Kellams: This is Ozarks at Large. Guess who is back in the Anthony and Susan Hui News Studio. I'll tell you, it's April Wallace, our culture vulture. April, how are you?
Wallace: Doing great. How about you?
Kellams: Very, very good. You're an instructor at the University of Arkansas, which means your life has gotten a little different over the last few days.
Wallace: You could say that. Yeah, a little busier. That's OK. A little more finding parking.
Kellams: Oh, yeah. I had to find parking last week, which wasn't even the first week of classes. And I think we're going to have another record enrollment announcement this year.
Wallace: I think so.
Kellams: A lot of cars. But we're not here to talk about parking. What are we here to talk about? Culture, pop culture recommendations. And always you start with a question.
Wallace: Indeed. So Kyle, what's one of your favorite movies that takes place at school or in like a school setting?
Kellams: So movies is tougher because I can think of two television shows I like. "Freaks and Geeks," which only lasted one season, I think on NBC, way back when there was a show called "Room 222" with Karen Valentine. But you didn't ask about television, you asked about movies. And so my number one that takes place in a school setting is "Valley Girl."
Wallace: OK.
Kellams: Have you ever seen "Valley Girl"?
Wallace: I have not, but I know of what you speak.
Kellams: Nicolas Cage is first or second ever movie, and it's set, well, you know, it was during the Valley Girl craze of the early eighties. And it's set in a Southern California high school. Nicolas Cage is the sort of outcast who has a crush on a girl who actually likes a preppy guy. It's like, of course it's not a John Hughes movie, but it's like all those John Hughes movies. And in the end, Nicolas Cage and his crush end up together.
Wallace: Spoilers, Kyle.
Kellams: You can see that one coming. There's a lot of great, what was called new wave music at the time, in there.
Wallace: Well, I can't believe I haven't seen that one. I'm gonna have to see it now.
Kellams: It's kind of fun.
Wallace: Even though he kind of ruined it a little.
Kellams: Oh, sorry. How about for you?
Wallace: For me? Well, that's going to be the theme of this segment today. Some of my favorites, you know, you can see coming like "Dead Poets Society." You know, Robin Williams is the greatest professor of all time.
Kellams: Right.
Wallace: I mean, you know, technically "Harry Potter" is an actual movie.
Kellams: Sure. Of course.
Wallace: But let's talk about a couple here. Highly recommend "The English Teacher" on Hulu.
Kellams: Oh my goodness. It's not going to have a third season.
Wallace: It's not, sadly. And it's not a show for everybody.
Kellams: No.
Wallace: But it is very funny.
Kellams: It is, it is.
Wallace: Mr. Marquez, Evan Marquez, is a high school teacher in Austin. And at the beginning of the series, he's being investigated because a parent complained about him briefly kissing his boyfriend in front of a student. You know, there's all kinds of speculations as to why this is coming up now, but the point is he is being investigated while, you know, there are plenty of other way more problematic teachers at this school who fly by with flying colors. Of course.
He's usually kind of under the microscope because his brand of teaching is a little different from others. He's, you know, they're used to a coach being degrading or demeaning.
Kellams: Right.
Wallace: But they're not used to a gay teacher talking about what it is to be non-binary or what it is to be gay, or the importance of just being yourself and, you know, loving who you love and respecting each other. And he's usually the one interpreting the new politically correct terminology. It causes all these funny conversations. I like it in part. I mean, for many reasons. But one of the things is that some school related shows, you only see them in the classroom, or you only see them in the dorms or...
Kellams: Right.
Wallace: You know, one side or the other. All the teachers are all the students. This is a mixture. You see them in class, you see the teachers talking. You see the teachers hanging out after school. This school is their life. They're both concerned about the students and they want better for the students. But also the students are pushing them to be better too.
Kellams: And there's a really interesting exploration of male friendship in between Mr. Marquez and the coach, who is sort of the trope of a coach. He's kind of a Ron Swanson type. If you watch "Parks and Recreation," a man's man, but they find out they have a lot of common ground.
Wallace: They do
Kellams: And their friendship develops. That's why I'm sad there's not going to be a third season.
