Max Fischer cannot be summed up with a few simple words. A plethora of descriptive definitions are still incapable of summing up such a Renaissance man. Max is such an extraordinary student that he can be compared to Paulo Freire’s idea of a student, as explained in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In it, Freire disparages the modern education system, “the banking concept of education,” by noting its destructive abilities of creating complacent students who regard themselves as inferior by those above their educators. This method is based on the idea that the teacher simply force-feeds knowledge to students, only to have it regurgitated back at them (Freire 72). Freire is concerned because students are educationally restricted by this method, …show more content…
However, Max is blind to such concepts as respect toward one’s superiors; they simply do not exist in his world. Instead he speaks to teachers and authority figures as if they’re his equals “by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students” (Freire 72). This method is a crucial piece of the “problem-posing education system.” Freire says that despite the banking concept’s method of teacher only teaching the students, the problem posing education asserts that “The teacher . . . is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach” (80). Max demonstrates this ideal throughout the whole film, especially with regards to certain adults such as Mr. Blume, Ms. Cross, Dr. Guggenheim, and especially his father, Bert. He treats adults as if they’re teenagers as well. When Max is burning leaves on Rushmore school grounds, Dr. Guggenheim questions him to be greeted by a silent Max flipping him off. Max acts similarly toward all adults, especially Bert. He not only refers to his father by his first name, but also through the topics they discuss. When Max drops out of school, Bert is passive about Max’s decision to return to school or not. This straightforwardness most likely made Max more comfortable around authority …show more content…
He is not only the president or captain of the J.V. decathlon team, fencing club, French club, etc. he is also the founder of several other extracurricular activities as well. Max may appear to be trying to find his way, but he actually has ulterior motives for all these activities. Freire states that the “Problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming . . .”(84). Max uses his skills acquired through clubs to better himself, for example, he answered his failed geometry test using ornate calligraphy and with his knowledge of bees, he is able to enact revenge on Mr. Blume. However, Max is able to infect others with his problem-posing methods. In an institution such as Rushmore, they appear to be more receptive to such controversial progressive techniques, however, Grover Cleveland High School is the antithesis by being authoritarian-like. Grover Cleveland is the symbolic representation of the banking concept. Its mascot is a burly owl, which is “a characteristic of the ideology of oppression” that is the banking concept (Freire 72). When Max arrives at Grover Cleveland though, everything starts to change for the better. Not only does Max start to become more of an intellectual, in which Ms. Cross teaches Max while Max is simultaneously teaching Ms. Cross, but also by spreading methods for education to others. In essence, he turned Grover Cleveland from a place of oppression into a center for