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In regards to this scene, one can conclude that the combination of emotional music, which is used as a sound bridge to portray main characters awaiting life-changing decisions, and passionate interviews, which discuss the low standards of public school education, can create an idealistic setting for audiences to understand the director’s claim. The question of whether Davis Guggenheim is trying to achieve a specific tone or narrative is brought up throughout the film. It’s up to the viewer’s discretion to decide whether or not our director is attempting to manipulate the intensity of the film to make it seem more dramatic than it may appear. In my opinion, Guggenheim’s tone reflects the lack of confidence he has in public education. I believe that this situation is becoming more alarming as the days go by, and in order to halt this from getting any worse, we need a quick solution to the ongoing problem.

The first episode takes place at the end of the film and portrays a variety of lottery drafts taking place at different locations across America. Statistics show that each student has less than a three percent chance of being selected as one of the few to receive a scholarship for a charter or private school education. When applications exceed a school’s capacity randomization quickly becomes the only hope in regards to an acceptance into the school. Harlem Success Academy’s chief executive officer, Eva Moskowitz, stated, “The problem is not the parents. The problem is not the children. The problem is a system that protects academic failure.” Moskowitz presents us with the question of whether we have come to accept this system of academic failure and in any case, have given up hope as a whole. Tears of sadness and joy are shed during the course of this very difficult process which families are forced to endure, and knowing that the outcome is determined entirely on the basis of pure luck doesn’t make things any better. An educational reformist stated, “It’s not terrorists that are going to destroy America. It’s urban public education if we don’t do something about it.” Ironically, while most of America’s concerns are focused on what’s going on around us, the most important thing we keep forgetting is what’s actually occurring within the boundaries of our country. This is a main reason as to why we are suffering from poor public school education systems because not enough time is spent on proposing and coming up with methods for change.