Maggie Gyllenhaal calls anti-union movie a fairy tale. Admits it is not realistic.

[madfloridian]

Maggie Gyllenhaal calls anti-union movie a fairy tale.

Oh boy, does that make me angry. Her little "fairy tale" movie, Won't Back Down, just may cause a parent backlash against teachers. She say it is not realistic, and that is right for damn sure.

Gyllenhall’s right — attack on teachers a fairy tale

Dear Editor: Thank you for featuring the recent opinion piece by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten (“Right-wing agenda drives movie on education”). This new attack on teachers is yet another attempt to demonize those of us in the trenches, while missing an important opportunity to tell remarkable stories about real-life problems and solutions in education.

In an Aug. 31 interview with Deseret News, Maggie Gyllenhall (star of the movie “Won’t Back Down”) said: “I guess for me the movie is a little bit like a fairy tale. It’s not ultra realistic in style or even in terms of the story that it tells.” This is true. And just as we should not use fairy tale movies like “Aladdin” to guide our thinking on the advisability of stepping onto hovering carpets, we should not trust blindingly absurd fairy tales about wicked teachers to guide our education policy.

So-called “parent trigger” laws may seem like a good idea, especially given the many problems that exist in the public schools of our country. But as former Bush administration Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch points out, a school does not belong to 51 percent of the parents who happen to have students attending it at one specific point in time.

..."It’s sad to see people in Hollywood — especially Gyllenhall, whose talents as a performer are superb indeed — using their gifts to demonize hardworking educators and the professional organizations that support us.

I doubt I will watch another movie with any of the cast in them. I looked up the Deseret News article referred to, and here is the picture that was there.


Maggie Gyllenhaal, left, Viola Davis, second from left, Rosie Perez, second from right, and Daniel Barnz pose before the New York Screening of "Won't Back Down", Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 in New York.
Marion Curtis, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Add Holly Hunter as well.

Maggie Gyllenhaal harbors high hopes for public education

She harbors "high hopes" for public education and then takes the lead in such a movie. Makes no sense unless she is lacking sensitivity toward public school teachers. A "fairytale" like this one will grab at parents' emotions with untruths and lies.

There is no excuse.

[No Elephants]

1. Sounds as though (a) Maggie is trying to have it every which way; and (b) her

conscience goes on vacation when a movie script (allegedly) conflicts with her beliefs and principles.

She is now in my Woody Allen category.

As soon as he started "dating" a teenager who was, for all practical purposes, his stepdaughter. I vowed I would never see him again, no matter how interesting an interview might be, no matter how great the cast and reviews of a movie might be. I don't even watch when the movies are shown on tv for free.

So far, so good.

Now, Maggie joins him because she chose to make this film.

Too bad. I liked her. But, in truth, Woody's talent is greater than hers by magnitudes and I have no regrets about boycotting him.