Speaking of Inspiring Basketball... Old School Movie Review #5

I watched this documentary on Thursday afternoon also and I have to say that I was so impressed. I loved the story and I was so glad that it was caught on film. I don't think the story could be better told in any other way. In fact, I have thought about it all weekend long and I was thinking of how well the story unfolded and how there was real footage for the games, and rehearsals... this would just not have been an effective Disney movie—though the plot is the same as one. I couldn't tell if those making the documentary decided beforehand to make it and it just ended so well... or if it was more of a way to go back and see it all play out after the events had already taken place.

In the classroom this would be so fun to watch and to discuss because we can talk about why the medium of documentary is so effective and how else this same story could be told.

The Real Hoosiers

Here is a mini documentary-style news story that Jon showed to our Hands on a Camera class this morning. We talked about how it is a great example of the documentary use "Transcendence Through Tribulation" but I also think it shows the other two "Voice to the Voiceless" and "Exalt the Everyday." This is a great inspiring story about a small community and an autistic boy with a lot of heart. We talked about it in terms of what Jason went through to get here being the water boy all of those years and being autistic...etc. I was fascinated at the crowd and how they responded to him. This story is a personal story for those who were there and it was captured and told in a way that made it more so.

It would be fun to discuss whose story this is and who is telling the story. We could also talk about how this specific video in some ways captures all of the points of documentary and maybe how we could tell a similar story from a different point of view. For example, I think it would be incredibly fascinating, now having this footage, to go and interview a handful of students on the team or in the crowd who all obviously loved and admired Jason as a friend and peer.

Here is the article and video: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/23/earlyshow/main1339324.shtml