The Red Folder Essay

The Red Folder, directed by Ben Kallam, is a slow-paced short that acts as a subtle social commentary on the failings of the public education system. Set in a public high school, the film follows a young African-American teen’s set task of finding an elusive red folder. With no luck, Joseph is re-directed from teacher to classroom and his evident boredom captures the mundanity of the arbitrary tasks given to young teens in school. Through Josephs perspective, we see that he is cast as somewhat of an outsider, continually looking in on classes from the periphery of the school corridors. Joseph’s meandering through the hallway, and his interactions with teachers shows what little learning is going on, and Kallam shows this as an act of criticism

Midway through the film, he is led to the school’s basketball hall, where the viewer learns of Joseph’s talent as a basketball player. His previous suspension and possible all-round misunderstood state has caused him to be kicked off the team, however. Here, one of the only possible outlets of success and hope for this student has been cut off, and again, The Red Folder exhibits how teenagers, specifically those of color, lack the public support and guidance they need to strive. Kallam, a former high school teacher himself, has stated that “male students of color statistically tend to be punished more often and more severely”. The director wanted the monotony of Joseph’s arbitrary and inconclusive tasks in The Red Folder to act as a larger metaphor for the lack of rewarding and fruitious goals set out to students from all types of socio-economic backgrounds, colors, religions and genders. In a state-funded sphere that is evidently lacking and failing in parts, Joseph is sadly positioned as just another ‘kid’ who may spiral off the tracks with no real adult care