The Legend of Bagger Vance Reflection
A major component that enabled Junah to conquer the challenges he faced in The Legend of Bagger Vance was his ability to ultimately surpass the mental road blocks that he had set up for himself along the way. Throughout the movie Junah dealt with many difficult situations that he was not able to conquer until he finally reached the third and final stage of development referenced in our class.
In the beginning, Junah faced some severe adversity shortly after perfecting his abilities in golf. He was called to serve in the war and I would never wish the experience he had on my worst enemy. This severe adversity truly portrayed where Junah was at mentality following his return. He could not handle life as it was anymore and ran off, never coming back in touch with all those that he used to care so much about until much later, but not to see those who he used to be close with. Although, following a series of events in which the golf tournament is started and Junah is approached by the young boy about participating in the said tournament, we get our first glance at the stage Junah is in at this moment in time. In his first conversations about golf, Junah states that he has “lost his swing.” This is the first or physical stage of development where he is approaching his problem strictly at the physical state. His attitude is one of an upside down cup unwilling to accept help from others. His “swing” is symbolic for something much deeper that is going on in the background. Junah has lost his drive, mental strength and pursuit to overcome obstacles and be successful. We begin to witness some improvement in Junah’s abilities as the movie goes on and we observe more interactions that he has with Bagger, especially once the tournament begins. Bagger told him that everyone has their own swing, and that he must find his own, Junah must feel