Wallace: But between the strong friendships they create and the school functions they attend, there's just very little time that they don't spend with each other and always asking each other for advice. Yes, with the students, but also with new trends and behavior. They're less woke this year. What do we do about that? Is it a problem or is it good because they kind of needed to tone it down.
Kellams: It's on Hulu. We mentioned that the third season is not going to happen, but you can watch the first two seasons. It doesn't really end on a cliffhanger. In fact, the second season wrapped up in a place that was, yeah, kind of convenient.
Wallace: I think so, yeah.
Kellams: Yeah.
Wallace: I was trying to think of, was there anything truly left out? Not really, not really. OK. So as far as movies, you know, speaking of "Dead Poets Society," I don't know if you remember this one, but there was a movie in 2003 that struck me as almost exactly "Dead Poets Society," but with an all female cast called "Mona Lisa Smile."
Kellams: I remember the name, but I don't think I've ever seen it.
Wallace: OK, well, this stars Julia Roberts as a novice art history professor at Wellesley, at a women's college. And she just, you know, has that unexpected lesson plan for inspiring students to think differently about their life trajectories, which of course, young women includes love, love and career and the tug between the two because it's set in the 1950s. So she has some of the brightest students in the country. But they have Harvard boyfriends and they intend fully to get their degree to complete it and then become mothers and do that for the rest of their lives.
It stars also Kirsten Dunst as like her headstrong, reluctant student who is just really quick to report her on everything that hasn't happened at Wellesley before. She wants, you know, the exceptions made for married students. She wants more time, she wants to skip class and still get A's and all that. It also has Maggie Gyllenhaal and Julia Stiles. And these are the, good grief, the women who, if they weren't going to get married immediately, either in school or right after, they would be lawyers, they would do ambitious things. And they have, you know, the smarts for it. They just need to be challenged on their, you know, conformity. And that's what Julia Roberts does to varying degrees of success with each of the students. But it's very much a, let's not just learn about art history, because obviously you can do that by yourself. You're smart enough. Let's teach you something you can take with you long after you get out of college.
Kellams: "Mona Lisa Smile."
Wallace: Yes. Love it. You can find it on Amazon Prime for rent these days.
Kellams: Is this the book? Did you bring the book in, your recommended book?
Wallace: I did. I was trying to reread it a bit a couple of years ago. I read "Nothing to See Here" by Kevin Wilson. It had a moment. I feel like a lot of people have read it, but I would reread it and reread it. Kevin Wilson is a Tennessee author and fellow introvert. I did get to see him speak at the Tennessee Book Festival a year ago when he released "Run for the Hills." Anyhow, he had a new release, and "Nothing to See Here" focuses on Lillian, who is a grocery store cashier in a small town, her hometown. And she wouldn't know the first thing about building a traditional career, about networking or climbing the ladder, or what she wants to do with her life beyond, you know, earning a little money and living with her mom at the moment.
So when her best friend from her like dormitory days writes her and says, I have an opportunity for you and doesn't even say what it is, but sends her a bus ticket, why not? You know, Save A Lot can wait, right? She gets there and learns that Madison, her old roommate, wants a nanny for her two stepchildren who have been in some trouble, but also their mother had died before she came in the picture. And the twins have a peculiar affect. They actually literally combust. They catch on fire whenever they're agitated. And being the children of a senator and a PR person, they get agitated. You know, they have a lot of attention that they don't want.
Kellams: Oh my goodness.
Wallace: And they need someone who understands them and can keep them from catching on fire. And, you know, Lillian might be that person, but we have to see how it goes.
Kellams: It sounds fascinating. Are there laughs in here?
Wallace: Yes.
Kellams: I would assume
Wallace: It is not that serious. It does. It does have some dark themes here and there, but I would say it is much more funny than dramatic.
Kellams: And the name of that book is "Nothing to See Here" by Kevin Wilson. All right. You'll be back again soon with more recommendations.
Wallace: I will.
Kellams: All right. Have a great school year.
Wallace: Thank you.
Kellams: All right. April Wallace is our culture vulture.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
