Field of Dreams

Synopsis of reviews/articles written about the film
Based on the review written by Roger Ebert (Ebert, 1989)
The farmer Ray Kinsella is in the middle of his cornfield when he first begins hearing voices “If you build it, he will come.” Prior to the farmer hearing voices, Field of Dreams is a sensible film about a young couple who want to run a family farm in Iowa. When the voice speaks for the first time the audience is stumped with the thought of this movie turning into a religious based film. The movie develops a fantasy when farmer Ray understands the voice wants him to build a baseball field in the middle of his corn crops so Shoeless Joe Jackson (deceased) can materialize out of the Corfield and come play there. The movie prudently does not try to explain the strange events that happen after the field is built, it depends on a poetic vision to make its point. A specific speech in the movie describes baseball in a simple and true way, which ultimately describes the goal of the players who emerge from the cornfield, which is to simply play they game they love. The believable relationship created by the young couple Ray and Annie develops the theme that love means sharing your loved one’s dreams. Field of Dreams will not appeal to realists, it is made up of fantasies but stays true to what the plot promises, “if you build it, he will come.” Shoeless Joe Jackson does not return from the dead to save the world, but to answer the cry of a baseball legend.
Based on the article published in the New York Times written by Nina Easton (Easton, 1989)
Despite Universal Pictures attempt to hide it, it is evident Field of Dreams is a baseball movie. The famous Shoeless Joe Jackson returns to life in the film when a farmer in Iowa demolishes his cornfield to build a baseball diamond. The movie is not solely about baseball, it establishes lost dreams, generational ties and discovering magic in the back yard. Ray Kinsella builds the ball field for Shoeless Joe after hearing a voice say, “if you build it, he will come.” Later in the film he risks losing his farm after once again following the voice when he sets out in search of a famous reclusive author and an old baseball pro. The director of the movie states, “I’ve struggled a lot with the whole issue of what you do with your dreams, I like to believe that there’s still a way to hang onto the same kind of freedoms.” The director also claims he tried to stay as true to the original dialogue from the book when writing the screenplay. When Ray Kinsella, a man in his late 30s, hears a voice early in the film he readily listens and is presented with the choice of doing something completely illogical. Although the character Ray is shown to have many of his dreams in his home, his wife and daughter. Early reviews on the movie indicated Field of Dreams polarized its audience. The director initially tried to make the movie in 1982 after the release of the book he so dearly loved, however no one believe it was possible to turn the story into a well-made, popular film. When Universal Pictures picked up the screenplay the chairman joked “this was the kind of movie that you only make if you hear a voice telling you to.” The director replied, “if you make it, they will come.” Kevin Costner, the actor who plays the lead Ray Kinsella, promised the director he would back him up if the studio tried to change the film’s fantasy elements and dialogue, but the only change that was made was the title of the movie from Shoeless Joe to Field of Dreams. Shoeless Joe was the original name as it brought a sense of recalling the lost dreams of Joe. When the director told the author of the change he took it in good humour and recalled that it had been his publisher’s idea to name the book Shoeless Joe, he had wanted to call it “The Dream Field.”

Meaningful quotes from the film, how do they support the story?
 We just don't recognize life's most significant moments while they're happening. Back then I thought, "Well, there'll be other days." I didn't realize that that was the only day.
- Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham
 Getting thrown out of baseball was like having part of me amputated. I've heard that old men wake up and scratch itchy legs that been dust for over fifty years. That was me. I'd wake up at night with the smell of the ball park in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet... The thrill of the grass.
- Shoeless Joe Jackson

 Is there a heaven? - Ray Kinsella
Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true. - John Kinsella
I chose this quote because I believe it describes the meaning of the story and the purpose of the events which take place. John refers to the field in Iowa as heaven when his son asks “is there a heaven?” This is significant as John’s reply holds the answer to the meaning behind the voice: “If you build it, he will come, ease his pain, go the distance.” This line supports the story as many of the characters dreams are fulfilled on the field, these characters whose dreams come true are deceased therefore Iowa and the field are heaven. This quote also tells the viewer that both Ray and his father deeply regret the way they treated each other. When they accepted one another and John was reassured by his son that everything was ok, “hey dad, want to play catch?” John’s dream came true, on the field, in his very own heaven.
Scenes that resonated with you, why were they important and how did they make the film more significant
 Ray’s family meets his father and they play catch together.
 Annie’s brother first being able to see the players on the field.

