Why do we as a society care so much about sports? If someone tried to list every aspect in a society that sports can they would probably only get about half-way. We dedicate specific days to sports (football on sunday), intertior design to a favorite team, all along with our hopes a dreams, highs a lows. Sports seem to be more than just entertainment they are a way of life (to some). Children are raised to become die-hard fans and "hate" the rival, and this love-hate is a comodity. Is this why Sports movies can effect our lives as well? I grew up with the "Little Giants" and the "Mighty Ducks". I would emulate players hitting buzzer beating shots in my room (and if I missed, I was fouled.) But there are also sports movies like "Remeber the Titans" that can teach us more.
This article brings up the impact sports movies have on our culture. http://media.www.uwmleader.com/media/storage/paper980/news/2005/10/26/Sports/Impact.Of.Sports.Movies-1987341.shtml
Do you agree with what is said? why do these movies touch us in a way that no other movie genre can? Sports movies can create heroes and seemingly freeze time. We watch sports for entertainment, loyalty, bragging rights (the list could go on); so why do we watch sports movies? Hollywood has grasped the concept that sports not only entertain they can also shape a persons life. Do you believe this is true? or even a good thing?
On a side note, not related to this particular blog, I found this article on espn.com on different styles to pick your bracket.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=celebrities/080317
If nothing else its good for a few laughs, but since the class is in a bracket group it may provide some insightful tips.
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6 comments:
Sports and entertainment are like the peanut butter and jelly of our culture- it's a staple that just goes so well together. There is a sports movie for everyone, for every sport, for every time period that allows it to be a bonding experience. Now a days, that's a hard thing to say about most things in entertainment media because of the amount of choices we have to provide entertainment for anything and everything a person could be interested in.
The article that was attached was dead on, particularly the part about being able to watch a movie about a sporting even that occured before you were even born. It's definitely a unique link to the past that can be shared for generations. That idea helps reinforce the foundation of why sports is so important to our culture. If we're not playing a sport, rooting a team on, watching them play a live game, then we're watching them act it out in a movie. In Chapter 11 of the Handbook, it says in regards to the genre of sports films "an abundance of top 10 lists providing more evidence that the genre has an extremely loyal following eager to discuss at great length the various qualities that make certain sports films great. The sports film genre is s prolific as it is popular." (186). We already idolize our favorite athletes and teams, and Hollywood is able to take it one step further and capture all our feelings about those teams and players in a neat 2 hour package. The players, coaches and events are immortalized through the movies, and I think that plays a pretty big part as to why we love them so much- we know that they will always be around for us and our future generations of fans.
I agree with Kyle Sorvick's article on the impact of sports films. Particularly, Sorvick wrote "Sports are not only a huge part of our lives, but are also very important in the history of our country. Sports heroes have done it all. From providing inspiration to many of us, to breaking barriers, to overcoming great obstacles, there is an athlete out there for everyone to look up to." This helps the argument that sports films are important or at least could be to all people, not just sports fans.
These movies captivate all kinds of people that can either relate to the sports themselves or just the people involved. Although the "Handbook of Sports and Media" only addressed sports fiction, there was a great quote that linked it back to the reality and reason why people relate to the movies, "Sports fiction is always about reality; only the metaphor the fictional work utlizes to describe reality varies." (186) It goes on to say that sports is a "dynamic metaphor for reality" and that "books and films about sports serve as an efficient means for examining other aspects of life." (186)
These quotes effectively show that although many of the sports movies are fiction, they do relate directly to reality and this is what draws the audience in to the movies.
Sports are a big part of our culture today and that is why we even have a movie genre for sports movies. It's very easy for Hollywood or anyone else to make a story about a sport or a team or recreate a true story and turn it into a great box office hit. Many of these movies are funny and many of them are more serious, but one thing that they have in common is that they are relatable.
Growing up with movies like "Mighty Ducks" and "The Sandlot" and "Little Giants" I always felt inspired after watching them. Watching "The Sandlot" and "Mighty Ducks" made me want to go out and play hockey or baseball with my brothers. I felt like I could relate to the characters in these movies not only because they were close in age at the time the movies came out but because it was easy to see that they were normal kids with similar lives. I think that is an important aspect of a sports movie to have. Something that motivates you to want to either play or watch the sport more. After seeing "Miracle" I kind of wanted to watch a little more hockey.
The ability to tell a sports story that actually happened (like "Miracle") is also a great quality in the sports movie genre. It's not only entertaining but it is educational as well. Part of the magic of movies is being able to feel like your there and once again relate to it. It is great to see something in a movie that actually happened in history, especially with sports. You can feel like you were a part of something that happened before you were even born.
Sports movies are something that we all can relate to in a positive way. Sure, some kids grow up with dreams about being a fireman or policeman, but most have fantasies of being another Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle, or Tiger Woods. Movies about sports heroes provide the inspiration to fuel those dreams. While the “Handbook of Sports and Media” talks about sports movies as being fictional, the reality is if they were totally factual, they would probably be quite boring. One of the best sports films of all time was “Rudy.” If the writers, producers, and director didn’t create an embellished storyline, the movie would have been as boring as watching grass grow. There would have been no tears at the end and no inspiration for the viewer. Sports and fiction are a great combination as long as the fiction only enhances the facts. Rudy dressing for the game and making the tackle, that is the stuff dreams are made of.
I think there are a few reasons why sports movies are so popular. One is obviously because of the extreme popularity of professional sports leagues in this country. There's really no reason to believe that the success wouldn't translate onto the big screen, whether the movies are based on factual events or not.
Another reason is our ability to relate to what is occurring on screen. Most people played some form of competitive sports in their lives, so they understand what the movie is about. Off the field, people can also comprehend the societal issues that are being addressed too, so there isn't much about the movie people can't understand.
Movies about mobsters, superheroes, etc. don't have the sense of realism because people can't relate. But you can go in your driveway and hit a buzzer-beater to win the championship, or make a diving catch in your backyard to win the game.
This ability to relate almost gives sports too much power over people. The handbook gives a lengthy definition of what a sports hero should be. "Modern sports heroes, then, are models of athletic competence and of social values who are admired for their outstanding and skillful athletic performance, their courage, expertise, perseverance, assertiveness, generosity, social ideals, dependability, honesty, and character."
This seems like a rather elite group, yet so many athletes are described as heroes. As we've mentioned in class, there is a fine line between celebrity and heroism. Movies are able to create heroes because of the fictional aspect of film, creating larger than life characters that seem to lack flaws.
There are so many reasons why people love sports. In Chapter 19 of the Handbook, Raney describes a number of different motivations for watching sports. When it comes to sports films, I think people have a lot of the same motivations.
Sports films provide entertainment. Whether they're based on a true story or mostly fiction, we get attached to the characters like we would our favorite athletes. When the underdog finally overcomes adversity, it makes us feel good. Older sports movies about events before our lifetime can serve as a learning experience. And it's easy to find something you didn't know from almost every sports movie. We can also find companionship as we watch sports movies with our friends and family, just as we watch sporting events.
Sports are a big part of many peoples' lives, and sports movies definitely play a part in creating fans. Sports movies mean so much to us because they take something we love and develop the background story. They allow us to see into the world of sports in ways that we can't just by watching a game. They feed of our passion for sports and our various motivations for watching them.
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