By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Judd Ehrlich
Year: 2026
Running time: 99
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39150251
Peter says: “In one of the most famous social experiments in American history, primary school teacher Jane Elliott, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement, decided to teach her students about discrimination in a radical way. In her Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes exercise, she divided her third grade class up by eye color, treating one group with total ridicule while the others were treated as ‘superior.’ The results when they ‘switched’ after a few days? The kids having been treated unfairly then decided not to do the same, knowing how it felt.
“This lesson pretty much made Jane Elliott a teacher superstar, with appearances on Oprah and a long-standing series of talks around the country. The documentary Jane Elliott Against the World tells her story through the wonderfully sailor-mouthed educator herself at a ‘young’ 89.
“While the film doesn’t probe quite as deep into the “ethics” of the study, it doesn’t shy away from how Jane’s notoriety affected her family, with racists taking it out on her kids. There’s a clear strain between her and her less ‘against the world’ kids, who just want a quiet, non-confrontational life, but despite it all, Jane won’t stop on her single-minded mission of eradicating racism.
“We were lucky enough at our IFF Boston screening to be joined by Jane herself via Zoom for a live Q&A with her and the director. Most of her rambling answers were variations of what we’d already heard in the film (you could’ve made a drinking game out of ‘we are all shades of brown’), but I still feel honored to have experienced this event with such a legendary educator, especially as a teacher myself.