The Education of Shelby Knox
Encyclopedia
The Education of Shelby Knox is 2005
documentary
film
that tells the coming of age story about the public speaker and feminist, Shelby Knox, a teenage girl who joins a campaign for comprehensive sex education
in the high schools of Lubbock, Texas
. It was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival
in 2005 and aired on PBS
’ P.O.V.
series that same year. It was directed and produced by Marion Lipschutz
and Rose Rosenblatt
.
has some of the highest teen pregnancy
and STD
rates in the nation. The town's solution is a strict abstinence-only sex education curriculum in the public schools and a conservative preacher who urges kids to pledge abstinence until marriage.
Shelby Knox is a deeply religious, Southern Baptist teenager who joins the Lubbock Youth Commission, a group of high school students representing a youth voice in city government. When the teens confront Lubbock's sexual health crisis and campaign for comprehensive sex education, Shelby throws herself into the fight with missionary fervor, struggling to reconcile her newfound political beliefs with her conservative religious views. When the campaign broadens to include a fight for a gay-straight alliance, Shelby must confront her family and pastor in this coming-of-age story.
' 2006
album Taking the Long Way
features a track titled "Lubbock or Leave It", which is based on The Education of Shelby Knox. When the song came out, the group's member Emily Robison told the press: "We'd seen a documentary called The Education of Shelby Knox, which was about a girl ... trying to get Lubbock to teach sex education in the schools. Lubbock has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the U.S., so it really showed what happens when you keep that information away from people." Lead singer Natalie Maines
, who is from Lubbock, subsequently spoke (during a 2006
episode of VH1 Storytellers
) about watching the film and drawing from her own experiences of living there to write the song.
As of June 2011, Shelby Knox is living in New York City and serving as the Director of Organizing, Women's Rights for Change.org.
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
that tells the coming of age story about the public speaker and feminist, Shelby Knox, a teenage girl who joins a campaign for comprehensive sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
in the high schools of Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
. It was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in 2005 and aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
’ P.O.V.
P.O.V.
POV is a Public Broadcasting Service Public television series which features independent nonfiction films. POV is a cinema term for "point of view"....
series that same year. It was directed and produced by Marion Lipschutz
Marion Lipschutz
Marion Lipschutz is an American film director and co-founder of Incite Pictures and Cine Qua Non , a 501, a partnership of Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt, produces long form, dramatic documentaries and ancillary educational materials on social and cultural subjects...
and Rose Rosenblatt
Rose Rosenblatt
Rose Rosenblatt is an American film director, film editor, and co-founder of Incite Pictures. Her work includes The Education of Shelby Knox , Live Free or Die , Fatherhood USA, and The Abortion Pill...
.
Overview
LubbockLubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
has some of the highest teen pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy of a female under the age of 20 when the pregnancy ends. It generally refers to a female who is unmarried and usually refers to an unplanned pregnancy...
and STD
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
rates in the nation. The town's solution is a strict abstinence-only sex education curriculum in the public schools and a conservative preacher who urges kids to pledge abstinence until marriage.
Shelby Knox is a deeply religious, Southern Baptist teenager who joins the Lubbock Youth Commission, a group of high school students representing a youth voice in city government. When the teens confront Lubbock's sexual health crisis and campaign for comprehensive sex education, Shelby throws herself into the fight with missionary fervor, struggling to reconcile her newfound political beliefs with her conservative religious views. When the campaign broadens to include a fight for a gay-straight alliance, Shelby must confront her family and pastor in this coming-of-age story.
Awards
The Education of Shelby Knox has received a number of awards:- 2005 Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
(Excellence in Cinematography, Documentary Category) - 2005 SXSWSouth by SouthwestSouth by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
Film Festival (Audience Award) - 2005 Sonoma Valley Film FestivalSonoma Valley Film FestivalThe Sonoma Valley Film Festival traditionally takes place in April in Sonoma, California and is hosted by the Sonoma Valley Film Society. The 10th anniversary of the film festival in 2007 honored two-time Academy Award winning director John Lasseter of Pixar and Disney Animation studios.The 11th...
(Jury Prize) - 2005 Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (Jury Prize, Best Documentary)
- 2005 Full Frame Documentary Film FestivalFull Frame Documentary Film FestivalThe Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight...
(Emerging Pictures Audience Award) - Council on FoundationsCouncil on FoundationsThe Council on Foundations, formed in 1949, is a nonprofit membership association of grantmaking foundations and corporations. Members of the Council include more than 1,750 independent, operating, community, public, and company-sponsored foundations, and corporate giving programs in the United...
(2005 Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media) - 2005 Fresno Reel Pride Film Festival (Audience Award, Best Feature)
- 2006 The Index on Censorship's Freedom of Expression Film Award (Nominee)
Pop references
The Dixie ChicksDixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
' 2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
album Taking the Long Way
Taking the Long Way
-Public reception:On May 31, 2006, the album took three number one spots on the charts of Billboard magazine. It was number one on the Hot Country Albums, Top Digital Albums, and on the Billboard 200 chart, going Gold in its first week with 526,000 units sold....
features a track titled "Lubbock or Leave It", which is based on The Education of Shelby Knox. When the song came out, the group's member Emily Robison told the press: "We'd seen a documentary called The Education of Shelby Knox, which was about a girl ... trying to get Lubbock to teach sex education in the schools. Lubbock has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the U.S., so it really showed what happens when you keep that information away from people." Lead singer Natalie Maines
Natalie Maines
Natalie Louise Maines Pasdar is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success as the lead vocalist for the female alternative country band, the Dixie Chicks...
, who is from Lubbock, subsequently spoke (during a 2006
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
episode of VH1 Storytellers
VH1 Storytellers
Storytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...
) about watching the film and drawing from her own experiences of living there to write the song.
As of June 2011, Shelby Knox is living in New York City and serving as the Director of Organizing, Women's Rights for Change.org.
External links
- ShelbyKnox.org - Official film site
- P.O.V. The Education of Shelby Knox - PBS' website dedicated to the film