I chose to further examine the film Hoosiers from week 13 of class. After reviewing the film I will compare it with chapter 13 of Major Problems. Hoosiers really caught my interest as a great underdog story and that is why I chose to further study the 1986 classic. I always had heard people talk about this movie but I had never seen it. In this paper I will discuss the historical period Hoosiers is set in, compare and contrast major themes from the week, and evaluate the film based on its effectiveness. Hoosiers is a fictional movie that is actually based on real events in a small town in Indiana. It is based on a true story but does change some of the truths, as evidenced by the ESPN article. The message I gathered from the film was that anything is possible if you can work hard and accept change. The little town of Hickory was very set in its ways and uncooperative of the new basketball coach. Once the town and players learned to accept something different, the team flourished. The argument the film presents is to never count someone out. No matter how small a school or town is, hard work can trump talent and compete with the big boys. The message of acceptance resonates with the viewer and is most likely why Hoosiers is so highly regarded as a sports movie. The historical period that Hoosiers is set in is 1952 rural Indiana. In this time period, people are more centralized around common goals and the entire town knows when someone moves in. There are no televisions and people have to work hard for everything they have. The theme of week 13 was sport and race. In Hoosiers, the only non-white people in the entire film are the players on the opposing team in the state title game. This is most likely indicative of how it might have been in 1950’s Indiana, as there were not as many black players in the rural areas. The time period created a very over the top sense of pride for local sports teams. This was evident in Hoosiers as the entire town lived and breathed with every game Hickory played. By 1952, the time of Hoosiers, Jackie Robinson had already broken the color barrier in baseball (Riess Pg. 384). So although there were not many black people in Hoosiers, it was not odd to see an integrated team in the state title game. Sports seemed simpler than today in week 13’s material. There is no twitter or ESPN to constantly feed information through. The newspaper and radio were the primary source of information, as evidenced in Hoosiers and the reading. Despite this, the sports seemed more intense and important to everybody involved. The period demanded players be respectful and do things the right way, which is far from the truth in modern sports. The amount of courage it must have taken Jackie Robinson not to punch the Phillies manager is beyond me (Riess Pg. 389). In Hoosiers, one of the player’s father is an alcoholic who constantly interrupts the games. The coach attempts to help him by offering him an assistant position with the team. I could not see that happening in 2014, as values are less important to people than they were back then. Roberto Clemente was one of the best baseball players of his era and had everything he wanted, but never forgot his roots. He died in a plain crash trying to help deliver aid to Nicaragua (Riess Pg. 387). This story is very indicative of the historical period that Hoosiers is set in because I could see the people of Hickory doing something for the greater good. The period seemed like it was full of people who cared about making a difference, no matter how much it would cost them. Coach Dale gave everything he had to the town of Hickory and ultimately helped them become champions. The content from Hoosiers contrasts from the week 13 material in some aspects. Racial tension was not very evident in Hoosiers, even though the book material suggests it would have been at that time period. As I stated earlier, the only time Hickory plays black players is at the end of the film, and no racism is displayed. Jimmy reminds me a lot of Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson from chapter13 in that he does what is right no matter who is watching. Jimmy could have quit on his town after his run of bad luck, but he stuck with it and committed to the basketball team. Jackie Robinson had one of the most difficult rookie season off the field in the history of sports, but he never complained (Riess Pg. 389). Hoosiers does a great job of capturing the attitude of the time, as it seems congruent with the chapter 13 material. Outside of the racism aspect, Hoosiers helped me further understand what it was like to have only sports in one’s life. The town could care less what was happening in Washington D.C., as basketball was the only thing that mattered. This differs slightly from how Muhammad Ali thought about life. Ali was not going to let others shape him, and he was very into politics (Riess Pg. 396). The book makes me picture a society that hates each other, whereas Hoosiers creates an image of acceptance after initial arrogance. Hoosiers does a great job of telling an underdog story. Although the actual size of the school was larger and more students were on the team (ESPN), I felt captivated by the David vs. Goliath aspect of the film. The human aspect in Hoosiers is also enthralling. When the ball boy has to go into the game and make the free throws, you genuinely feel for him. The acting in the film is very strong and headlined by Gene Hackman. Hackman portrays a down on his luck coach with so much passion that it is hard to imagine another actor taking on the role. Dennis Hopper brings out the emotions in the movie, as he plays the alcoholic father/ assistant coach. As the story moves along I found myself rooting for him to get his act together as much as I was rooting for the team. The town and the people in it are portrayed perfectly. They are so uninviting at the beginning of the film and do a great job of soliciting anger. The game sequences are also very well done given the film’s limited budget. The players have great fundamentals that make it look like they actually play basketball. Jimmy is the best part of the movie, though. His story is one that just forces you to root for him. He was born to play basketball, and is the definition of a Hoosier. The scene where he stands up for Coach Dale and says he will only play for him is the turning point in the movie. Although that never happened in real life (ESPN), it helps the movie gain steam as Jimmy finally joins the team. The way the town changes its perspective on Coach Dale after the team starts winning shows their true character, however. The townspeople took so long to accept him even though he never did anything mean to them. All he did was try to coach his way and do what he was recruited to do. High school basketball in Indiana is a cutthroat affair though, and I completely understand that winning is the most important thing. My favorite part of the movie was when Coach Dale gets ejected on purpose to allow Dennis Hopper’s character to take over coaching duties. This helped reinforce to his son that he could recover from alcoholism and he cared about him. There were definitely some aspects of the film I did not care for. The love story between Coach Dale and the teacher was completely unnecessary and was only added in for dramatic effect. That did not even happen in real life according to the ESPN article. The constant fabrications in the movie from the real life story do take away from the story. I think the film could have been twenty minutes shorter as it carried on at the beginning for long portions. For a movie made in 1986, the picture and sound quality could have been better. I did not find a team with six players to be believable, too. You cannot physically play an entire game without sitting on the bench for a little bit. These are not Olympic athletes that are the best conditioned people in the world. They are high school kids from Indiana in an era where physical fitness was not the norm. The other aspect of the movie that took away from my viewing experience was the last sequence in the championship game. There was no shot clock back then and the other team did not have to shoot. Hickory most likely would not have gotten the ball back. In real life the ESPN article states that Milan held the ball for a long time before shooting. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the film and would recommend it to any sports enthusiast. In conclusion, Hoosiers is set in a racially divided historical period, promotes the theme of acceptance, and accomplishes the feat of telling a great story. Hoosiers was very relatable to the chapter 13 material in Major Problems and did a great job of illustrating the time period. Accepting change has always been a problem for America, but both Hoosiers and the book teach us that change is inevitable. Staying stuck in the same routine with the same people will never get you anywhere, and that is the argument that week 13’s material addressed. Without men like Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Roberto Clemente, America would not be where it is today with integrated teams and international followings. Sports connect us all in some way or the other, and the idea of change is what keeps us moving forward.