The School for Good and Evil Discussion Questions and Review written by the Unicorn on 11/8/2022 This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Watch
Movie: School for Good and Evil
Rating: PG-13
Age Suggestion: 12+
Running Time: 2 hours and 27 minutes
Release Date: October 18th, 2022
Streaming Service: Netflix
Warnings: Contains antisemitic tropes, mild violence, mild explicit language, quote a bit of dark imagery/magic
Quick School for Good and Evil Summary
Based on the book series of the same name, Sophie and Agatha are best friends in a small, close-minded village. Sophie dreams of becoming a princess, while Agatha gets teased and called a witch. One day, Sophie and Agatha end up escaping to the School for Good and Evil, though it seems as though they each got put into the wrong school. Can they change the minds of the teachers, or are they exactly where they belong?
The School for Good and Evil Parent Review:
-Is The School for Good and Evil Appropriate for Younger Kids?
I would not recommend this movie for younger kids. While the books are aimed at late elementary and middle school, the movie is more mature, and has more intense moments. A large portion of the plot revolves around a good character turning evil and going towards dark magic. There is a lot of dark imagery intermingled with high school drama and tension.
-Characters & Acting-
The characters were interesting enough to follow along with. I didn’t feel as though Sophie’s character was nearly as strong as Agatha’s. Agatha is the character that audiences want to identify with, and the writing for her was just a lot better than Sophie’s. Sophie has an interesting arch, but it never felt fully resolved.
The acting was strong though, especially from Sofia Wylie who plays Agatha. The adults in the movie were mostly notable actors including Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Michelle Yeoh, and Laurence Fishburne. They were all pretty good, but they didn’t get a whole lot to work with. Kerry Washington specifically stood out to me as great in this movie, she played the sickly-sweet Professor Dovey well!
-Story and Quality-
The story was not consistently good. It was very long, and slow in some places, but the worst element of it was the antisemitic tropes, which were not in the books and were specifically added in the movie. The rest of the story was ok, but deviated from the books significantly.
While many parts of this movie were either bad or just meh, the costume and set design were gorgeous! I especially loved the costumes worn by Agatha in the School for Good, but the costumes for the School of Evil were also fantastic. They fit the fairy-tale aesthetic while bringing in some more modern styles to complement it.
-Antisemitic Tropes in School for Good and Evil–
The story of School for Good and Evil draws on several antisemitic tropes, the worst of which being blood magic. The blood magic is used by the evil Rafal draws from the idea of blood libel. Blood libel stems is the rumor that Jews killed young children to use in religious rituals. This idea has been perpetrated throughout history. This antisemitic theory is still in popular use today by groups like QAnon, despite having very little evidence.
This trope is used in the movie by the villain, but the use of this trope in a movie focused on a school with children furthers the idea that Jewish people are somehow evil. For some families, this may not be a big deal, but it might be worth discussing further, especially since there has been a rise in antisemitism in recent years.
The School for Good and Evil Discussion Questions
1) Sophie and Agatha are best friends, but sometimes even best friends fight. How can you make things right with a friend after a fight?
2) What do you think of the idea that a soul is either fully good or fully evil? What does the Bible say about this?
3) When Sophie and Agatha first arrive at the school, they both feel out of place. Has there been a time where you have felt out of place? How did you deal with those feelings?
4) A lot of stories have 2 friends fighting over a guy. How do you feel about this trope? Would you change it, and if so, how?
5) Who do you relate to more, Sophie or Agatha?
Meet the Author- Kate
Kate is a young disabled writer based in Colorado. She’s obsessed with anything Marvel, Disney, or theatre. She can normally be found performing and singing dramatically in the car.
Instagram: @kit_kat_kate_cat TikTok: @kathrynthecat
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