sketchyshadydude Any movie can be viewed a portal, a portal that can transport viewers to faraway places, alternate universes, or distant time periods. Although these movies started out as simple black and white projections, they have evolved into masterful cinematic experiences that defy the limits of the natural world. Today, a "good movie" typically boasts mind-blowing special effects, a deep plot line, well-known actors, or a combination of the three. These are just of few of the standards set by film-makers in the 21st century. However, I feel that it is worth recognizing films that were revolutionary in their time, not just films that live up to today's expectations. One of these films, "Stand and Deliver," is about a Calculus teacher at a local high school who turns a rag-tag group of seniors into excellent mathematicians. These students go on to take the AP Calculus exam, all earning passing scores. Although this movie is not impressive to modern-day standards, it is worth noting that at the time, passing an AP exam was very difficult, at any school. This simple, yet tremendous feat helps me appreciate the worth of the movie, despite it being outdated. Overall, "Stand and Deliver" is a likable movie because of its charismatic characters that are easy to relate to.Likable characters are important to a successful movie because they allow viewers to either relate to them or idolize them. In the case of "Stand and Deliver," there were both types of characters. Jaime Escalante, the teacher of the high school, was by no means a perfect teacher. Throughout the movie he made many mistakes, such as making a rude comment about a student's love life. He also had a heart attack just weeks before the students' exam. These downfalls show that Mr. Escalante is by no means a god or someone we are any greater or less than. He also showed his down-to-earth personality through his fun, charismatic teaching style. In one such instance Mr. Escalante created a simple algebra problem by replacing the variable "x" with the amount of "girlfriends" someone had. This did not only cause his students to like him, but the audience as well. In this sense, both parties develop a sense of respect towards him; it is very difficult for a teacher to educate and appeal to his/her students. Although Mr. Escalante is a likable main character, the supporting characters in "Stand and Deliver" demand viewers' affection as well.Likable supporting characters only add to the main character's charm because it shows how he/she affects them. For example, one of my favorite characters from the movie is a boy called Angel. Although Angel is involved with delinquent gang activities and smokes cigarettes, he shows viewers his soft interior when he is at home taking care of his sickly grandmother. On top of this, we later find out that Angel is an intellectual man who cares about his grades; although he doesn't want his friends to know this, he asks Mr. Escalante for extra textbooks so he can study wherever he is.Although movies can take us to amazing places and can let us travel with amazing heroes, but sometimes the best movies are the ones we can relate to. Although I have seen some exciting films, it's always nice to relax with one of the classics. "Stand and Deliver" is my favorite movie because it has likable characters that I can relate to. I hope reading this review will inspire you to watch the movie, as well as enjoy it as much as I did.

mohammadalishafiee The art is affected by confronting the powers to survive and their total domination. In new modern world and various arts, cinema found unique and important position. Now these days could be said that films are the most important tool in theorizing and managing the public opinion. In contemporary world history, cinema has played a main role in political, economic and cultural evolutions. This role was apparently observable in cold ware that was one the most important changes in contemporary history. The aggressive policy of United States against Union of Soviet in cold war was military threats, economic sanctions, cultural, scientific and social conflicts. In this way, Hollywood helped the American politicians in many ways. One the confrontation area between these two governments was space exploration. Americans started to make wide advertisements on walking on the moon in the way of using public diplomacy, they triggered Russian society. After a while there was whispers that pictures of walking on the moon was not true. This doubt has been continued until nowadays, which are not responded by NASA specialists. Based on this introduction, a distinctive review on the film of Stand and Deliver by Ramón Menéndez that is produced by Warner Bros. Co. is offered. This is a drama film with a simple story. It could be said that using the politics for art is the main strategy of this company and this film showed that this company has capability of narrating a story to confront the political threats, even in field of telling a simple story. Although the film was based on a true story, these companies could change a fantasy to a real one by their powerful tools. The cinema power and Hollywood claim that we will make anything that men can imagine. Escalante becomes a math teacher in Garfield high school where other teachers fail in forcing students to study. Students are way below their grade level and do not show any positive reaction to the new method of instructions. Nobody show this new teacher an agreeable reaction and it seems that his presence is an additional problem. Peer groups have formed based on the similarity in each class. They have same viewpoint to the school and class as previous and cannot accept the changes that Escalante want to help them. However, the special character of him make them change and they are attracted to him. They are encouraged to learn math. This process continues until Escalante ask school to participate in a difficult national test in calculus. He insisted on it and after the school agreed to participate, he start to prepare his students. The student worked very hard, in one of the parts of the film when he teaches the students in summer school in a very bad condition in the locker room of the school without any air conditioner, Escalante says that: "you think I want to do this, Japanese pay me to do this, they are tired of making everything, they want you guys to pull your own way, so they can go and take vacation." so it could be said that getting to better America and beating all of the world powers of that time, is one of the most self-motivations of him. So they got a