"2 Million Minutes" is a series of documentary film

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...

s exploring how students in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and the People’s Republic of China spend the nominal 2,000,000 minutes of their high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 years.. The film has been supported by Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich

Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....

 and Al Sharpton

Al Sharpton

Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...

.

Chapter 1: 2 Million Minutes: A Global Examination

Chapter 1 describes the different emphasis students, parents, and teachers put on socialization, academic rigor, and discipline in the three countries. This chapter of the film compares high school students from three countries, India, China and the United States. However, the comparisons are not logical because the filmmaker selected students from urban centers in India and China and juxtaposed their stories with two students from the mid-west in the United States. The film seems to focus on stereotypes of the study habits and social behaviors of students from these different countries. For example, the story looks at how American students natural proclivity to extra-curricular activities like student government and sports teams versus Chinese and Indian students' dedication to additional prep work and hobbies like playing instruments.

Chapter 2: 2 Million Minutes: In India

Chapter 2 describes the Indian K-12 education system. Filmed one year after Chapter 1, it rejoins the two American students and the two Indian students for a discussion. The film also features an interview with the principal of St. Paul's English school, Sundari Rao.

Chapter 3: 2 Million Minutes: In China

Chapter 3 describes the Chinese K-12 education system. Filmed one year after Chapter 1, it rejoins the two American students and the two Chinese students for a discussion. The film also features an interview with the headmaster of Xiwai International school, Dr. Lin.

Chapter 4: 2 Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution

Chapter 4 advocates some solutions for the United States to adopt to become competitive in education.