In The Last Class, a Leading Light of American Economics Takes a Final Bow

There’s a famous saying – attributed to Benjamin Franklin, though he wasn’t the first to coin it – that “nothing in life is certain but Death and Taxes.” Eliot Kirschner’s documentary, The Last Class, about Robert Reich’s final course at the University of California,Berkeley, is a little bit about both, and much more.

Reich is a titanic figure of American economic thought, perhaps best known for his tenure as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997. But, the press release for the The Last Class notes, “he always considered teaching his true calling.” And, that career recently ended with his final teaching of his course entitled “Wealth and Poverty.” Kirschner’s documentary follows Reich as he reckons with and offers his perspectives on the end of the great work of his life – his teaching career. Described as a “nuanced and deeply personal portrait” of Reich’s journey through his final course, the movie takes what could be a pedestrian, almost absurd concept – who among us hasn’t shed a tear as they heard the last class bell toll, ushering in cruel summer’s boredom? – and transmutes it into something stirring, heartfelt, and bittersweet.

It’s immediately clear that Reich’s students adore him almost as much as he loves teaching. His lessons are less like a typical college course and more akin to attending a series of talks by a masterful keynote speaker. Reich packs the “biggest lecture hall on the UC Berkeley campus” with an astounding 1,000 students and guides them through “Wealth and Poverty,” his legendary, in-depth tour of the dramatic and disconcerting growth of wealth and income inequality in America from the 1970’s to today. The film alternates between candid, emotional interviews with Reich and footage of him and his students in the classroom. While its conversations with Reich are often manicured and composed, the classroom scenes are generally shot in a striking “cinema verité” stye where images abound of students haphazardly scattered in lecture hall aisles or crammed in conference rooms for breakout sessions. As a result, the film’s effect lies somewhere between the slick, stylish panache of a “MasterClass” course and the charming simplicity of an early TED Talk.

Although Reich’s titular “Last Class” is a stark interrogation of the causes for the ever-widening gap between the incomes and wealth of the richest Americans and most of their fellow citizens, the film is not limited to his recounting of that story.  It is also offers compelling insights into the relationship between teacher and students.  As Reich says in the movie’s trailer, “For them, it’s not ending; it’s beginning. And this is the connection between teachers and students. It’s about the passage of time and, at a deeper level, the arc of one’s life.” Reich is well aware that his time is waning and that the young people sitting in his lecture hall – like the thousands of others who have taken his classes over his astonishing 42-year career – will be the ones to carry the torch of progress and democracy forward. And so Kirschner presents Reich’s last hurrah as a dance between those endings and beginnings, between saying goodbye to the teacher and welcoming the students to the rest of their lives.

A one-day only showing of the film is being hosted on Tuesday, September 23rd by the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) at Franklin Park 16 and XD. But, they need your help to make it a reality! In order for SHoWLE’s sponsored screening to take place they have to sell at least 60 tickets by August 24th. If you want to experience the inspiring story of Robert Reich’s final college course or you want to “pay it forward” and give someone else a chance to see it for free, go to the event’s Gathr page and reserve. Tuesday, September 23rd 7PM $19. Franklin Park 16 and XD. 5001 Monroe St, Toledo, OH 43623. gathr.com/events/79dfbcef/the-last-class-at-cinemark-franklin-park-16-and-xd.

There’s a famous saying – attributed to Benjamin Franklin, though he wasn’t the first to coin it – that “nothing in life is certain but Death and Taxes.” Eliot Kirschner’s documentary, The Last Class, about Robert Reich’s final course at the University of California,Berkeley, is a little bit about both, and much more.

Reich is a titanic figure of American economic thought, perhaps best known for his tenure as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997. But, the press release for the The Last Class notes, “he always considered teaching his true calling.” And, that career recently ended with his final teaching of his course entitled “Wealth and Poverty.” Kirschner’s documentary follows Reich as he reckons with and offers his perspectives on the end of the great work of his life – his teaching career. Described as a “nuanced and deeply personal portrait” of Reich’s journey through his final course, the movie takes what could be a pedestrian, almost absurd concept – who among us hasn’t shed a tear as they heard the last class bell toll, ushering in cruel summer’s boredom? – and transmutes it into something stirring, heartfelt, and bittersweet.

It’s immediately clear that Reich’s students adore him almost as much as he loves teaching. His lessons are less like a typical college course and more akin to attending a series of talks by a masterful keynote speaker. Reich packs the “biggest lecture hall on the UC Berkeley campus” with an astounding 1,000 students and guides them through “Wealth and Poverty,” his legendary, in-depth tour of the dramatic and disconcerting growth of wealth and income inequality in America from the 1970’s to today. The film alternates between candid, emotional interviews with Reich and footage of him and his students in the classroom. While its conversations with Reich are often manicured and composed, the classroom scenes are generally shot in a striking “cinema verité” stye where images abound of students haphazardly scattered in lecture hall aisles or crammed in conference rooms for breakout sessions. As a result, the film’s effect lies somewhere between the slick, stylish panache of a “MasterClass” course and the charming simplicity of an early TED Talk.

Although Reich’s titular “Last Class” is a stark interrogation of the causes for the ever-widening gap between the incomes and wealth of the richest Americans and most of their fellow citizens, the film is not limited to his recounting of that story.  It is also offers compelling insights into the relationship between teacher and students.  As Reich says in the movie’s trailer, “For them, it’s not ending; it’s beginning. And this is the connection between teachers and students. It’s about the passage of time and, at a deeper level, the arc of one’s life.” Reich is well aware that his time is waning and that the young people sitting in his lecture hall – like the thousands of others who have taken his classes over his astonishing 42-year career – will be the ones to carry the torch of progress and democracy forward. And so Kirschner presents Reich’s last hurrah as a dance between those endings and beginnings, between saying goodbye to the teacher and welcoming the students to the rest of their lives.

A one-day only showing of the film is being hosted on Tuesday, September 23rd by the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) at Franklin Park 16 and XD. But, they need your help to make it a reality! In order for SHoWLE’s sponsored screening to take place they have to sell at least 60 tickets by August 24th. If you want to experience the inspiring story of Robert Reich’s final college course or you want to “pay it forward” and give someone else a chance to see it for free, go to the event’s Gathr page and reserve. Tuesday, September 23rd 7PM $19. Franklin Park 16 and XD. 5001 Monroe St, Toledo, OH 43623. gathr.com/events/79dfbcef/the-last-class-at-cinemark-franklin-park-16-and-xd.