wonderful result. The Educational Testing Service questions the success of the students, suggests the students cheated. Escalante defends his students but The Educational Testing Service did not accept the defenses and the only option is to retake the test. They have just one day to prepare. Escalante collect his students one more time and they prepare for second test. The second test is held and the same results is obtained. In this time, the representatives of the Educational Testing Service were present and the test was confirmed by them. Escalante is succeeded and in final scene, he is walking to the exit corridor that is shining. He step down to proof of the success of other part of American society. It could be men traveling to the moon! Edward James Olmos portrayed different characters as well as Escalante in his playing history. He is originally Mexican, he is also served as an ambassador for UNICEF and in his life he really emphasizes the role and value of education, the risks of gang life. He received an Academy Award nomination for playing as Best Actor in a Leading Role of Stand and Deliver. Unlike the simple story and normal play of leading and supporting roles, the trump card of this film was its music. Craig Safan composed one of his best music for the film. After three decades, his music has been used in different TV programs and attractive for audiences. In critical viewpoint, it need to be mentioned that this music is not fitted with this film. It was beyond the film of Stand and Deliver. Camera working and special effects of this film was so simple without any complexity. It made audience to feel just looking into a memorial book of a math teacher. He entered a school and discuss with other teachers, and he observed some problems among his students. He tried to help those students using new methods. His angry and happiness was so simple. Beside all of this it has to be noticed that the movie won 11 Awards and has nominations for 7 more. Finally, it could be mentioned that Menéndez introduce an American society as a capable, hopeful and with perseverance by narrating a simple story as well as increasing the morale and confidence of American audience. This society is not afraid of blames and in way of getting successful; they are ready to accept any difficulties. This definition can guarantee any society against his enemies. Menéndez give a self – confidence to his people and make them ready for cold war. In a war that science and knowledge seems to be meaningful tools, Menéndez could offer a simple pattern of achieving this goal in 1988 before ending the cold war.

monahajijoo Plot This film, which Escalante himself said that was 90% truth and 10% drama, is a biopic of high school teacher "Jaime Escalante" whose method is to teaching his students and colleagues. He left his job as an engineer in private industry, a better paying one, in order to get a job at Garfield High School. The school is on the edge of being decertify due to poor academic results by the school district and Escalante's viewpoint is that students will appreciate the opportunities and those at the school are so dejected that they behave poorly. What does Stand & Deliver Stands for? According to Wiktionary, which is a dictionary belongs to Wikipedia, "Stand and Deliver is a phrase traditionally used by a highwayman commanding victims to hand over their valuables". We can compare Escalante and a highwayman in two negative and positive aspects. Perhaps, the reason behind choosing the name is because Escalante was performing similar to a highwayman telling the students to give him their most valuable thing which it could be called 'Time'. If the students wanted to pass the "road", which was an exam to pass in the movie, they had to hand over their valuables which was their summertime. Summer is the most pleasurable time for all kids, moreover because of the poor conditions they had to work as well so if they accept to attend the summer classes they had to surrender. The second aspect (the positive one), which was contradictory to the highwayman act was he gave them, with training them during summer, a chance to attend the collage and change their poor conditions to a better one in lieu of the leisure, fun, diversion, job and to sum, their summertime. But in return he gave them the most valuable thing they could ever achieve. As far as I understand, the writer was too intelligent to choose the name Stand and Deliver of this true story.Fight against Racism Ethnic and Racism discrimination in the United States has been a foremost issue since the colonial and slave era. Legally sanctioned rights and privileges were given to white American which were not granted to African Americans, Native Americans and Latin Americans, and even non protestant like Irish people, Italian and poles. Stands and Deliver seems to portray this racism within the educational system. When Educational Testing Service department have announced that the Garfield High school student cheated due to a same mistake that all had, Escalante did his best to prove that this is a sort of racism which accused his students and call them cheaters. In one scene he expressed that "in this country one is innocent until proved guilty, not the other way round and if this was Beverly Hills High School they wouldn't have sent the investigators" and he continued "no one would have questioned the scores if my kids didn't has Spanish surnames and come from barrio schools! Something is going on that nobody is talking about and you two (investigators) know what it is! I thought this was over long ago. Why do this to my kids? One of them said "there are two kinds of racism: singling out a group who are members of a minority and not singling out a group who are members of minority and continued "No one has the right to accuse me of racism. NO ONE HAS THAT RIGHT! This conversation revealed that there was something behind all this happening and this was Racism which all know it occurred within the country that has a long history in this field. At the end Escalante and his students surrender to accept the retest. It divulged that there is no simple way to fight with this system. Unfortunately, similar story was happened to a Hamedany student who could pass the University Entrance Exam successfully in two subject and then Ministry of Science, Research and Technology announced that there is a suspicion about his test so it is decided for him to do the test again. During that time many believe that if he is from Tehran the result never been questioned. Maybe we can consider this as a kind of discrimination.

