We're now in this strange place where we are watching a film about real people and real life events and the fictional version is what we will carry with us as the real version—if that makes any sense at all. Then we will look at the television show which even further fictionalizes the real people and story. But at the same time, as Tim O'Brien, the author of the great Vietnam War novel, "The Things They Carried," says about "true" war stories: "Absolute occurrence is irrelevant. A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may happens and be truer than the truth." The same applies here to the series we will begin in a few days. The truth doesn't have to be real—it just has to be true. Wrap your heads around that for a minute.
What is certainly the truth is the video above of the real Boobie Miles. I'm not a huge football fan, but I can even tell from these clips that Boobie was a great football player; and that the game Permian High School played was nothing like the game I played in high school nor have seen since in high school. In the book, Brian Chavez will later reflect upon his one day as a player for Harvard: "[He] quite after one day after coming to the conclusion that the program was on par with the junior high one in Odessa" (344).
Anyhow. Great first day of class. Thanks for the free sharing of experiences of you and athletics and for the willingness to talk honestly about your visions of small town America. We're going to find many of our assumptions and stereotypes both reaffirmed and challenged in our reading and viewing. But first:
1. What did you learn from the prologue to the book? What especially jumped off the page that stuck with you in this introduction to football, Odessa, and the kids that play the game?
2. Which player in the reading particularly interested you—and why?
3. What image or moment from the first ten minutes of the film particularly struck you—and why?
Write a couple hundred words in answering these three questions. And remember to have this done by 8:30 tomorrow morning. Welcome to Short Term B. And remember to answer in the comments box: don't create your own post, okay?
While reading the prologue, what really stuck out to me was not necessarily something new per say, but just the magnitude of the intensity and the devotion that the players have for the game by their own standards and those of their town. As we discussed in class today, in a small town, life moves at a slower pace. There are not the excitements of the city and the chaos of what we would consider to be “normal” by our standards, and instead all of their energy is channeled towards one thing: high school football. While reading the beginning I already had that idea in the back of my mind, but the way that the kids described school as just a way to play football and football almost being their only identity in the town made the image much stronger than I had initially imagined. Boobie says, “…The true purpose of going to Permian High School: to play football for the Panthers” (4). The amount of pressure and expectations that the Odessa puts on the kids is much more intense than I had initially thought as well. I found Winchell’s situation very interesting, and it completely contradicts everything I had been brought up to learn as a kid. As he is getting recruitment letters from Ivy League schools, all he can manage to say is, “Where is God’s name was Rhode Island?” (9), which goes to show how extreme the differences are between my upbringing, where everyone knows what an Ivy League school is and is obsessed with the status, to a guy who is completely overwhelmed by the idea of leaving his home. I found Ivory’s character to be the most relatable for me personally because of my journey with sports. He is not sure exactly why he plays football; it’s just been always something that he does. Because he is black, everyone expects him to play and be good, and he feels like he can never live up to those expectations. His love/hate relationship with sports really struck me, so I feel like I will be able to connect with him throughout the story. The image of the completely desolate town really struck me from the film. We can always talk about the town being empty and barren, but there is nothing that compares to seeing a completely barren landscape that is the hometown of all of these characters.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the prologue exemplified the stark incompatibility of the desires and aspirations of the players the Permian High School team is comprised of with the over encompassing expectations of Odessa as a whole. It appeared as if a sizable portion of the players participate in the football program due to either rigid social customs and norms, an attribute often applied, erroneously or not, to small towns such as Odessa, or simply for the pleasure of having fun or receiving an adrenaline rush while performing well, as some stated today in class. This is quite differentiated from the ideals, demographics and expenditures of the Odessian(?) community as a whole, a community who chose to construct a presumably costly stadium, a stadium that dwarfs the near entirety of high school football stadiums in the nation, under arduous economic conditions, whose head football coach earns more than the principle, and whose football team are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy, courtesy to such an extent that they essentially have to merely attend school to pass with no regard for performing well within their classes. Additionally, there were some overt examples of class and racial disparity within Odessa, with what could almost be described as a chasm segregating the white part of Odessa from the black and Hispanic portion. Further contributing to this disparity, players experiencing a downfall from their prime, such as Boobie, are seen as feasibly expendable, as the whites are under the impression that they can simply retrieve a new African American player from the impoverished portion of Odessa predominately comprised of minorities.
