Mr Holland's Opus Analysis

In the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, the audience explores the insight of a family that has a Deaf son. With frustration in Mr. Holland’s music career, he loses sight of how to connect with his son Cole. Will Mr. Holland figure out how to dedicate his time to his son or will he have to choose between his family and his music career? In the beginning of Mr. Holland’s Opus, Mr. Holland becomes a high school music teacher. Although Mr. Holland is used to being on the road, he now has to get in a routine to wake up and dedicate his time to his students. Mr. Holland at first finds his job very frustrating because he notices that his students are not dedicated to the music program like he is. As the year continues, he starts to realize that he is not …show more content…
There was only one parent that could communicate with Cole and that was his mother, Mrs. Holland. Mr. Holland becomes easily frustrated with Cole because all he wants is for him to have the same passion for music as he does. However, I believe that this is why Mr. Holland feels the need to engage more with his students than Cole because he feels that his students can actually understand how much he appreciates music. In my opinion, this is where all Mr. Holland’s time is consumed rather than where it should be. I can see why Mr. Holland isolates himself from his family, but Cole is his son, and that is where his main priority should be. Lastly, when reading more in depth about the movie, a blogger had stated that Mr. Holland is, “in denial and hopes the deafness will just go away” (Deaf Expressions). Knowing that this is not the case, I feel that this feeling is what makes Mr. Holland’s frustration grow. It is not until, Cole finally has had enough, with his “father brushing him off” (Hegstrom) and thinking that he is “stupid” when he finally speaks up to his father. However, John Lennon’s death had already carried out a lot of emotions, so I feel like it was a good time for Cole to spill out his feelings …show more content…
Luckily, his mother stepped up when he father wanted to fall in the beginning. Cole and his mother’s relationship is very significant because if his mother did not go to the parent meetings to learn more about Cole’s education then she would have never been able to talk to Cole. From the beginning, Cole’s mother wanted him to have to best at everything, especially the ability to communicate with others. This is why she easily wants to give up because she feels like she is the only one that is trying. She really has to step up to the plate when Mr. Holland first falls behind. However, she is overjoyed when she sees that Cole speaks up to his father. After this turning point, they become the big happy family they should have been from the beginning. My personal thoughts on the relationship between Cole and his mother were that this relationship between the two was definitely needed. It was great to have Cole’s mother be where his father fell short at times. I feel as if this is why Cole finally decided to speak up to his father because as much as he wanted a relationship with his mother he also wanted one with his father as