Sarbas Nazari Despite the massive hurdles on his way to lead the pathetic students into the right track, the teacher, Mr. Escalante manages to reinvigorate the sense of esteem in them by teaching the hard subject of AP calculus, working day-in, day-out.The setting on which the plot is mainly based is Eastern Los Angeles Garfield High School, a place packed with students from the poor, deprived Hispanic minority led by a tough teacher who has no intention of backing down.Even at the opening, the audience begins to be fed with semiotic elements which signify the issue of stratification and deprivation in Los Angeles. "We're not a minority", that's one piece of large graffiti on a wall in a neighborhood filled with other elements of poverty, giving the initial hint to the viewer about the depiction of the plight and misery of a minority in the movie.The teacher is shown behind the roll as he cruises across the neighborhood, setting his eyes on elements of the lower-class life: a group of Latino construction workers on the back of a van, a couple of street vendors and a band of street performers crossing the road as they carry their instruments.Escalante is thrust into a class of extremely unruly children, who don't even bother stand up when he steps in the classroom. Interestingly, however, that is no shock to the teacher, as he seems to know very well how to handle them without resorting to violence while remaining completely coolheaded.Upon the first encounter, one students asks him if they can discuss "sex" in the class. "We could set sex for homework," Escalante quickly replies in a sarcastic manner, giving the students an impression of sharpness and biting humor.To highlight one major component of the Latinos' plight, the director chooses to focus upon the educational system and seeks to convey facts to the audience about how deep the social stratification and wide the gaps are in the American society when it comes to the right to equal education and opportunities.Garfield High School, indeed, the director implies, is an embodiment of decades-long discrimination against the Latino community, whose children are the primary target of injustice. But Escalante is there just to fight that up to the end. Of Hispanic origin himself, he seems to have deeply realized the graveness of the matter, which is why he puts the bar higher, much beyond the apparent capabilities of his students.The climax of the discrimination comes after the educational inspectors rule that the calculus test be rejected on the assumption that the participants had actually cheated in the exam, showing just how profound is the distrust in minorities even among the academics and the educated, who are supposed to put aside those biased notions and offer everyone the chance to move up the social ladder.Ironically enough, the director chooses the two inspectors from minorities, one African American, the other a Latino himself, to suggest that even the educated members of the minority groups are so strongly affected by the white supremacy, never realizing that what they do is indeed representing the predominant view that Hispanic children are inherently incapable."If it was Beverly Hills High School, they wouldn't have sent you to investigate," Escalante tells the inspectors, objecting to the mainstream attitude in the educational system. Escalante believes that if the same scores had been achieved by children from Beverley Hills, the system would have never questioned the results, because they are basically considered supreme and talented.The calculus test, from Escalante's viewpoint is a chance for the system to regain the trust of the Hispanic students, but the disapproval from the authorities makes that just a failure, disappointing the students and leaving them in a state of frustration after a months-long hard battle they fought to prove their aptitude.Still, the unyielding teacher rises again, taking the hands of the worn-out students and helping them to stand up for the cause once more. He calls them true dreamers. "Tomorrow you'll prove you're the champs," he tells them with vigor, valor and enthusiasm ahead of the second test.As the title suggests, the movie is the struggle of a man who never backs down in the face of hardships and obstacles, and sticks to his true mission of delivering the subject he's expected to convey to his students. But that's not the only thing he teaches them. The students learn calculus plus perseverance, something which has been missing in their lives by that time, due to the injustice imposed upon them.The dialog and characterization in the movie are both simple. There are no complicated characters and the language is that of the everyday life of a group of Latino students. To an extent, however, the plot is unpredictable, as one keeps wondering what will happen next, especially after the results of the first AP calculus tests are rejected by the Educational Testing Service.The music and the editing are smooth, with the costume and makeup design completely fitting the style of the era: loose shirts, young adults with newly grown mustache, and girls with hair-style representing the late 1970s. Together, those elements help with the viewer's full understanding of the theme and the context in which the story has developed.The closing scene of the movie comes as Escalante learns about the approval of the second test from the authorities. As he tries to overcome his over-excitement about the news, with a smile on his face, he leaves the principal's office. The camera shows him from behind as he walks away in the corridor, as if he's done with a tremendous mission and is determined to just embark on another journey to continue carrying the huge task on his shoulders somewhere else.