ReplyDeleteBoobie struck me the most as a character, as he appeared to be the epitome of racial disparity and inequality within Odessa. His vehement response to his paltry role on the team following a knee injury, accompanied by the staff’s apparent indifference for him as an individual (granted he was often described as a less than affable individual), exemplify the ease at which African Americans are solely utilized for their football talents and are often perceived to be expendable, and thus discarded following the discovery of an individual of superior talent.
The scene in which Boobie ran to the stadium, presumably due to his lack of alternate transportation, and met the white members of the football team, the majority of whom drove, further alluded to the omnipresent and accepted racial disparity within Odessa. However, I found it odd that although racial prejudice appears to be rampant within Odessa, Boobie was greeted in a considerably respectful manner, possibly due to his socially perceived usefulness on the football team, as following his departure from the team, Boobie, along with the vast majority of minorities inhabiting Odessa, was regarded in a far less positive and dehumanizing manner.
There were been a couple of images that have remained in my mind since watching the first ten minutes of the film; however, the most striking was definitely the first shot of the movie. That one shot, while maintaining the appearance of utter nothingness, contains everything. The barren expanse explains the football and acts as a disclaimer for the rest of the story. The other image that has stuck is that of the ruthlessly drilling her son prior to his departure for football. This struck me because often, we (especially at Paideia, I think) view those who prioritize athletics too much as slackers, when actually they are working harder to excel in their sport than a lot of people work to excel academically.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to get the story of football from the players themselves, because they offered drastically different perspectives into the game, the feelings associated with it, and the lives that accompany it. What stuck out to me was the description of the Permain monicker: “MO-JO! MO-JO. Chants of the Permian monicker, which was taken from the title of an old Wilson Pickett song and stuck to the team after a bunch of drunken alumni had yelled the word for no apparent reason during a game in the late sixties, passed through the home side” (15). This passage makes it clear that this set of players is not the beginning of Odessa’s obsession, nor will they be the end: Odessa has always been and will always be consumed by the Friday night lights.
The character who interested me the most was Ivory Christian, because I think his relationship with his sport is common within high school athletes, especially at his level. I admire his ability to recognize that he’s not all in it like many of the others seem to be, yet his inability to quit out of his simultaneous love for the game.
One moment that particularly struck me from reading the prologue was the image of Ivory Christian vomiting before he played. I definitely get nervous before I play, but it’s an excited/nervous feeling I have. I cannot imagine getting sick to my stomach every single time I had to play. The prologue says “there was so much about football [Ivory] hated” (10). I find this description of Ivory very disturbing. It appears Ivory plays football because he is supposed to play football; he is expected to play football. Although Ivory appears to be the most drastic example of this, the other players described in the prologue seem more nervous and overwhelmed than excited to play. The vibe I got from the players in the prologue is that football is a job. Winchell lies on the floor and McDougal paces back and forth. The pressure placed on these high school teenagers seems incredibly unfair. One player that really stuck out to me was Brain Chavez, and his desire to go to Harvard. After the discussion today about how we viewed small towns, Brian Chavez definitely defied my view of small towns containing the uneducated and people with low aspirations. The prologue says he was number one in his class, and I always imagine football players as not the smartest. I find it impressive that he could work so hard at football and in school and excel at both. I think often we are forced to choose between academics and sports, and it seems Brian is able to manage both football and academics. One moment that particularly struck me during the film was when one of the football players was running and the little kids began to follow him on bikes. It amazes me that these high school football players have become such huge stars, and it emphasizes the amount of pressure these high school students are under to perform for the entire town.
ReplyDeleteThere was a quote about halfway through the prologue that really stayed with me throughout the reading: “Where in God's name is Rhode Island?” (9). To me, this really exaggerated the amount of separation between Odessa and the rest of the country. Winchell has just been scouted by Brown, and Bissinger makes a point to include that he's a good student. As a reader, I immediately assumed that if he was a good student he'd have a basic knowledge of his country's geography. This made Winchell's character stand out more than it already did. Winchell's character is introduced in such a way that makes his personality, his values, seem to contrast with him teammates. For example, McDougal and Miles are not concerned with their schoolwork but Winchell is. In addition to the fact that Winchell is getting the attention of schools like Brown, he finds his time in the classroom to be a pleasant distraction from the pressures he feels on the field; for McDougal and Miles, it's the other way around.
