A Short Analysis of Sheba Hart | Notes On A Scandal
When I read the summary, I thought, "Okay, they are going to cook," but I didn’t know they would show the student and teacher engaging in activities. Nevertheless, the film did what it was supposed to: make the audience feel uncomfortable yet empathetic for Sheba and Barbara.
ngl this post has been the drafts for a bit.
Summary from IMDB: A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her fifteen-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond a platonic friendship.
returning to the workforce
Sheba Hart is a new art teacher at a school in London, and she immediately befriends Barbara as she is the first person to initiate a conversation with her. This is her first job in years as she used to stay home and care for her special needs son, so naturally, she would be the first person to acknowledge her presence to make the transition back into the workforce less stressful and lonesome.
An Odd Marriage
But as we learn more about her home life, we start to see more of the cracks, as we, like Barabara, believed her life to be ‘perfect.’ She got married very young to her then-professor and had two children, a distant daughter and a son with special needs who she chose to leave the workforce to stay at home and care for. There is a significant age gap between her and her husband, and it seems they don’t have much in common anymore.
The Student-Teacher Affair Isn’t shocking TBH
I knew this was coming, but I was still shocked that it happened.
I also watched this movie twice, and the scene this still is from gave me the ick both times.
When we learn Sheba has been having an affair with one of her students, at first, it is hard to fathom this happening, but you have to look at everything this woman has gone through. It is not right or acceptable for her to do this, but you can’t be too shocked that she did it.
This student made her feel wanted and desired, and she became enamored by him. She would blush when he talked to her, and she acted differently with him than she did with her husband.
He made her feel special.
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Hi! I’m Andrea, the creator of Cinematic Excursions. I am a video editor, photographer, travel and events vlogger, and blogger who likes to write movie analyses and yap about fandom. I also have a useless film degree.