A Realistic Proposal: Compete Globally.

So maybe this wasn't the best movie I've ever seen. Or, maybe I just didn't like the message being shoved down my throat. In the end, what really matters is what I took away from the movie, and as I sift through the craftily used statistics and the subjective portrayal of information, I found a message with relevance. It does not carry the drastic overtones that the movie wants us to feel, but it still highlights a growing problem. Like it or not, we are falling behind. It is like we are sitting at a stoplight and we miss the light switching to green, seeing the cars in the other lane advance and all we can do is slam on the gas to catch up. If your car isn't up to par, hitting the gas is not enough.


In the film, the creators effectively portrayed their statistics as an appeal to logos in order to fit their claim and purpose. They can use statistics, for example the number of Chinese that learn English and vice versa, in a way that twists our perception. Even though China has a higher population and English is more important for them to learn than Chinese may be for us, they use this stat to garner a response, that we are not competing on a global level. They effectively used case studies to appeal not only to our sense of logos but also pathos. We can see ourselves in the students from Carmel, and we are able to see what the students in other nations are going through. These are not representative of the whole population so they provide only what the makers of the film want you to see (Come on, how many violin virtuoso's are there in China?). Although they used "experts" to explain this growing trend as a way to appeal to ethos, I did not feel they adequately addressed this appeal by failing to connect as filmmakers.


This movie was made to target Americans. The creaters' intent was to show us how we are lacking by spending our time differently. It never addresses the importance of areas outside of academics in the business world, or the importance of people skills if you aren't going into engineering or science. However, as you look through the statistics and stories, you are able to see that we do need to work at a higher level to continue to compete on a global level.