Why Is Mr Holland's Opus Important

The movie Mr. Holland's Opus is a movie about a man who wants to make music. But he and his wife need money, so he take a job at the local school to be a music teacher. He hates it at first and wants to quit, but when he starts helping his student, Gertrude lang, play the clarinet he begins to see how he is changing his students lives. The importance of music education in rural schools is important. It gives the students a way to express themselves. Learning to play an instrument can give them the self esteem to do more than they thought before. Like Gertrude long, she thought she would have nothing she was good at, she came from a family where everyone was good at something, she thought she wouldn’t be good at anything. Until Mr. Holland gave her the courage to do it, she later became the governor of the state.
Mr.
Holland's class changed the lives of many students. Like I said before, Gertrude became the governor of the state. Louis Russ, a football player and wrestler, was not allowed to compete because of his grades. He joined Mr. Holland's class so he could compete again. He was assigned the drums, which at first he could not play. He struggled to follow the beat and wanted to quit multiple times. But Mr. Holland didn’t give up on him and he eventually learned to play. He later enlisted in the military and gave his life for his country. Another student that was affected by him was Rowena Morgan. She was a singer in one of his plays that wanted to become a singer, but her parents wanted her to stay home and run the family dinner. Mr. Holland convinced her that she should follow her heart. Which led to some very awkward and weird feelings between to the
two. Many events at the time affected the music at the time. The war in vietnam pretty much split the music industry down the middle, those who supported the war and those who didn’t agree with it. Many protest against the war were actually concerts and music festivals. One of the greatest artist at the time was John Lennon, former member of the beetles. His music changed the generation at the time, it changed even more after his death. John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980 outside the Dakota apartment building in New York City. Mark David Chapman fired at Lennon five times, hitting him four times in the back. After John Lennon’s death the country was in mourning. The music at that time became sad and slow in respect for the fallen idol. To conclude, Mr. Holland affected many people during his career as a music teacher. Including his students and the residents of the town in which he lived. He changed many people's lives, giving them the confidence to do more then the thought possible. During his time as a teacher many events occurred that changed music, some good and some bad. But all of them has formed the music we know today.