Fredrick Wiseman turns his camera on a Philadelphia public high school, observing daily interactions among students, teachers, and administrators. Through disciplinary meetings, patriotic assemblies, and classroom scenes, the film reveals how authority and conformity are enforced in American schools. Without narration or interviews, Wiseman builds a portrait showing how schools shape behavior, language, and social norms through repetition and structure. The film suggests education extends beyond knowledge transmission to cultivating citizens compliant with broader systems of control.

 Shot in a Philadelphia public high school, Frederick Wiseman’s High School captures the complex interplay between teachers, students, and administrators with the unforced intimacy that defines his work. 

Through both formal encounters—ID checks, lectures on behavior, and class instruction—and informal moments in hallways or offices, the film reveals how education transmits not only knowledge, but also social values and norms from one generation to the next. The camera records teachers asserting authority, sometimes confusing discipline with pedagogy: instructing female students on appearance and conduct, or demanding strict adherence to rules. Yet Wiseman avoids caricature or overt judgment. Instead, he allows the daily rhythms and interactions to speak for themselves, subtly exposing the tension between genuine teaching and institutional control. As a record of a specific place and moment, High School is both a sociological study and a portrait of American life in miniature—where the very atmosphere of the building, from the decor to the body language of its inhabitants, shapes our understanding of the institution.

• ProducerFrederick WISEMAN
• Cinematography Bill BRAYNE
• Edit Frederick WISEMAN
• Sound Frederick WISEMAN

Zipporah Films​​