ReplyDeleteThe moment in the movie that stuck out for me was when they showed Comer's character coloring his cleats. I think this shows how desperate he, and possibly the other players, is to be better on the field. It's foolish to think that the color of Comer's shoes will have a noticeable effect on his athletic ability, but he sees that Miles is a better athlete than him, so Comer tries to copy him—hoping that the little changes he makes in the locker room will carry over onto the field.
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ReplyDeleteWhat really struck me in the prologue was the difference between Odessa and the rest of the country. The small community seems isolated from the rest of the world; even shown in the movie as an empty piece of land. Another thing that stood out for me is how frustrating and nerve-wracking preparing for a game can be for competitive athletes.The quarterback, for example, would find it hard to focus on anything else besides the football games on Friday. Even in junior year, he would start worrying on that Tuesday. Two characters that definitely interested me were Boobie Miles and Chris Comer. I want to know more about the relationship of the two and how it led to Boobie Miles quitting.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest image in the movie for me was how confident Boobie Miles was in the locker room. Now that i have read the prologue, I find it interesting that he got from being overly confident to storming out of the locker room. Other images that stuck to me were when Comer was coloring his cleats and the scene with Mike Winchell and his mother. I sense that story will go more in-depth with the relationship between the two. I also hope to see the story as well as growth with Comer.
From the prologue I learned that there is an incredible importance placed on the Odessa high school football team. The players feel immense pressure to win their games, and the whole town ardently supports them. Bob Rutherford typifies the town's opinion when he says "life really wouldn't be worth livin' if you didn't have a high school football team to support" (20). A single moment that particularly struck me in this reading was Ivory Cristian's feelings towards football. He does not enjoy many things about the sport, he does not care much about the outcome of the game against Lee and he vomits before every game; yet he continues to play. His appeal to the sport is the "elemental savagery" of it. I find this love-hate relationship interesting because it differs from what I feel towards soccer, the sport I play. I have a love relationship with soccer.
ReplyDeleteA single image from the movie that stuck out the most was the arial shot of the stadium. The size of the arena was shocking; I've never seen a high school stadium close to that size. The enormity of the stadium shows the great importance of high school football in Odessa. The school spends money on an expensive new stadium rather than educational materials.
One thing that fascinated me was that each player played the game for a different reason. Boobie Miles played for the attention, to be a star, because of his dream to be the best. The quarterback, Mike Winchell, played because that’s what was expected of him. Jerrod McDougal played because of the feeling when he was on the field, the feeling of being supernatural. He played because of the high thousands of people cheering for him gave him. Ivory Christian played because he was good, and he was scared of failing people’s expectations.
ReplyDeleteThe player that interested me the most was Jerrod McDougal, the 5 foot 9 offensive lineman. He had a physical disadvantage, and because of that he knew he could never become great. I am very short on the basketball player scale, and because of my natural limitation, I gave up any hopes of playing at a top level. Like McDougal, I play because I enjoy it and because of the thrill of playing.
The image in the movie that struck me was how much the football stadium stood out. Everything was flat, not elaborate in any way, and then the humungous football stadium overshadowed everything else. Another moment that struck me was when Boobie was jogging, all of the little kids that were running after him were black. That shows the segregation that took place in Odessa.
One of the most striking things in the prologue was not only the devotion that the players possess, but also the rather ardent dependence on football that serves as the source of their vehemence. All of them have diverse connections to the Permian-Lee game that range from an incessant obsession over it to some degree of indifference, yet they are inevitably linked together as a team regardless of how their emotions vary. The players are clearly not the only ones who are fixated upon football. The entire high school, as well as Odessa's population, undoubtedly glorify them, and have planted a cogent amount of their trust and adulation into them.
ReplyDeleteIvory Christian reminds me of myself - there are plenty of aspects of volleyball that I loathe, but I can't bring myself to quit, or at least not just yet. I also took note of his being the only one who expressed desperation to leave Odessa: "...he figured that after the year was over he would enlist in the Marines or something, maybe buy a Winnebago so he could get out of this place where no one could get to him." (10) I liked that flare in him - he's ambitious in an understated way that is definitely less evident than Boobie is, but no less.