 Dr Archibald Graham steps off the field to save Karin.
The scene where Moonlight Graham finally makes his long lost dream come true, before stepping off the field to save the young girl who could have possibly been severely injured is significant to the symbolism of the field and the story. After the field enabled him to go back in the past and do the one thing he regretted missing out on when he was a young boy he realised that was his dream, to be able to face a big league pitcher just once and get an ‘at bat’ in a major league game. After this he knew his rightful place in the world was as a doctor, there to help those who could not help themselves, contributing to society in a different way. This is significant as it shows characters going back in the past to mend or correct the thing they always pictured as wrong in their life, which is seen when Ray’s father returns and their relationship is mended. Ray always regretted the way he treated his father, and that they never got to resolve their issues before he passed away. The field gives characters the opportunity to make up for their past regrets, ultimately fulfilling their lives.
Why did Ray build the field? Why did you choose these answers and why are they meaningful to understanding the message of the film?
 So Shoeless Joe could come back and play the game he so loved again
 So Ray could better appreciate his life
In the beginning of the story Ray is described as a plain man, who never took a risk or did anything out of the ordinary, he did not embrace life therefore he could not appreciate it. The relationship he did not have with his father was a major impact on how his life had turned out, he regretted the way he and his father left things when last in contact. In trying to avoid turning into his father, Ray did not embrace life, he took the voice and its instructions as a sign to do something, to make a change. His way of being able to appreciate life was to make up for the great mistakes he had made in the past which included calling an innocent man a criminal and never patching things up with his father. As baseball was the thing responsible for tearing Ray and his father apart, I believe there is great significance in the presence of Shoeless Joe. His character makes Ray consider why he was so resistant towards his father forcing baseball on him, after all it was a great game he so loved to play and watch. Joe also demonstrates the simpleness of appreciating life, how something you love can be so fulfilling without having to gain anything from it. The film was about dreams and making them come true, by building the field Ray was able to realise his dreams, fulfil them and the dreams of others and as a result he was able to appreciate what life had to offer him.
Reasons given for why people will come
James Earl Jones’ who plays Terrance Man in Field of Dreams, describes at the end of the film “why people will come.” At first he proclaims it will be for “reasons they can’t even fathom,” as if they will just hear of the field or be driving passed and feel the urge to look around. He then continues on to say people will come “longing for the past,” the kind of past characters tend to rediscover on the field. In the midst of Jones’ monologue, Rays brother in law is trying to get him to see sense and sell the farm, Jones’ overrules the brother in laws sensibility by explaining that people will pay to come as “it is money they have, and peace they lack,” indicating that peace is found amongst the field which foreshadows the reunion between Ray and his father. Reasons as simple as they will come to “watch the game” are rational enough as Jones’ makes such a simple act so magical by describing how they will feel “as if they dipped themselves in magic waters.” He explains the people hope to “create memories” and the field will be a place where this is possible, happy memories with their families and their children something Ray lacked as a child. Jones’ closes his statement with a strong explanation of just how much baseball means to America, and that its history has brought happiness and joy in the past and this is why people will come, “baseball has been a constant throughout the years, it has marked the time, it’s a part of our past, reminds us of all that once was good that could be again.” What James Earl Jones’ says in his monologue creates an image in a person’s head of just how great something as simple as a field can be, bringing peace, creating memories all things people want and sometimes do not know how to get. These reasons account for 65,000 people who visit the movie sit in Dyersville, Iowa every year as it appeals to them. Jones’ uses emotion in his speech by making the simplest of things into something magical which explain why so many people visit the field of dreams each year.

REFERENCES
Field of Dreams Movie Review & Film Summary (1989) | Roger Ebert. 2014.Field of Dreams Movie Review & Film Summary (1989) | Roger Ebert. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/field-of-dreams-1989. [Accessed 28 August 2014].
Film Notes -Field of Dreams. 2014. Film Notes -Field of Dreams. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fns02n5.html. [Accessed 28 August 2014].