Page 19 - Floreat - Academic Enrichment Lent 2021

Rear Window (1954). One of Hitchcock’s great thrillers, a visual masterpiece featuring Gene Kelly and James Stewart. Hitchcock draws the audience in with a protagonist confined to his apartment with only a window to look out of...
I’ve recently read M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains and would recommend to older boys. A real page-turner hooked by the Shakespearean references!
I have also been reading Julian Baggini’s How the world thinks: A Global History of Philosophy. It provides the reader with a fascinating insight into how those outside the western world live their lives. A must- read for any enquiring mind who wishes to broaden their horizons!
Currently going through a western films phase – High Noon is brilliant!
Mr Stephenson
The Good Shepherd: Gripping CIA drama. Mr Thomson
I’ve just read a book called Red Notice by Bill Browder. It’s an autobiography about his experience moving to Moscow in 1993 to become an investor in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. It is an astonishing story. I lived in Moscow in the early part of the 21st century so I found it so interesting to hear about his experience investing in the same Russia that I’d lived in. His difficulties dealing with the bureaucratic and corrupt system there were fascinating, I was hugely inspired by the resolve he showed to get things done.
In terms of TV series, we’ve been working through the BBC crime ones – The Night Manager is excellent, as is The Serpent.
TV Series
The People vs OJ Simpson (2016)
Remarkable and faithful retelling of the ‘Trial of the Century’. NFL superstar OJ Simpson stands accused of murdering his wife and her lover in a sensational case which divided a nation. Standout performances from an all star cast. I struggled to not immediately watch the next episode despite knowing the outcome.
Available on Netflix.
https://www.netflix.com/title/80083977
Film
A Social Network (2010). I did not think a film mainly about deeply introverted computer science Harvard students could be so gripping. Yet it is! Director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) combine to produce a gripping drama charting the rise of the largest social media network in the world. The soundtrack by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Atticus Ross also deserves special mention.
Available on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/title/70132721
Mr Ward
TV
Band of Brothers, a series set from the D-Day landings up to the end of World War 2 that is able to combine excellent historical accuracy with moving and inspirational storylines.
Book
The Luzhin Defence, written by the well known Russian Vladimir Nabokov. The character, who is not named until the last sentence of the book (spoiler), is a tragic story of a chess genius who struggles to find his place in the world, and is based on a friend of Nabokov’s.
Film
Stand and Deliver. Based on the true story of Jaime Escalante, a Bolivian teacher who succeeded in getting students from a heavily deprived school in LA to pass A-level calculus exams. The film that made me want to teach!
Mr Walker
Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana (1958)
Dark Cold War spy comedy from Graham Greene set in revolutionary Cuba. Ridiculous but scarily believable about how willing people are to accept information without question. Also has the benefit of Greene’s bone-dry style and is not overly long! Perhaps the pleasant Cuban weather also appealed to me.
Floreat ⏐ Academic Enrichment Programme ⏐ Lent Term 2021 P19
What I Learned from my Teacher...