Talk:Lean on Me (film)/Archive 1

Untitled
I'm not totally sure how this site works, but I think that the song "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers (1972) should be mentioned in this article as well as the remake by Club Nouveau (1988). Maybe there should even be a link to the lyrics.

I have seen this film since I was in high school back in 1989 although a school administrator as portrayed in the film is considered the equivalent of a politician to which a 100% commitment to service is questionable. When Clark (as depicted in the film) states that he would like to meet with his students, and/or meet other dignitaries, he stated in the film that 'I cannot be at 15 places at once' - that means if I would like to see my elected official and s/he is not present in the office, the '15 places at once' remark reflects on this theodicy.

Much like the Blue Cross/Blue Shield advertisment where the statement: "Dedication is commitment to a goal", is plastered on a billboard, administrators and/or politicians uphold this ethic.

What in the world are you talking about? Your statement does not make any sense.--70.157.42.133 (talk) 22:07, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

"Bat-man"

Should Morgan Freeman's "they can call me bat-man line" be counted as trivia?

hi my name is Nathan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.153.6.126 (talk) 16:24, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Is the opening scene true?
The movie opens with a scene from Joe Clark's teaching days in the sixties. Eastside is depicted as a clean, respectable, predominantly white school with well-dressed and well-mannered students. The producers obviously did that to contrast it with the Eastside of the eighties. The scene itself is believable enough, except for the way Clark is dressed. The real Joe Clark has always been such a conservative dresser and a stickler for neatness. It's hard for me to picture him ever wearing an afro and a dashiki! Was that opening scene true, or was it just an "artistic liberty"?97.73.64.169 (talk) 13:00, 1 March 2010 (UTC)


 * This is exactly the question I wanted to ask. Obviously I really hope it were true if the real Joe Clark were a civil rights activist who taught at Eastside back in the day, but neither of these facts seem to be confirmed.
 * Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Army guys who became civil rights activists in the 60s. But a D.I. who became a union organizer -- true or false? was Joe Clark a teacher at Eastside in the 60s?  Was he a civil rights advocate and union organizer as depicted in the beginning of the film? I'll be disappointed if he wasn't, because it's such a big establishing setup for his character on film, but facts are facts and that ought to be mentioned in the section under Accuracy and Liberties.
 * Okay, I just read up on the sources listed for Joe Clark on his bio page, and gleaned enough info from the Time article to clean up that bio page and add a "criticism and praise" section discussing his tenure at Eastside.
 * But no information on any sixties social activism or whether he help organize a teacher's union in Paterson in the sixties or whether that was made up to give him a connection to Dr. Frank Napier. I did find this: he was in Paterson schools from 1962 until he retired to become a public speaker in 1991. Then he became the director of Newark's juvie school in the 1990s. So it's plausible he could have been a social activist in the 1960s, since that would place him in the Army Reserve as a D.I. in the late 50s, and just being a black teacher in the 1960s you probably had to be a social activist of some sort. --berr 216.15.63.67 (talk) 08:40, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't have a problem with the idea of Clark having been a social activist, but the idea of him dressing like a radical does somewhat strain my credulity. He's always been a snappy dresser and, if my memory serves my correctly, he always insisted on proper dress for his teachers and students.97.73.64.150 (talk) 00:27, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

1972 Bill Withers song - Lean On Me VS The Club Noveau version from the 1980s
Hi,

According to Wikipedia, “This film's title refers to the 1972 Bill Withers song of the same name.” However, as stated in funtrivia.com, “The original version of “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers is not used. Instead, the Club Noveau version from the 1980s is used on the soundtrack.” Could you please clarify this for me? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:303:FCA6:BC00:AC4D:1E7:285A:7BEA (talk) 23:38, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

Bill Conti
Does anyone know why Bill Conti chose the Club Noveau version from the 1980s for the film's soundtrack over 1972 Bill Withers song version? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:303:FCA6:BC00:AC4D:1E7:285A:7BEA (talk) 23:43, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

Could Mr. Rosenberg be based on real life attorney Robert G. Rosenberg?
In addition to Mr. Darnell/Barry Rosser, could it also be possible that the character Ethan Phillips plays in the film is real life attorney Robert G. Rosenberg? I have come across articles from The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune that mention Robert Rosenberg being the attorney who represents the Board of Education in Paterson, New Jersey. I truly don't believe it's a coincidence that this real life attorney shares the same last name as the character Ethan Phillips plays in the film. Hitcher vs. Candyman (talk) 21:50, 28 May 2016 (UTC)

Could Mr. Darnell be based on real life coach Barry Rosser?
While I was looking for reliable sources to use for the article Frank Napier, I found these two newspaper articles: one from The Evening Independent and the other from the Gadsden Times. Both of the newspaper articles mention that the real Joe Louis Clark fired a coach by the name of Barry Rosser for walking during an assembly while students were singing the Eastside High alma mater. There is a scene in the film that takes place in the cafeteria in which Mr. Darnell (Michael Beach) gets in trouble for picking up a piece of paper while a few students attempt to sing the alma mater. Later on, in another scene when Darnell and Clark (Morgan Freeman) are in the principal's office, Clark "suspends" Darnell. Could it be possible that Darnell is based on Barry Rosser? Hitcher vs. Candyman (talk) 15:26, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

Yes Pinky Miller (talk) 01:35, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

Other inaccuracies....
Check me out on this, but I don't believe Joe Clark was ever arrested. I do remember him getting in some trouble with the fire marshal for locking and chaining doors during school hours, but I think the movie exaggerates it. Furthermore, according to former Education Secretary William Bennett, Clark only carried the baseball bat to scare off drug dealers in the neighborhood. He never wielded it on his students.18:05, 23 December 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.237.189.239 (talk)

Mr. Clark was never arrested Pinky Miller (talk) 01:38, 1 October 2018 (UTC)