SPORTS AND THE SILVER SCREEN
“See that look in their eyes, Rock? You gotta get that look back, Rock.
Eye of the tiger, man.”
The final goal propels into the
nets and the spectators rush out in a state of barely-controlled euphoria. The
barricades are broken, and the Allied prisoners of war, who make up the motley
team playing against the Germans, find emancipation. This scene from the 1981
film “Escape to Victory” and many such others form a part of the interesting
genre of films based on sports.
At the last moment, a miracle
plays itself out and the down-trodden and the luckless are redeemed. Sitting in
a darkened theatre we clutch out pop-corn cups closer as we wonder whether the
feet of the runner will touch down upon the finishing line, and as the swirl of
the white dust, magnified by the art of cinematography, spreads itself across
the screen, our collective sighs and cheers fill the auditorium.
I suppose, playing a sport is
man’s civilized way of fighting a battle. Instead of the saber and battery shells,
it is racquets and balls. In an odd way, it expresses chauvinism, male or
female, lest you accuse me of gender bias, and winning gives a rush of
adrenaline that puts one on a ‘legitimate’ high. The spectators, of course,
always enjoy being an inseparable part of it all. As they watch the game, they
live it, riding the roller coaster of a hit or a miss.
Like all the other aspects of
life, sports has been a very popular theme to explore on celluloid. It seems to
be the magical formula which keeps the box-office jingling all the time. In a
matter of two hours or more these films encapsulate hope and hopelessness;
victory and surrender. They emulate what people fail to see or recognize in the
real world – the discipline, the grit, the dedication and the thirst to excel.
Almost every kind of sport has given the script-writer food for thought and has
realized itself in a heart-wrenching story that may have been derived from a
sport but moves beyond it to make a statement of human condition.
The Rocky series is the rags-to-riches story of the boxer Rocky Balboa
(played by Silvestre Stallone), an unread but heart-of-gold debt collector for
a loan shark in Philadelphia. Family values and the importance of support
systems are also upheld through the series as it tells us where people draw
their strength from. First released in 1976 and running into five sequels, this
movie is still a popular re-run on television.
Another movie featuring sports is
Goal that shows the journey of a young
and struggling soccer player trying to break into the Newcastle Football Club.
These movies are not just mere
entertainers. They are a major source of inspiration for all the people in this
world who are aspiring to pursue their passions. They discern the importance of
taking quick decisions and the merits of time management. Team spirit and
sublimation of the ego are the other factors that come to mind when watches a
film based on a sport. People see and learn how sheer commitment and a person’s
passion for glory will ultimately pay off,
and hence everyone feels stirred through movies like Bend It Like Beckham, Basketball Diaries and The Longest Yard.
Films based on true stories
always make for an interesting experience for the viewers who see real-life
characters being portrayed by their favorite movie stars. The Greatest Game Ever Played is a movie based on golf, where
Francis Ouimet displaces his own idol and 1900 U.S. Open champion, Harry
Vardon, to win the 1913 U.S. Open. Another movie, The Gridiron Gang, tells the story of a man who makes up an
American football team from a group of teenagers in a juvenile detention
center. The 1981 Oscar winning movie, Chariots
of Fire, is a story of two British track athletes who compete in the 1924
Olympics. They run not just to chest the finishing tape, but, as the tagline
reads, ”to prove something to the world.”
Bollywood also hasn’t been too
far in its endeavor to portray sport in cinema with movies like Lagaan and Chak De India and most recently Bhaag
Milkha Bhaag, that show how strong the spirit can be.
Sport has not slipped into
redundancy as a cinematic theme because every time a new aspect of humanity has
been explored. From the time he has dwelt in caves, man has been struggling and
fighting with the inexorable “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. When he
has won one battle he has found another one to fight. This is why, perhaps,
sports holds such an important place in his life. Cinema is the canvas upon
which man’s abiding hope is drawn. Such films teach us to give our best when we
decide to turn our dreams into reality. It teaches us what team work can
achieve without obliterating the self. That is why sports sell in cinema, on
television and generally, in life.
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