| The Cartel | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bob Bowdon |
| Written by | Bob Bowdon |
| Release date(s) | October 9, 2009 (USA) |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Cartel is a 2009 documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, supported by the Moving Picture Institute. Bowdon's first film investigates public education in the United States, specifically New Jersey, and how a "widespread national crisis manifests itself in the educational failures and frustrations of individual communities."[1] The film debuted at the Hoboken International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2009 and was awarded "Best of the Festival (Audience Award).[2]
The Cartel is written and directed by Bob Bowdon who left Bloomberg Television to focus on the project.[3] According to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the film asks: "How has the richest and most innovative society on earth suddenly lost the ability to teach its children at a level that other modern countries consider "basic"?"[4]
The Cartel aims to prove that education reform, not funding, is the answer to the crisis, so the film investigates New Jersey, "the U.S. state that spends more than any other per student."[4] Bowdon "spent two years talking to school administrators, teachers, parents, students and education advocates."[3] Among the interviews are Clint Bolick (former president of Alliance for School Choice), Gerard Robinson (president of Black Alliance for Educational Options), and Chester Finn (president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute).[1]
The film defends the establishment of charter schools and vouchers and criticizes teacher unions and the tenure process.[3] During her interview, the head of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) Joyce Powell responded to criticisms of the tenure process, and referencing a statistic that only 0.03% of tenured teachers are removed from the classroom, suggesting 99.97% are "doing a good job," said "I think 99.97% should be celebrated."[5]
The NJEA responded to the film stating "it [The Cartel] is an orchestrated attack against public schools and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA)." Furthermore, the NJEA states that Bowdon and his crew failed to identify their "true agenda" when interviewing Powell, instead questioning her under false pretenses of an "independent 'documentary on public education in New Jersey,' with a focus on No Child Left Behind, the state school funding law, and charter schools."[6]
Bowdon said that the NJEA completely invented the fact that the film had had any financial support before it was completely finished, his partnerships and financial support were all post production. Rather than addressing any of the film's substantive arguments, they focused instead on ad hominem personal attacks against Bowdon. He also said, "It's more than a little ironic that the NJEA criticized me for lack of transparency through an anonymous author."
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, also interviewed in the film, says some issues raised by The Cartel, particularly superintendents' contracts, have been addressed recently with new accountability regulations.[3]
"The Cartel" opened in New York City and Los Angeles on April 16, Houston on April 23 and in Denver, Minneapolis, Boston, Washington D.C., St. Louis, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Chicago on April 30.