'Homeroom' Review
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 30 Minutes
Production Companies: Concordia Studio, Open'hood
Distributor: Hulu
Director: Peter Nicks
Writer: Peter Nicks
Release Date: August 12, 2021
Hulu
Oakland High School’s class of 2020 confronts an unprecedented year. Anxiety over test scores and college applications gives way to uncertainty springing from a rapidly developing pandemic. Efforts to eliminate the school district’s police force unfold against the backdrop of growing nationwide demands for systemic change. Emmy Award-winning director/cinematographer Peter Nicks (winner of the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival) captures the resilient and defiant energy of this senior class in his final chapter in a trilogy of films examining the relationship between health care, criminal justice, and education in Oakland.
It’s pretty clear that Peter Nick loves his city of Oakland, California. The documentarian’s filmography is full of features that focus on critical and relevant social issues in Oakland that reflect the larger issues in America, ranging from law enforcement to healthcare, through vérité-style storytelling. Now he’s giving the Gen-Z kids of America a voice to show that the kids are alright in Homeroom, a vérité-style doc that focuses on the Oakland High School senior class of 2020 as they navigate the most crucial and challenging time in their young lives.
We all know it’s been a long-ass pandemic and our reality is far from what it used to be over a year ago. So, when Homeroom opened with images of a crowd of students entering their high school lobby, maskless, greeting their principal who stands by the entrance shaking their hands, it instantly put me in a state of euphoria. As much as I hated my own high school experience, it made me nostalgic, yearning to be young again. Granted, I’m still in college, but I long for the experience of being amongst a student body and having that objective and drive to be in school. You see these racially diverse Oakland kids be themselves in their natural setting, not paying attention in class, being on their phones as their professor is speaking, eating snacks and candies in the classroom as they’re learning…
The film gives you a sense of that upbeat school spirit that makes you nostalgic no matter what age group you’re in. As someone who is part of the first wave of Gen-Z (‘98, baby!), it's pretty neat to see how these kids born in the early ‘00s communicate with each other. I love how they often introduce themselves along with their pronouns so everyone is mindful and respectful with each other, which is part of the new norm. It’s great to see how much these kids have socially progressed much faster than the people I graduated with. I mean, the class of 2020 is significantly different from my class of 2016 and I found myself going, “Man, I wish I graduated alongside these kids instead.”
The film stays completely driven by the kids and how they tackle issues within their environment, most importantly the presence of police officers within the school. The students are aware of the “school-to-prison” system’s relevance in America and the injustices kids their age and color face, so they try their hardest to get their voices heard and push the police force out of their school. The film shows open discussions between the students that were relevant in our society long before the world went to shit in 2020. Topics such as defunding the police and displacement became part of our everyday conversation in the latter half of 2020, but these teenagers vocalized to get this shit done and it’s so riveting. The students were forced to have a meeting in their school auditorium with the Oakland police department and they were blatantly unified in their emotions towards the officers. One girl is vocal about defunding the police because they don't do anything to service them. Meanwhile, there are different departments desperately in need of that money. If this is how one class at one high school in America feels towards this situation, imagine how many others throughout the rest of the country feel.
One of the most notable students is Denilson Garibo, a smart Latino kid with a great sense of fashion who serves as class president on the board of the Oakland Unified School District council alongside his VP, Mica Smith-Dahl, who represents the 36,000 students in the district. They are the only two students amongst much older adults who serve on the board and you witness the intense meetings where they attempt to vote the police force out of the Oakland school district. However, because they are young — despite their clear and direct vocalizations — they are completely ignored by the adults on the board, as well as the parents present at the meetings. It’s upsetting to watch these meetings play out, for you feel Garibo and his fellow peers' frustrations. Garibo is a damn force of nature and he has that empowering leadership characteristic, proving why he holds such a high position on this board. Don’t underestimate the kids of Oakland High School because they know what the fuck they’re talking about. They’re smart, they keep it real, and they want to hang on to their youth, which involves having to vocalize their concerns in a sea of older people who refuse to listen.
The film also tackles a variety of topics that are relative to the average high school senior’s experience, such as applying for college, getting ready for the SATs/ACTs, discussing their scores amongst each other, and homecoming. Because this is the class of 2020, you get the inevitable reminder of events from the year you want to forget. Granted, it’s nice to see how these students tackled the unexpected madness we all had to experience, from formulating what exactly the coronavirus was to Breonna Taylor’s murder and then, of course, George Floyd’s murder. You can even search these kids’ names on Twitter and see the impact they had on their community, but seeing what it took for them to get there is harrowing as fuck.
As much as the film’s honest and grounded approach to the perspective of these Gen-Z kids stays balanced between the highs and lows of their experiences, there are cheesy moments and music cues that lessen the emotional impact of the most powerful scenes. There’s one cue that happens in the middle of the film that feels so damn telegraphed, like the equivalent of a Disney Channel montage. The song itself is good, but the timing was so cringe-worthy.
For a film that chronicles much of the 2020 senior class, it dwells too long in September and October before transitioning to the events of the new year. I’m not gonna criticize it too much because I enjoyed seeing the last moments of bliss these kids faced before their worlds got rocked. As a 90-minute doc, it never overstays its welcome, but I wish it tackled more content at the top of the new year. I did take into account holiday vacations and crucial college-related matters, which we do see footage of, especially from Garibo. Man, I really wanted to spend more time with these kids. They’re so likable and have such great opinions on relevant topics. They’re progressive and much more admirable than the people in power in this country.
God, I hope we get a 7UP-like series with these kids. Denilson Garibo, Mica Smith-Dahl, Edgar Galvez, Dwayne Davis, and many more spend much of their last year of high school fighting for a better future for themselves and the next generation of students who will attend their high schools. You just end up wishing nothing but the best for all of them. Peter Nick’s Homeroom is a powerful and enlightening vérité doc that puts the limelight on the new generation, whose voices and navigation of the world are so admirable that it makes you feel at ease knowing these kids are going to be the future of this country… hopefully.
