User Reviews

At the time of writing I have only seen 3/10 of the episodes but I think this is enough to grasp the quality and direction of the documentary. I am British and have never been to the US.

I feel as though I should give the documentary two ratings. One is purely based on my interest and enjoyment of the work, and the second based on how the filmmakers have approached the work.

The actual footage, interviews and interviewees are all very interesting and sympathetic. For example, the self segregation of the students by race is very revealing. Anyone still thinking that race isn't a real point of tension for ordinary americans (as opposed to a media narrative only) will have that illusion evaporate rather quickly.

Many scenes raise real questions about the true motivations of the decision makers involved. For example, when one teacher comes from Scandinavia with ideas for how to improve the performance of minority students, nobody on the board seems interested, even though you'd think they would be desperate for ideas if only for PR purposes (given the racial disparity in test scores). Also of note is the obvious schism within the school board between the black/female members and the others.

The students and teachers are all very likeable and sincere. Some of them are a little too social justice-y for my taste, although this is a personal preference on my part. The documentary does a good job of richly portraying many people efficiently.

I would rate the way the filmmakers have approached the work a little less well. One gets the feeling that they had already decided on the narrative (this being, essentially, the standard left-wing narrative of systemic racism) they were going for before filming began and this hurts the credibiility of the documentary.

To be sure, we do see varying degrees of racism or race-related tension. Examples include a socially awkward physics teacher who in trying to engage a black student actually makes her feel very uncomfortable; the clear tensions between some black staff and their colleagues; and racial slurs being used in a 'Football' game.

Unfortunately the filmmakers seem either too afraid or too close-minded to ask questions that risk upsetting the narrative I alluded to. For example, many students are given a lot of time to praise the importance of the BLM movement or speak about their troubles related to identifying as non-binary. Yet one black student who briefly mentions the high black-on-black homicide rate (and is not happy about it) doesn't appear to be given a chance to elaborate on the issue in an equivalent manner.

It may have been enlightening to ask whether the focus on race and what divides us is itself contributing to these problems, especially given that observation of group differences is a necessary condition for the formation of negative stereotypes (see Jonathan Haidt's research). One gets the impression that this level of self-examination is beyond James et al.

One also has to wonder exactly why certain board members didn't want the documentary to happen. I think it is probably because they have something to hide, but it may be in part because they suspected the filmmakers had an agenda and would not be sympathetic to their (possibly legitimate) points of view. It is a shame they were not braver because their input may have allowed the work to offer a more complete and credible view of the issues it surveys.

This said, the filmmakers do not appear to be looking to blame anyone in particular for the problems they are concerned with, and seem honest enough. Just know this: they are biased toward confirming beliefs they already hold; and this bias will not be highlighted by most reviewers in the mainstream media because they also share these prior beliefs.

Summary: "America to Me" is a documentary series with 10 1-hour episodes that follows the daily lives of a few students who attend Oak Park, a high school in Illinois. The school has a problem with the achievement gap and equity and has multiple academic tracks (ex: honors, ap), making the school hold two realities, one that Black students experience and another that White students experience. The documentary follows a variety of students who are in different grades and who participate in different extracurriculars, and over its course, the audience gets to see the different problems that the students face and their different strengths as individuals. It also details school board meetings and interviews with the students' parents and teachers, allowing the audience to have greater insight into what is going on at the school and in the students' lives. By the end of the documentary, it feels clear that the school is doing little to nothing to help the achievement gap, but the viewer can learn a lot about the experiences of African American students and their both their challenges and strengths. About half-way through the series, the documentary also follows 2 White students and one Mixed student, which really helps to clarify the differences between the school's two realities. Additionally, although the school administration does not seem to be doing anything to help the achievement gap, the documentary does follow the efforts of a group of teachers at the school. A lot can be learned from their struggles against the school board and from seeing their teaching strategies from an outside perspective, all of which would really benefit a future teacher.

Who should watch it? Anyone interested in teaching (especially if they attended a particularly monoracial school or would like to teach at a school that struggles with equity), anyone interested in the achievement gap, anyone interested in equity, and anyone looking to grow in empathy for students of color should watch this series.

Strengths of the series: It's entertaining and by the end you feel like you've gotten to know the students. It also follows a wide enough variety of students, so there are not many lulls in the show.

Weaknesses of the series: The series does not give any kind of commentary on what people say. It's nice that the content isn't filtered, but the audience has to do the thinking for themselves; however, there are online worksheets related to the series. Also, it does not conclude with a follow up on the students, the school, or the teachers, which definitely would've added to the series.

Overall: I would definitely recommend "America to Me," it's a great series! I really enjoyed it, but it also made me think more seriously about various topics related to race, school, the achievement gap, equity, tracking, reparations, special ed, how students' home lives interact with their lives at school, and how teachers' biases can affect their teaching.

The series is the best depiction I have ever seen of what it actually looks and feels like to be in high school, doing what Eighth Grade did for the middle school experience except with people's real lives. You get drawn into the kids lives and hooked on seeing how their choir audition is going to go or what's gonna happen.