Whiplash Film, Essay Example

The film Whiplash explores a somewhat staid subject matter of examining the relationship between a music teacher and his student in a wholly vibrant yet personal manner that provides meaningful social commentary about how to navigate an increasingly high-paced, cutthroat, and competitive world. It prompts viewers to ask themselves how far they would push themselves to succeed, and how far are they willing to push others in order to propel them to a path of success. Andrew Neyman, portrayed by Miles Teller, is a young gentleman who one late night practices his drumming at his music school in New York. While practicing, Mr. Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons, is considered to be the most important pedagogue at the music school as the instructor of the school’s jazz band, and hears Neyman practicing. Upon hearing the drumming, Mr. Fletcher listens and then yells some orders at the young pupil and quickly moves on, expressing dissatisfaction and disdain for what he heard. Andrew feels as though he missed his opportunity to impress someone who could profoundly change his life. This dismissal by Fletcher in the opening scene typifies his unconventional teaching and leadership style, which is saturated in dominance in order to appeal to the emotions of his pupils.

Mr. Fletcher time and again narrates an apocryphal story about how Jo Jones tossed a cymbal at the head of Charlie Parker one time when Parker made a mistake, which eventually pushed Parker to greatness. That cymbal, Mr. Fletcher reiterates, changed the course of music history by inspiring greatness because Charlie Parker reflected on his mistakes, refined his skills, and practiced tirelessly as part of his drive for greatness at his craft. The threat of physical violence in the future, Mr. Fletcher states, drove Parker to be perfect.  As such, Mr. Fletcher utilizes similar barbarous techniques to push his students to become great. In various scenes, he calls Andrew names, throws furniture at students, physically tortures Andrew by making him do drum solos until his fingers bleed on the instruments, and plays mind games with his students. Such tactics, although questionable and undeniably sadistic, fuels Andrew’s passion for music, which results in his blossoming both as a musician and as a young adult. He musters up the courage to court a girl he admired from afar but never talked to before. In addition, he  takes the first chair in the band for the most highly regarded music school in the United States.

Mr. Fletcher is abusive, ebullient, and quite over-the-top, yet as a leader, he inspires his students to push themselves and strive for perfection. His intelligence is in his methods and knowing which buttons to push in his students. He walks a very thin line, even after the physical abuse and implacable mind games that would merit legal action against him in the real world, which is why Mr. Fletcher draws people to him. As a leader, he believes positive reinforcement such as saying “good job”—which he considers to be the most dangerous English words–does a disservice to students rather than inspiring them. Many people in the present day would disagree with this style of leadership, since currently from a pedagogical vantage point we are in an era of encouragement and praise. There is an ongoing dialogue about the currency of participation medals and awards in the current day, yet Mr. Fletcher would decry such notions. Mr. Fletcher is intelligent in his leadership styles because he believes that true talents have not been cultivated as a result of students being coddled by their teachers. Mr. Fletcher captures the essence of a leader whose teaching methods are driven by the sentiment that pushing students to the point of being abuse will get the most out of his students.

Works Cited

Chazelle, Damien. Whiplash. Sony’s Picture Classic. DVD. 2014.

Heyman, MArshall. “New York Film Festival the ‘Holy Grail” for ‘Whiplash’ Director.” The Wall Street Journal. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.

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