3. Historical - To Sir, With Love (1967)
Prejudice and racism are still prevalent in todays movies, though only to add to a characters disposition, unless the film is a depiction of life in another time. In To Sir, With Love, prejudice and racism overwhelm students at an inner city school in England where their new teacher, played by Sidney Poitier, is an intelligent black man in a position of power. In the beginning, the students are crass and intolerable, but Poitiers character, affectionately called Sir, remains calm and carries on. After winning over one student, Sir slowly starts to recognize that the problems of racism are not as far behind him as he thought. When I first saw this movie, I was in love with Sir. He was so strong and so in charge that it was hard not to immediately respect and honor his success. What was nice, in a somewhat not nice way, was that the introduction to prejudice was tame, coming from students directed at their instructor. Though they voiced their opinions just fine, they were still unsure as to how far they could go because their subject was their superior. When they finally come around, you almost get a sense of relief, which is refreshing. Also, I have a strange obsession with the 60s, so the costume design, music, and hair/makeup, really delighted me.