An Education/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Subjective Tropes from the film An Education:


Danny: [about David] I'd be careful if I were you, Jenny. You don't know who you're dealing with.

  • Spell My Name with an "S": Many critics, moviegoers and websites were confused whether or not Jenny's last name is Mellor or Millar or Meller. The only thing anyone seems to agree on is that it isn't the common Miller.
  • Unfortunate Implications: All Jews Are Cheapskates, anyone? Also, see below.
  • Values Dissonance:
    • A lot of casual anti-Semitism. Additionally, David practices blockbusting, moving black families into apartments to get nearby old ladies out, hence allowing him to buy the apartments cheap.
    • Also, marriage at 17 being seen as normal and desirable. Not as stark as the other examples, but the idea of girls marrying right out of high school has become a lot less common in the ensuing decades. It is part of the reason that what happened to Jenny doesn't happen as much anymore; today, parents like hers would put a quick stop to any notions an intelligent, academic girl like Jenny had of choosing marriage over going to university. Back then, though, more women did choose early marriage over higher education so it was seen as a viable option, especially to a man like David who is already rich and "established."
    • The whole notion of teenage sexual activity being grounds for expulsion or refusal of re-admission from school. Nowadays, not only has teenage sexual experimentation become the norm, but even those who are not a fan of it would generally agree that that part of a student's life is not the school's business.

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