School of Rock: A Manifesto for Socialist Revolution

School of Rock is a timeless children’s film and one of my all-time favourites. But hidden in between some brilliant lines I still quote today and a career-defining performance from Jack Black, is there more to the film than a class of kids learning how to rock and roll? Are there more existential implications at play, namely, the overhaul of a confined capitalistic structure in favour of a community-driven socialist state? Do I need to start taking children’s films less seriously? All of these are valid questions that need answering, so look no further while I explain how this family classic is actually an allegory for Marxist revolution.

The story begins with our protagonist, Dewey Finn, deemed a washed-up failure whose career as a rock and roll star never took off. Unable to see a world beyond this lifestyle, Dewey tries to reject the forces of the neoliberal capitalist world he finds himself in. Such forces prove too much after he is kicked out of his band and, stuck in financial trouble, impersonates his flatmate – a substitute teacher – taking one of his job offers via a phone call and beginning a stint at Horace Green prep school.

Dewey’s lack of teaching qualifications is one thing, but it’s the microcosm of state power he finds himself in at Horace Green that truly hinders him from attempting to put in any effort at all. The children are homogenised into a single way of being, through their matching uniforms, to the ideologies they are taught that fall in line with the typical American narrative of history and politics. Dewey sees the class’ merit/demerit chart as yet another system of control, reducing the educational talent of the students to a series of gold stars and black dots, and rips it off the wall in an act of defiance.

The flatmate he is impersonating – Ned Schneebly – and the school’s principal – Rosalie Mullins – are both examples of people who have submitted to the systems of control. Ned was once in a band with Dewey, living a bohemian lifestyle, but traded it in to be a teacher who seems to be void of any real individualism or personality. Likewise, when Dewey takes Rosalie for a drink, he discovers a more rebellious side in her when she hears a Stevie Nicks song, an expressive part of her that has been repressed since becoming school principal. Where Dewey defies, the others give in.

The core ethos of the movie, and Dewey’s outlook on American capitalism, is epitomised in ‘The Man’ speech he delivers to the class on his second day.

“The world is run by The Man… he’s everywhere. In the White House. Down the hall. Miss Mullins, she’s The Man. And The Man ruined the ozone, and he’s burning down the Amazon.”

The Man in question represents the hegemonic power of the state in all its facets, and how that power is redeployed in every institution that makes up society – the media, the legal system and of course, in classrooms. As French philosopher Michel Foucault explains, power is everywhere, and acts as a regime of truth that pervades all of society.

In his position of hardship and feeling helpless, Dewey’s conclusion in facing The Man is feeble: “Just give up”. What Louis Althusser coins Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), such as the education system, are so pervasive in their entrenchment that to try and combat these forces is exhausting and ultimately disempowering. The ideologies are so deep-rooted that the class children shouldn’t even try to seek a different way of thinking, especially given their privileged status in a private school. This all changes, however, when Dewey realises their true potential for radicalisation.

Upon overhearing their music class, Dewey observes that the children have a high aptitude for playing instruments – representing their means of production. Soon enough, Dewey will veer them away from the classical music they are playing which, in essence, is a pillar of the status quo and yet another ISA used to limit power. Instead, he will teach them what it means to be in a rock band and, in doing so, activate a self-realisation in the children and thus a level of class consciousness.

The discovery and exploration of rock music enables a shift in being for the kids much like that which Karl Max observes in his economic theory on class. As sociologist Bruce Arrigo explains:

“For Marx, proletarian consciousness is simultaneously the discovery by the laborers of their extreme alienation and of their need to overcome such alienation through a form of action aimed at destroying the capitalist mode of production.” (2015)

The alienation in question here, is the class from their true musical potential. Within all of them is the ability to create and build something of their own, separate from the music they have been taught to play. As Dewey helps them to understand this, the tools for socialist change that were within them all along, are awoken.

We see this non-conformity to ‘The Man’ throughout the rest of the movie, as the kids begin to break the rules, abiding by their own standards. Ignoring the dress code, sneaking out of class, lying and deceiving; gradually, the children develop an autonomy that grants each their own self-identity, but more importantly, builds a communal strength among the whole class.

Eventually, though, the powers that be catch on to the defiant acts happening in the classroom, and use forces of state power, namely through the police, to depose of Dewey and remove him from the school. By this point, though, the children have already been radicalised by his defiant ideas, meaning they can take matters into their own hands and get to the Battle of the Bands to perform, picking up Dewey along the way. Essentially, the class has now fully seized their means of production, Marx’s catalyst step in igniting a socialist revolution.

In the end, the children are able to perform at the Battle of the Bands, displaying their talents and projecting their ideas in the song ‘Teacher’s Pet’:

“Oh, you know I was on the Honour Roll, got good grades and got not soul. Raise my hand before I speak my mind, I’ve been biting my tongue too many times.”

Here, they discuss the disillusion the school system has brought upon them through its merit system, reducing each student to a number, and the way this structure discourages free thought and critical thinking.

“And then the magic man took to obey, do what magic man do, not what magic man say. Now can I please have the attention of the class, today’s assignment… kick some ass!”

The magic man in question is Dewey, enlightening the class in his revolutionary actions rather than imposing them with a set of rules to follow. The final call to action ­– to kick some ass – makes their intentions clear, symbolising their readiness in leading a revolutionary uprising to overthrow ‘The Man’.

Despite their best efforts, no revolutionary action takes place. As the credits roll, the kids are still enjoying playing in their band, but the proletariat conditions remain the same. The class entertains in their performance, but they fail to radicalise. Ultimately, The Man isn’t threatened by the children, as they will one day become agents of the ISAs themselves.

The privately educated students will likely attend top universities and fall into similar jobs to those their parents hold – lawyers, accountants, investors.

Even those that do carry on into the world of music will pose no threat, in a modern landscape where music has been almost entirely commercialised and stripped of its political nuance. The industry is full of examples of those who have come from positions of real privilege, posing as radical rockstars: The Strokes, Genesis, Radiohead, this list goes on. It’s like Dewey puts it, “The Man ruined [rock n’ roll] too, with a little thing called MTV”.

Ideas are powerful, but they alone cannot truly challenge authority. Dewey planted the seeds of radical thought in the minds of his classroom. Would his actions prove to have a lasting long-term effect on them? Maybe, but in reality, The Man will still get his way. In this process, though, Dewey overcame his own adversity in the face of The Man, rejecting his own conclusion to just give up.

For Dewey, if not for the class, this was an indication of the power his ideas held and maybe one day, under the guise of a different state apparatus, he may fully light the spark to bring about a true socialist uprising.