History Boys

When we saw the History Boys on Broadway in NY we had SRO tickets. The play had run its course and was returning to London. Its popularity had not run its course however for last minute tickets just didn't materialize. Last night we saw the movie version of the play done with the same actors.

This tale of a group of middle class boys trying to qualify for entrance into Oxford University is one of those tales that set in the Unite States would have to entail the sports metaphor. There would be a player or a team that for some reason or another couldn't win the big one. There would be coach that was lost in his own life unable to coach or his methods were so controversial that he was out of the mainstream of conventional belief. All of these elements are included in this story, but its set in a preparatory school classroom.

But the Brits have a facility to understand the up from under tale without a ball being involved, Bend it like Beckham, not withstanding. We have the old school professors, one male and one female that have brought their charges to the brink of being accepted at the most prestigious university in the country, possibly the world. The headmaster, thinking of what it would mean to the school, to say nothing of his career, to get even one of his students accepted can't stand pat. He brings in a younger teacher to give these young men his tough love approach to preparing for the process of being qualified.

Each of the boys bring a slightly different angle to the challenge. Their race, intelligence, outlook, sexual orientation and appearance all work to allow you to identify with everyone of these kids as some one you might have gone to school.

The teachers also represent a broad spectrum of academic thought. The classicist, Hector, the pragmatist, Irwin and the feminist, Mrs. Lintot all form and inform their charges in their own unique and, as it turns out, useful ways. They produce young men with aggressively curious and skeptical minds.

Their is one scene that has to typify the whole film. The boys have studied, debated and rehashed every conceivable piece of information they could anticipate being part of the test and interview process. The three instructors set up a mock interview to prepare them. During the interview, Mrs Lintot rises and asks if they were prepared to be interviewed by a woman. She goes on to say that the difference is that only women know that the truth and the truth is that, history is the record of five centuries of male ineptitude and as such women might look at things a little differently. This scene shows the boys and us is that no matter what we know until we have looked at it from some elses viewpoint we will never know all we need to know.

As in all of these tales while it affirms the necessity of going forward and changing with the elevation of Irwin and the marginalization of Hector, it also shows the value of evolution rather than revolution. In this case however, right wins out when an enterprising student, who already recognizes the value of both saves Hector for another day.

While it may be interesting when we see a film about an actual event to follow up and see where the participants are today and what they are doing and this method is used commonly. I am thinking of the film about the US Hockey team that beat the Russians, Miracle, 2004. In the case of History Boys, the characters are fictional and this follow up was done to point out the possibilities. The results of their education did not necessarily fall into the cliche slots one might have expected and the death of one them was a chilling reminder that as I write intelligent, strong and good young people are dying. As it was the lot of teachers was not a happily ever after either, but than, that is how real life proceeds

As a reflection of life this play and the movie version show us that education is worth it for the whole of us not just the employable part of us that produces money and that service in the cause of education can be fulfilling even if it's not necessarily understood or appreciated.