The Clever Costumes of Bad Education

In Bad Education, the costumes subtly use color to convey information about class and in-groups. In this video essay, I talk about what we can learn from the ways that Frank (Hugh Jackman), Pam (Allison Janey), and Rachel (Geraldine Viswanathan) dress compared to their peers.

At one point in the video, I mention that Rachel and her dad are the only people of color in Roslyn with speaking roles. This isn’t exactly right: a Black teacher says one line to Frank at a party. I don’t think this affects the point too much.

Resources used for this video essay:
Bad Education (2020, dir. Cory Finley, costume design by Alex Bovaird)
“The Bad Superintendent” by Robert Kolker https://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/9908/
Information about prison labor:
“The Uncounted Workforce” from Planet Money https://www.npr.org/transcripts/884989263
“Profiting off of Prison Labor” from Business Review Berkeley https://businessreview.berkeley.edu/profiting-off-of-prison-labor/
“The Prison Factory” from Al Jazeera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWxXf7CACRw
Information about gay marriage (FOR NYT SUBSCRIBER EYES ONLY):
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/nyregion/gay-marriage-approved-by-new-york-senate.html

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:54 - The Insiders
03:53 - The Outsiders
08:20 - Frank

Music:
“Hidden Agenda” by Kevin Macleod
"Sunny Days" by Anno Domini Beats
"Bourree" by Joel Cummins
"Consciousness Rabbit" by pATCHES
"Papov" by Yung Logos
"Bellisimo" by Doug Maxwell
"Meeting Again" by Emily A. Sprague
"A Typical Ride Out" by Noir Et Blanc Vie
"The End" by Coyote Hearing

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