Year after year, beauty pageant contestants respond that their goal is to achieve world peace, but none of them summarize how to accomplish it quite like Mr. Simon (Ed Harris) in That’s What I Am (2011). “Human Dignity + Compassion = Peace” is a formula for everyone to take note of, not just Mr. Simon’s middle school students.
In this coming of age story, director Michael Pavone reminds audiences that the so-called strange individuals singled out by cruel bullies are not monstrous creatures who deserve inconsiderate treatment. Kind souls like Stanley (Alexander Walters) and Andy (Chase Ellison) make us wish that ruthless people would become more tolerant of others, without leaving nerds or exceptionally tall students to suffer for superficial reasons.
Some kids isolate themselves in washroom stalls to avoid bullies’ harsh comments, but according to the cool kids’ seating plan at this school, Stanley and his fellow tormented classmates, such as a headgear-wearing girl, must spend their lunch breaks in the dreaded ‘geek corner’. This is the closest thing they have to a safe haven on campus because it is unthinkable for any student concerned with social status to set food in this area of the quad. Given how much people develop at a young age, it is especially problematic when academically-inclined students who should be role models are routinely ridiculed.
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Recess violence isn’t the only issue Pavone addresses, as he also portrays attitudes prevalent in the 1960s toward homosexuality. Accusing a teacher of being a homosexual and complaining about the whole world going to hell should not be done in the same sentence, but Andy’s father makes this connection during a rant. His unfair judgment of the award-winning teacher is not the father’s only shortcoming, but unfortunately the entire parent community shares his sentiment. The notion that a teacher’s sexual preferences should interfere with their employment, when no harm has been done, is unjust.
Pavone should be commended for creating a stunning film about growing up. Andy’s innocent stammering while talking to the beautiful blonde bombshell in his neighbourhood accurately captures the awkwardness of youth, especially once combined with his concerns about puberty-induced sweating. The fact that the school has a resident expert on cooties is hilarious. The boy’s role at school becomes troublesome when his advice leads to violence, but his title in itself takes reiterates the innocence of childhood when catching cooties is one of children’s greatest worries.
It is unusual for a film set in the 1960s to dedicate merely two lines of dialogue to racist prejudice and cast an African-American boy as the protagonist’s best friend without any havoc as a result. The setting is refreshing however because so many films made today focus on cyber-bullying via IMs and camera phones, whereas Pavone successfully gets to the core of middle school drama without any text messaging under the desk.
It’s a shame that such poignant storytelling is relegated to limited release because That’s What I Am epitomizes why films inspired by true events raise the bar for all other productions.