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"Coach Carter" - Pedagogical Film Review

The pedagogical film I chose to review is called “Coach Carter”, it’s an American film released in 2005, starring Samuel L. Jackson. The storyline focuses on a high school basketball team from a small low income suburban city called Richmond and the process of a Coach Carter joining with a different set of requirements. The storyline touches on a lot of relevant topics in sport settings such as the importance of education, systematic inequality, and issues with the idealization of sports. I found this movie extremely relevant, especially with what is happening today.  

The Richmond high school basketball team was mostly composed of players of african american descent, coach Carter himself was too. It touches on the big reality, that for most of them within their marginalized societies, college wasn’t an option. The lack of belief in the student’s success in the school was heavy weighting, where even the principal was trying to discourage the Coach in his endeavors to create a better future for the players. Something that struck out to me was that she said, “For most of these players, this basketball season is the peak of their lives”. I think this is where sport is painted as a way out, a way to escape the predetermined future that is set out to you from birth. Coach Carter joins the team by encouraging discipline and education foremost, since that would allow them to make it to college with a scholarship, he expressed that the most important thing is not basketball, but a better future. Supporting this point, the coach focuses strongly on the importance of education. Regular athletes are known for not performing very high academically since their focus should be on court, but the film questions that, and focuses on the importance of the students as people and not only as a form of temporary entertainment. Even just by noticing the backlash of the people in the community when the coach decided to prioritize education - it became clear that no one of the “fans” had the members of the team well being for the future at heart.

Another aspect I want to talk about is the existence of poverty within sports and the reality of many other problems that might interfere with the process. These students were all facing a lot of issues within their neighborhoods and lives. Where it goes to show that sometimes it was hard to separate that from your ability to be there and present, whereas other times it just had a certain negative effect. One of the players deals with the drug and violence aspect, the other with early pregnancy, and another with a family loss, among others. It ties to their potential underperformance and lack of discipline, where only the arrival of a strict in the extreme side coach could polish them into reaching their potential. 

Connecting everything in this film to the House settlement that has been going on, it brings concerns about what the future for the “student-athlete” holds. With how things are, it brings the reality of early professionalization of the athletes completely, not having any focus on the student aspect of it. But really thinking about it, how many college athletes actually become pro athletes? In a way, removing the focus of education leaves the majority worse off. In a way it also creates a disparity, potentially making it harder for athletes in communities like Richmond (from the movie) to achieve success. Moreover, it would never happen that a team like Richmond (college version) wins since all the money would be completely concentrated in the top schools, therefore the quality of players. Everything is so relevant, and now I think about this movie more than ever.

Apart from those topics, sports is popularized in media culture as a source of inspiration. The movie made me feel admiration, and it made me connect with the players and the coach to the point where you understand their backgrounds a little. I feel the film also paints sports as if just harder work will bring victory. However, there are so many other factors that come into play. Many other realities and power forces in real life that might bring someone not to succeed. For example, it makes me question, what if coach Carter had never joined the team? What if the players had not decided to take responsibility and invest dedication. And it also ties the idea that sport should be strict in the extreme spectrum to have great results. Overall, I loved the movie so much, has a lot of relevant social issues that connect with the world of sports today. I highly recommend it.