Sex, lies, and Hollywood's administrators

The author argues that messages about educational administrators found in contemporary films both shape and limit popular discourse about schools and their mission. Of particular importance is the dissonance between the celluloid images created by Hollywood and the complex and challenging realities found in our own communities. Based on a textual analysis of 28 recent productions, she argues that practitioners would do well to attend popular culture representations and to consider the ways in which mass media shape policy debates about public institutions and appropriate administrative behavior.