the unofficial segregation policies at his school.12 year-old Kingsley is held back by the unofficial segregation policies at his school.12 year-old Kingsley is held back by the unofficial segregation policies at his school.
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSteve McQueen had a vested interest in this story. He is a person with dyslexia and as consequently found himself shunted into remedial classes at school because of it.
- ConnectionsFeatures Roobarb: When the Day Wouldn't Keep Still (1974)
- SoundtracksLondon's Burning
(uncredited)
Traditional
Performed by school children
Featured review
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Twelve year old Kingsley Smith (Kenyah Sandy) is interested in astrology, and wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. At school, he struggles with reading, and causes disruption in class as a result. He finds himself sent to a special needs school, despite not really meeting the criteria for it, where the staff don't care and he encounters racism. His case spurs the local Caribbean community in to action, revealing deep rooted inequality and bias in the education system. Throughout his collection of SA films, director Steve McQueen has returned to the Britain of his formative years in the 1970's/1980's and focused on several subjects in various situations living the black experience at the time. With his final instalment, he kind of goes back to the beginning, to a time of innocence and hope, to be sadly crushed like a flower in the park by a system designed to see that hope crushed. As a young actor having to carry such mature, socially significant material, newcomer Sandy effortlessly manages to make Kingsley a thoroughly believable product of the education system at the time, full of potential and opportunity, but not of the right background to help it lift off, or for those in authority to recognise it. And so it helps that the writing is spot on too, from Kingsley's mother, stressed out working long hours for low pay, but still determined to get the best for her son, to his dad who's depressingly resigned to his son living a life of mundanity, even to his believable home life with his sister. Through the intervention of some dedicated community activists determined to spearhead change, it finishes on a note of hope, that Kingsley could possibly achieve his dream after all. And, almost to reward his audience for sticking with the whole anthology despite the heaviness, McQueen finally injects some light relief, most notably Kingsley's unprofessional tutor forcing a tone deaf rendition of The Animal's House of the Rising Sun on him and the rest of the class. ****
Twelve year old Kingsley Smith (Kenyah Sandy) is interested in astrology, and wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. At school, he struggles with reading, and causes disruption in class as a result. He finds himself sent to a special needs school, despite not really meeting the criteria for it, where the staff don't care and he encounters racism. His case spurs the local Caribbean community in to action, revealing deep rooted inequality and bias in the education system. Throughout his collection of SA films, director Steve McQueen has returned to the Britain of his formative years in the 1970's/1980's and focused on several subjects in various situations living the black experience at the time. With his final instalment, he kind of goes back to the beginning, to a time of innocence and hope, to be sadly crushed like a flower in the park by a system designed to see that hope crushed. As a young actor having to carry such mature, socially significant material, newcomer Sandy effortlessly manages to make Kingsley a thoroughly believable product of the education system at the time, full of potential and opportunity, but not of the right background to help it lift off, or for those in authority to recognise it. And so it helps that the writing is spot on too, from Kingsley's mother, stressed out working long hours for low pay, but still determined to get the best for her son, to his dad who's depressingly resigned to his son living a life of mundanity, even to his believable home life with his sister. Through the intervention of some dedicated community activists determined to spearhead change, it finishes on a note of hope, that Kingsley could possibly achieve his dream after all. And, almost to reward his audience for sticking with the whole anthology despite the heaviness, McQueen finally injects some light relief, most notably Kingsley's unprofessional tutor forcing a tone deaf rendition of The Animal's House of the Rising Sun on him and the rest of the class. ****
- wellthatswhatithinkanyway
- Mar 23, 2021
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 3 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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