I Am Sam
SHS 270, Fall 2012
Scott Farnan, 668300995, sfarnan2@illinois.edu
A Village of Love I Am Sam is a 2001 American drama film directed by Jessie Nelson and produced by Edward Zwick. The movie is not based off of anything but the title is a quote from Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham; the screenplay was written by Jessie Nelson and Kristie Johnson. This film is about a man with a disability who fights for custody rights of his seven-year-old daughter. The character in the film with a cognitive disability is Sam Dawson. Sam is a very good looking man who is polite, loving and has a comforting personality. Sam’s politeness is shown during the movie while he works at the local Starbucks and Pizza Hut. He always has a smile on his face and tells the customer that what they ordered was “a wonderful choice” (Zwick & Nelson, 2001). He fights for custody of his daughter because she means the world to him and he does everything he can to make her happy. In addition, he helps Rina, his lawyer, with her personal problems and comforts one of Rina’s patients in her office when she is upset (Zwick & Nelson, 2001). Sam is the protagonist and his protagonist nature is evident throughout the film. For instance, the movie title includes his name, signifying his role as the central character. In addition, Sam is shown in every scene, the plot line is centered on his life and his father-daughter relationship with Lucy progresses with significant details. Sam’s actions, due to his disability, affect the lives and actions of the other characters around him. Lucy, for instance, holds herself back in the classroom because she doesn’t want to be smarter than her father. As Miss Wright states, “It’s as if she’s literally afraid to learn” (Zwick & Nelson, 2001). During the court scenes, Mr. Turner and other characters talk down to Sam and speak to him slowly as if they believe that he cannot understand what they are saying. When questioning Sam, Mr. Turner has to explain his questions and concepts multiple times. The message of the film is that it takes a village to raise a child successfully; one simply cannot raise a child alone without the support of others. Hillary Clinton (2006) states this message well relating to her own parenting experience, “Now that Chelsea is grown up, I look back and see more clearly than ever how much we benefited from the village every step of the way and how much better off she is for having not just two parents, but other caring adults in her corner. And I have yet to meet a parent who didn’t feel the same way” (Clinton, 2006). One example of this in the film was Sam’s friends helping pay for Lucy’s shoes in the shoe store (Zwick & Nelson, 2001). Sam couldn’t afford to buy Lucy nice shoes for school, so his friends all dig into their pockets and pull out money to help pay for the shoes. As Sam states, “we are rich in friends” (Zwick & Nelson, 2001). Since Sam is a single-parent, he needs all of the support and help raising Lucy that he can get. According to Victoria Payne (2009), “With the number of single-parent and poverty-stricken homes in which many [African American] youth are being raised in, these youths need more influences to provide the support and example that will lead to success in the youth’s lives” (Payne, 2009). Another example of it taking a village to raise a child was during several of the court scenes in the movie. Sam’s friends showed up to every court date with signs that read “Free Lucy Dawson” (Zwick & Nelson, 2001), which displayed their love and support that they had for Lucy during the difficult time. With the everlasting love and support that Lucy received, she was capable of making it through every day with few complaints. When Lucy gets questioned in the courtroom about whether or not Sam is giving her what she needs (Zwick & Nelson, 2001), she quotes The Beatles and states “All you need is love” (Baby, You’re a Rich Man, 1967). Lucy saying this represents the idea that the love that she receives from Sam and the village built around her is all she needs in life to get by. Lastly, the support that Lucy receives from others around her is shown during the final scene at her soccer match. Sam [who is coaching/referring the team], Sam’s friends, Rita, Rita’s son Danny, Randy and Randy’s husband, are all there to support Lucy while she plays in the game. The large crowd that Lucy has cheering for her helps her score a goal. This support shows the impact that the outside groups had on Lucy’s life, aside from her father. Sam’s role in the movie contributes to the idea that it takes a village to raise a child because he is a symbol of the shortcomings of people and how they’re able to overcome them. Throughout the movie, society uses Sam’s disability against him. When Sam worked behind the counter at Starbucks, customers got very frustrated and angered with him when he was slow on their orders (Zwick & Nelson, 2001), leading him to quit that job shortly afterwards. Sam overcame this shortcoming at Starbucks by getting a new job at Pizza Hut. Many characters in the film, such as Margaret Brown and Mr. Turner, told Sam that he was not able to properly raise Lucy. “Miss Brown also cites Mr. Dawson’s mental deficiencies which raise serious questions about his ability to properly parent” (Zwick & Nelson, 2001). Sam was able to overcome these judgments by finding Rita to defend his case and prove to everyone that doubted him that he is capable of raising Lucy and that he loves her. By overcoming many difficulties in his life with the help of others, in the end Sam was able to gain joint custody of Lucy with Randy and her husband. In summary, I am Sam is an excellent portrayal of a mentally disabled man who, with the help of his friends, overcomes his deficiencies and the difficulties of single parenthood. His parenting success supports the notion that it does indeed “take a village to raise a child”.

References
Clinton, H. R. (2006). In It Takes A Village: 10th Anniversary Edition (2nd ed.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster.
Lennon-McCartney. (1967). All You Need Is Love. On Baby, You’re a Rich Man [Record]. London, England: Parlophone.
Payne, V. J. (2009). How Bronfenbrenner’s Microsystem Promotes Youth Resilience in Black Communities. It Takes a Village to Raise a Child: Page #s 25.
Zwick, E. (Producer), & Nelson, J. (Director). (2001). I Am Sam. [Motion Picture]. United States: The Bedford Falls Company.