ABSTRACT
As a supervisor of preservice teachers I have overheard numerous conversations among them extolling the virtues of teacher characterizations within media culture. One particular teacher (re)presentation1 stands out for me-ex-U.S. Marine turned high school English teacher LouAnne Johnson from the movie and television series Dangerous Minds. In their conversations pre-service teachers usually talk about LouAnne Johnson’s tough management style and her ready-for-anything attitude. The premise of the Dangerous Minds story, however, is no different than other media representations within this hero teacher genre (e.g., Stand and Deliver, The White Shadow, Lean on Me, Blackboard Jungle)—each dramatization retells the story of the lone teacher who sacrifices everything to connect with and transform a small group of angry, undisciplined students.
