I think this is a great idea, and should be adopted by most regions. However, what educational purposes does each selection provide? I have doubts about a couple of them, and haven't seen a few others. I think there should be some debate between court members on the value of each film.
Personally, I believe that the best idea would be to establish a precedent of a commission, varying term lengths and appointed by the governor, that would provide a list to be voted on by the general court on a regular basis.
Of course, there would need to be something that promotes an even representation regarding partisanship so the list providing could be as bipartisan as possible.
The more difficult films or demanding films i've selected for later grades, the 2 films grade 6 is simply 2 coming-of-age classics which both are set in Illinois, and that I believe one has to have seen as a kid, given it is centered on young teens.
Groundhog Day is set in Pennsylvania and is also an American classic, lighthearted enough for grade 7 with Rear Window being a Hitchcock classic, set in New York.
The Shawshank Redemption is another classic set in Maine, and deals with morality. Similarly Gran Torino which is set in Michigan and directed by Clint Eastwood which deals for example with race issues, highlighting American-Hmong relations.
The Apartment is another classic, directed by Billy Wilder - a classic director - set in New York while Do The Right Thing also deals with race issues, directed by an Afro-American director Spike Lee set in New York as well.
Manchester by the Sea is a drama film set in Massachussets dealing around themes such as depression, guilt, grief, responsibility, dysfunctional families, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with also a prominent role for a younger protagonist, and being different in art style from aforementioned films. Taxi Driver is of course a Scorsese classic set in the 1970s, dealing with certain themes as well, but i chose these for 10th grade given the subject is already a bit heavier.
For Grade 11 i've chosen Columbus - set in Ohio - directed by an Asian-American director Kogonoda - and is also a more artsy pick given art also has its place on schools, centering around a few younger protagonists, dealing with making decisions after finishing college, and a changing environment, a highly relevant film.
For Grade 12 i've chosen Lincoln directed by Spielberg, which fits to partially explain the origin of the name Lincoln to the region of Lincoln and The VVitch: A New England Folktale as a more artsy pick set in New England while presenting a realistic view of what life must have been like in the 1630s New England, which is the educational purpose here.
The one film that with hindsight maybe can be replaced is The Silence of the Lambs, given with The VVitch A New England folktale there is already a semi-horror film included, and one can argue Taxi Driver sort of is too (or at least not suitable for younger people) and given it is less thematic and set in multiple states, so i'm open to replacing The Silence of the Lambs, however it is one of the films featuring a female protagonist in actress Jodie Foster (and in the main list outside of language classes, there aren't too many of those aside of Columbus and The VVitch and some films I selected for the language classes, like Encanto, Raise Ravens, Pan's Labyrinth and Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
The thing i looked for with the main picks is educational purpose or art purpose (sometimes both, sometimes mainly only one) and whether where it is set, given I selected on films set in the region of Lincoln (with the exception of Lincoln itself), while also making sure films are diverse in themes, cast, crew, genres, age of film, etc. . I tried to be diverse in what region of Lincoln the film is set in as well (so that not every film would be set in New York). The "history of film" element can also be seen as part of the educational purpose, which applies to historic classic directors such as Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock.
Personally, I believe that the best idea would be to establish a precedent of a commission, varying term lengths and appointed by the governor, that would provide a list to be voted on by the general court on a regular basis.
Of course, there would need to be something that promotes an even representation regarding partisanship so the list providing could be as bipartisan as possible.
With regards to this, there is the LGC and the court always has the chance to propose amendments and debate certain picks, while the Lincoln general court itself already is quite bipartisan. I don't think there needs to be regular revote of this act given i don't think it is beneficial if the list changes very often (like every few months, or even every year). If someone is unsatisfied with a pick or the list, the court always has the power to request / propose a new amendment. I think your proposal is noble but would overcomplicate things.
