Title/Author:
“National Pastimes:
Cinema, Sports and Nation" by Katharina Bonzel
Tags:
Running, Summer
Olympics, Soccer, Boxing, Baseball, movies, politics, social issues
Publish date:
January 1, 2020
Length:
252 pages
Rating: to
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
Sports movies have
brought about many different emotions and senses of pride for moviegoers for
decades. One source of pride that many of these movies evoke is a pride for the
nation, either where the movie takes place, for the nation characters represent,
or the nation where the movie is being shown (sometimes this is the same for
some or all of these). This notion of
national pride in sports movies is the topic of this interesting book by
Katharina Bonzel.
While the subject of
the nation is the primary focus of Bonzel's work, she does not limit this to
only a nation and its politics. There
are other topics in which Bonzel discusses how sports movies can paint a picture
that may either be in line with the times described or can limit the scope of
how that issue is framed in the movie. An example of this is her look at gender
identification and roles, including sexuality, in two movies in which female
athletes are the primary characters.
These are "A League of Their Own" and "Bend It Like Beckham." For both, Bonzel explains how the movies portray
these female athletes in roles that limit their complete identity. For example, Bonzel points out that Geena
Davis' character in "A League of Their Own" is complying with the
role of women at the time in the movie – the 1940's – by giving up baseball to
"start a family" when her husband returns home from World War
II. This, Bonzel argues, shows how these
movies can limit the expression of feminism in characters or, as a character in
"Bend It Like Beckham" is portrayed, it may also limit the expression
of one's homosexuality in order to conform to certain standards.
While these
discussions are interesting and thought-provoking, they came after Bonzel's
best work in the book, which focuses on national identity. She discusses how "Chariots of Fire"
was an excellent portrayal of British nationality through the Olympic
performances of the two main characters. Add in her excellent dissection of the
"Rocky" franchise, especially her discussion of "Rocky III"
and "Rocky IV" which was a good portrayal of the United States'
embrace of Regan-era conservatism and Cold War politics at the time of the
movies. While she does mention political
references, this is not to be taken as a political book, nor is it one that
really takes one side or the other.
Instead, when there are political implications in the message that she
believes the movies tell, she tells what those implications are. Other movies she discussed in the national
identity discussion are "The Miracle of Bern" about the 1954 World
Cup victory by Germany and "Hoosiers", the movie about a small town
in Indiana defeating a powerful city school to win the state championship.
While I cannot
honestly say I agree with every point made by the author about every movie, I
did believe that this was an engaging and thought-provoking book, made even
better in the easy-to-read language that many scholarly works of this type are
lacking. The book's audience covers a
wide range – sports fans, movie fans and readers who are interested in social
and political issues will all find something of interest in this book.
I wish to thank University
of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest
review.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment