History Film / SchoolTies

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Though he was obviously Jewish from the start to the audience, David may have come across this way to his fellow students.
** His very name "David Greene" exemplifies this. The first name David and the surname Greene are both relatively common among Jews, but common enough among Gentiles that nobody automatically assumes someone with either of those names is necessarily Jewish.

* AllJewsAreCheapskates: David's BerserkButton.

* BoardingSchool: Yep.
* CallBack[=/=]MeaningfulEcho: When Dillon accuses David of cheating and David throws his anti-Semitism back in his face, Dillon admits he's been a prick but the Jewish stuff doesn't matter. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:after Dillon tells David that in ten years "you'll still be a God-damn Jew," David retorts [[MeaningfulEcho "and you'll still be a prick."]] ]]
* ColonelBogeyMarch: Used to harass David.

* TheFifties: Yes indeed.

* {{Irony}}: The class claims [[spoiler:Dillon]] couldn't have cheated since "he had no reason to" due to coming from a Harvard legacy family while David just arrived this year, then proceed to explain they "''have''" to get into the Ivy League colleges their parents went to; completely oblivious to how they ''just spelled out'' why [[spoiler:Dillon]] had more reason to cheat than David.

* InsultBackfire: The ending.

** For some reason, [[{{Bowdlerize}} some TV airings delete David's response]].

* WeUsedToBeFriends: David Greene and Charlie Dillon start out as friends, but by the end of the movie their friendship has all but deteriorated caused by the latter being DrivenByEnvy and his anti-semitism.

-->'''Sally:''' My friends...I just...they keep pestering me and just...all they can say is "What's it like to kiss a Jew? Does his..."
-->'''David:''' Go on.
-->'''Sally:''' "Does his nose get in the way?"
-->'''David:''' [[SarcasmMode Nice friends.]]
-->'''Sally:''' [[AtLeastIAdmitIt At least they're honest.]]

-->'''David's Dad:''' Sure, I've gotten into fights, but no one ever handed me, Harvard.

* JerkassRealization: Chris Reece, David's roommate, who tries to justify his anti-Semitism when he first learns David's Jewish, but then realizes how wrong he's been when David explains why he didn't tell him.

--> McGivin: "4 generations of McGivins have gone to Princeton. If I dont get it it means the blood has gone thin. It means they all have cocks and I just have a weewee."

The film has mostly been forgotten (outside of tolerance education classes), and is probably best known now for being the originator of an extremely obscure ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_yOXZmS10Y homage]]. Despite the film's relative obscurity, it does have the distinction of being one of Creator/BrendanFraser's first leading roles, his first dramatic leading role, and one of Creator/MattDamon's first leading roles.

* GeniusBonus: The poem [=McGivern=] fails to recite is a French translation of Keats' "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles", in which the author feels like a failure and that he is doomed to die soon.

* GeniusBonus: The poem McGivern fails to recite is a French translation of Keats' "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles", in which the author feels like a failure and that he is doomed to die soon.
* GildedCage: McGivern is the most obvious victim, though most of the primary characters are under immense pressure to follow in their families' footsteps.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Despite being a very difficult teacher who almost seemed to delight in riding McGivern, Cleary is clearly horrified at the consequences of his actions.