A heated discussion between a teacher and student creates alarming consequences in THE LESSON, one of the best shows you’ll see this year. Courtesy of ChaiFlicks.We are living in a day and age where no one is safe. The culprit? Social media. More broadly, the whole internet in general. Anyone and everyone can be scapegoated for something they said that was taken out of context. A statement made by a celebrity or high-ranked, respected person – be it a doctor, teacher, CEO of a company, etc. – can be twisted into clickbait on the internet. What results is a tarnished, irrevocable reputation, not to mention endlessly vile and vitriolic comments from users and internet trolls. This is a crazy time, and things are only getting more out-of-control. Take, for example, the current SAG-AFTRA strikes. In the past few weeks, a couple well-known actors have said some things doubting or simply “joking” about the strike. Like fire, hate comments pervaded the internet like a virus after their statements were made. Those people were forced to make an apology, but that doesn’t even matter at this point. They will forever be associated with what they said. Nothing will ever be the same.
Now, why am I starting off this blog post on such a heavy note? THE LESSON¸ ChaiFlicks’ hit new Israeli series, tackles this current craze in an astounding, thought-provoking story about two individuals, both flawed, whose words create a sensational mess. It’s very rare for movies and shows to explore cancel culture and this undefinable internet “craze” we’ve been going through for a while now. (I don’t even have a word to describe it.) Tár, Todd Field’s Oscar-nominated drama from last year starring Cate Blanchett, was one of the first works of art I had seen in a while to truly dive into the consequences of semantics in this day and age. It is revealed that Blanchett’s titular character may have done and said inappropriate things in her past. For that, she must pay for it. THE LESSON, created by Deakla Keydar, takes a similar approach in the way it makes us question who is good versus bad in its scenario. Who should be forgiven? Should WE even be responsible for allowing who gets to be forgiven? THE LESSON’s simplistic set-up transcends it into one of the most thought-provoking TV dramas I’ve seen in a while.
It may just be one season and six episodes, but Keydar’s story grabs you by the throat from start to finish. I may have had some extra time on my hand this week at work, but regardless, I don’t think I had binge-watched a show faster in my life until this one showed up. Along with the fast-paced dialogue and excellent lead performances from Doron Ben-David (Fauda) and Maya Landsman, THE LESSON pulls you into its intense moments like magic. You feel like a bystander right there onscreen, forced to watch the uncomfortable situations unfold and question whether or not to get involved. And while the central conflict on the show relates to Israeli-Palestinian relations, there isn’t a sequence in THE LESSON that we haven’t experienced in our own country, a sensitive place full of loud ideas and dire consequences.
I say the word “consequence” a lot in this review because it’s such a huge theme of the show. THE LESSON is essentially a high school drama that turns into a broader debate on the power of semantics and current political relations in Israel amongst youths. We are first introduced to Amir (Ben-David), a recently divorced father of two and civics teacher whose main job is to discuss the topic of Israel vs. Arab relations before students are recruited for the IDF. As we see, Amir is a very decent man. Students will holler incredibly racist remarks in class, but the teacher is experienced with controlling and reasoning with volatile kids.
The second protagonist of the show is Lianne (Landsman), a heavyset 17-year-old girl and one of the biggest troublemakers in school. We all remember that one kid in class who always caused a ruckus, getting yelled at or sent to the principal’s office. (My most cringeworthy high school memory: in 9th grade, a girl in class called my science teacher an “assh*le” after he told her to leave the room… OUCH.) Lianne says what she wants when she wants. Her family, not surprisingly, is dysfunctional with two bickering parents who struggle to work on their daughter’s behavior together. Lianne is not a school bully, per se, but she certainly annoys the heck out of the teachers.
Lianne is a student of Amir, and he knows how to handle her. One day in class, Lianne argues that the local swimming pool should make a sign that bans Arabs because they harass her and her friends. When Amir calmly explains that a statement like that sounds racist, she counterargues that it isn’t because the Arabs have said antisemitic things to her as well. This back-and-forth goes on for what seems like forever and culminates in classmates disturbingly chanting, “Death to Arabs!” Amir raises his voice some more. This type of dialogue is not acceptable, and the situation is getting out of control.
“This violent hate talk will only bring more pain,” he tries reasoning with the class.
When the bell rings, he pulls Lianne aside to try to reason with her one last time. Her feisty words only aggravate him more. In one quick moment, Lianne’s teacher says something unforgettable.
“How would you feel if the sign said ‘No Fat Girls Allowed’?”
Amir instantly regrets it and tries to rephrase what he meant, but it is too late. The damage has been done. I won’t say too much more about this show except that Lianne does another blow to her teacher out of spite which causes only more mayhem. Pretty soon, the two of them are on public television. A war of sides has emerged, and nothing will be the same again.
“The truth is irrelevant,” says one character of the show. In other words, freedom of speech seems pointless for many people nowadays. Their “truth” they don’t feel like sharing because if anyone disagrees with it, the backlash is just too powerful. Freedom of speech is definitely not like it used to be. It’s on a slippery slope, and as we see in THE LESSON, just saying something can get you kicked out class or fired. This show¸ overall, is a story about the power of semantics. If you say one thing you don’t mean because you’re riled up by an annoying person and it gets recorded and goes viral on social media, your life is over. The world has weaponized social media.
Without giving away spoilers, I’ll say that the big question of THE LESSON is whether we should sympathize with Lianne or not. Landsman’s extraordinary performance yanks our distrust of her back and forth. It’s true that many times, she is extremely inappropriate. She makes a false statement in one scene and never shies away from her Arab resentment. At the same time, however, she’s a teenager hiding a lot of pain. Her physical appearance is a letdown for her, for sure. Wearing sweaters to school in the sweltering Israeli heat is one thing, and there’s even a scene where her friends and her, while shopping for clothes, subtly hint that she isn’t pretty enough “like the other girls.” It hurts. Lianne hides it the best she can, and maybe her fight against her kind-hearted teacher is a cry for help, a cry to scream out her frustrations with her life.
There may be a season two of THE LESSON, but even if there’s not, its conclusion ultimately satisfies our feelings towards these characters. We all live with some sort of pain. We all have a lot to say, controversial or not, out-of-context or not. How do we live like this?
Listen to Deakla Keydar on Tablet Magazine’s Unorthodox podcast.
THE LESSON is now available to stream on ChaiFlicks.