The enthusiasm that Boobie conveys in the movie drastically differed from his fervor in the book. He seemed so much more blithe in the film version, and I can't decide whether I am attracted to his excitement or his aggression.
The prologue to the book really took me to a town that was completely and utterly different than anything I’ve ever been to or experienced. I learned how much Odessa worships football and how much pressure almost all the individuals on the team feel before and during each of their football games because of the society and town they live in. To Odessa football is everything; it’s a religion, a pastime, and the most exciting thing in their lives. The mood of the town depends on the football score. This is such a different and hard perspective for me to understand coming from an upper middle class family in Atlanta, GA. All most of the people live for is football, not having a successful career or even going to colleges like Brown and Yale. It’s so backward to what I’ve been raised to think. The player in the reading that particularly interested me was Mike Winchell because he was the only one interested in school, not just their football game afterschool. Yet he got letters from Brown and Yale and all he thought was “Hell, Brown, that might as well have been in India,” and “Where in God’s name was Rhode Island?” He had no interest in trying to go to these prestigious colleges because even the idea of them scared him. They are so different from Odessa and everything he’s grown up around and the expectations set for him. People revere him because he’s the quarterback, not because he’s smart. A guy in a similar situation to Winchell was Chavez. The moment that struck me the most was when Chavez revealed, “he didn’t have to rely on it [the physical thrill] or draw all his identity from it” and instead wanted to go to Harvard. This moment of Chavez saying that football basically was just a game to him and that it didn’t define who he was shocked me. All the other players draw their identities from being on the football team. To some it’s the most important thing in their lives and they’ll quit the team if they can’t play on it. Chavez had bigger dreams than just being on the football team and I really found that inspiring based on the background that Chavez was coming from.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the first ten minutes of the film, I began to take in the immensity of high school football in West Texas. A pan over the stadium shows it's incredible size, 19k seats for a high school football team. When Boobie Miles runs down the road towards the stadium before a practice, he leads his own personal fan base, sporting replicas of his own jersey. The way the players were preparing for a practice seemed as if they were preparing for the biggest game of the season. When the team takes the field, the stands are littered with scouts from the biggest D-1 powerhouses of the time. Having played football, I have never seen a more intense practice than the first practice in the film. The players exemplified perfect technique over and over in the excruciating heat of West Texas. This was obviously no ordinary high school football team.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me while reading the prologue was the intensity and importance built up around football. Everything in almost all of the players’ lives seemed to revolve around this one game against Lee. The whole town rallies to support the school and feels the each win or loss. I can’t imagine the pressure they are playing under with the whole town depending on them. While reading each player’s pre-game experience I could really see the effects of the stress put on them to win. It was really interesting to see the various ways the players dealt with it.
ReplyDeleteI found Boobie Miles’ story particularly interesting. Dealing with any kind of injury can be difficult and especially a season or career ending one. It is really painful to watch your team play and be unable to contribute. I know that when I get injured I feel completely useless and frustrated. Boobie’s frustration with his situation coming off of his knee injury showed in the prologue. He got pumped up for the game and then was benched by the coaches. Granted he didn’t handle it very well, but in my opinion that is one of the worst feelings in sports.
What stood out to me the most from the beginning of the film was the image of the stadium. The barren, flatness of the image seen in the first scene highlights the size of the stadium. The stadium’s size also relates to the emphasis on football in the daily lives of the people of Odessa. All of Odessa obsesses over football, the fans and the players. The entire culture and social hierarchy depend on it. The stadium demonstrates the priorities of the society.
The character that stuck out the most for me was Boobie. I couldn't believe that he would be treated like nothing after being such a popular athlete. It seemed crazy to me that one tiny injury could change or even ruin someone's life. Also, the obvious racism took me by surprise. Boobie was respected one day and spit on the next, without any acknowledgement of his fall from grace. I thought that the closeness and importance of the football team would break through any racist attitudes but it was clear that the coach still treated Boobie differently. Boobie is a character that clearly portrayed the importance of football in Odessa but exhibiting what effect the lack of football could have on a person.
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