Thackeray describes his time in South Africa to his students, saying, "The only women there were jungle Indians who carried blow pipes and poison darts." He calls the Guyanese Creole he grew up with "a simple English," mocking their dialect to the raucous laughter of his mostly White students. Female students and teachers are never overtly sexualized, but traditional gender norms are in full swing: When female teens behave poorly, Thackeray warns them against acting like a "filthy slut" and adds emphatically, "No man likes a slut." Colonialism is embraced: Teachers and Thackeray praise Winston Churchill, known to be a racist who supported eugenics. Unfortunately, film fares worse in its portrayal of women. Two women of color appear in the classroom but remain silent. A biracial male student has a small backstory. His character is non-stereotypical: middle class instead of poor, an object of attraction without undue fetishizing, and, crucially, he's humanized through a wide range of emotions, from laughing and joy to anger and yelling. For a 1967 film, this positively stands out for casting a dark-skinned Black male lead.
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