Triple Feature: The Substitute/The Principal/187 Radulich In Broadcasting podcast

Content provided by Mark Radulich. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Mark Radulich or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://staging.podcastplayer.com/legal.

Radulich in Broadcasting »
Triple Feature: The Substitute/The Principal/187

2d ago 1:26:20

MP3•Episode home

We present our review of The Substitute/The Principal/187!
The genre of "high schools in trouble" movies evolved significantly from the late 1980s into the mid-1990s, beginning with a foundation of inspirational redemption dramas and mutating into gritty action thrillers.
It began earnestly with films like Lean on Me (1989), Stand and Deliver (1988), and Dangerous Minds (1995). These movies centered on teachers and administrators fighting to reclaim failing schools, emphasizing personal transformation, student empowerment, and systemic reform. The stakes were social and emotional — saving lives through education, not violence.
However, as the '90s progressed — and as American cultural anxiety about crime, urban decay, and "out-of-control youth" intensified — the "high schools in trouble" narrative hardened. Instead of inspirational teachers winning hearts and minds, later films portrayed literal battles for survival against criminal elements within the schools.
Movies like The Principal (1987), The Substitute (1996), and One Eight Seven (187) (1997) transformed the setting from a battlefield of ideas to an actual battlefield. Authority figures were no longer educators first — they became enforcers. Characters like James Belushi's Principal Latimer, Tom Berenger’s mercenary-turned-substitute Shale, and Samuel L. Jackson's haunted teacher Trevor Garfield had to physically fight gangs, drug dealers, and violent students. Education was almost incidental — survival and order became the goal.
Thus, the genre evolved:
From teachers trying to save troubled students
To teachers trying to survive troubled students
This transition also reflects the broader cultural fears of the 1990s: urban schools were increasingly depicted as hopeless, violent zones where idealism wasn't enough — only strength and retaliation would do.
By the end of the '90s, this cycle largely burned out. The action-heavy "high schools in trouble" subgenre gave way to other approaches, like the more psychological horror of The Faculty (1998) or the satirical dark comedy of Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999). The idea of schools as battlegrounds didn't disappear, but the way Hollywood depicted them shifted with the times.
Disclaimer: The following may contain offensive language, adult humor, and/or content that some viewers may find offensive – The views and opinions expressed by any one speaker does not explicitly or necessarily reflect or represent those of Mark Radulich or W2M Network.
Mark Radulich and his wacky podcast on all the things:
https://linktr.ee/markkind76
also
https://www.teepublic.com/user/radulich-in-broadcasting-network
FB Messenger: Mark Radulich LCSW
Tiktok: @markradulich
twitter: @MarkRadulich
Instagram: markkind76
RIBN Album Playlist: https://suno.com/playlist/91d704c9-d1ea-45a0-9ffe-5069497bad59

1006 episodes

#Cinema #Music #Mark Radulich