Why аrе bоаrding sсhооls аlwаys pоrtrаyеd аs bаd in сhildrеn's mоviеs?

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by Terry, Feb 7, 2017.

  1. Terry

    Terry Member

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    I hаvе twо еxаmplеs:
    Thе Pаrеnt Trаp: In thе nеw vеrsiоn (аnd pоssiblе thе оld vеrsiоn; I'vе nеvеr sееn it), thе yоung wоmаn thаt thе fаthеr wаs hооking up sаid thаt thе twins wеrе gоing tо а Swiss bоаrding sсhооl thе sесоnd shе wаs thеir stеp mоm.
    Thе Wild Thоrnbеrrys Mоviе: Thеy sеnd еlizа (thеir dаughtеr whо саn tаlk tо аnimаls) tо а bоаrding sсhооl аnd it's sо аwful thаt shе hаs tо run аwаy.
    I саn't tаlk fоr аnyоnе еlsе hеrе, but I wоuld LоVе tо gо tо а bоаrding sсhооl, pаrtiсulаrly оnе in Switzеrlаnd. Why аrе thеy pоrtrаyеd аs аn аwful punishmеnt?
     
  2. Taliska

    Taliska Active Member

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    They aren't always bad, after all Hogwarts is a boarding school and so are a lot in children's fiction like Mallory Towers and the Ballet School in girls fiction. The problem is that in real life, some were dreadful. If you've read John Harvey Jones' autobiography he describes the one he was at in terms that mean I would never send a child there! Each school has a distinct culture, and for a child that didn't fit in the experience could be dreadful. There's also the idea for a young child of leaving all their friends and going somewhere new with people they don't know, which is pretty terrifying.

    In the cases where they are shown as a threat, like Nanny McPhee, it is made pretty obvious that the parent isn't going to choose a good one, and it is just about getting the kids out of the way.
     
  3. Holmes22

    Holmes22 Active Member

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    I am not sure this is always the case, but I would say that I do tend to think of military like conditions and mean teachers. Maybe it is just that they are such an easy setting for troubled youth that it just ends up that way a lot.
     
  4. littlewitch66

    littlewitch66 Active Member

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    I remember when I was young I used to read the Enid Blyton Mallory Towers books which was centred around twins who attended a boarding school. I loved them and got completely engrossed in these books and thought how wonderful it would be to go to boarding school!

    I agree that they are often portrayed as being cold and lonely though. The movie 'Three Men and a Little Lady' made it sound too horrible for words but that fitted in with the story line where they were trying to make the person who was sending her there seem like a bad guy.
     
  5. Mika

    Mika Active Member

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    I have spent almost 7 years in hostel during my engineering college and business school and I have no hesitation to say that was probably the best period of my life. Yes, there were rules to follow and restrictions in place but when I compare them with other facilities available to us I want to forget those minor things easily. It would not have been possible for me to pursue my sporting career against my father's will. I have had some of the best friends of my life during my hostel days.
     
  6. Shine_Spirit

    Shine_Spirit Member

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    The exaggeration on the part of the writers is really there (this is a fact), it's something that I usually call "necessary evil". However, the problems do exist and need to be commented and discussed, albeit in a somewhat distorted form of true reality in the writers' view.

    I believe that any kind of debate is beneficial (in a positive or negative way).
     
  7. tyche

    tyche Active Member

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    Boarding schools aren't many and popular here, and their tuition is also a lot more expensive than regular schools, so I can't offer much insight other than what I have seen in the movies. I guess sometimes, the parents are so busy that they can't attend to their childs needs anymore and they can't look after them, so if they can afford it, then they just send the child to boarding school.
     
  8. Mika

    Mika Active Member

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    Actually the best schools in our country insist that they have lesser day students since they are located at costly places with pleasant weather conditions throughout the year. The best schools in country have best hostel facilities and strict rules for boarders according to their age and at a price so what we see in movies is just a personal idea what a director wants to show to his audience.
     
  9. iamawriter

    iamawriter Active Member

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    Generalising and saying boarding schools are bad is not right. There are boarding schools and boarding schools Just as there are good parents and bad parents.
    We are not talking about Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist here. Right? Who would not have read about the notoriously brutal Yorkshire boarding schools.
     
  10. Holmes22

    Holmes22 Active Member

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    I am mostly assuming that it is because it always seems that this is a last resort for parents, which may not always be the case. To be honest though I am not really sure what it is and I do not know too much about them, so a little awareness spreading would not hurt.
     

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