Sporting films ‘affirm American Dream myth’

Hollywood sports films have played a crucial role in affirming the myth of the American Dream in times of crisis and upheaval in the US, a new book contends.

Entitled Sport and Film, the study by programme director of the MA in Film Studies at NUI Galway Seán Crossan, argues that the sports film genre has become one of cinema’s most recognisable, particularly in the past decade — a period in which American society and culture has faced unprecedented crises.

These include the controversy over the 2000 presidential election; the Enron scandal; the bursting of the dotcom bubble and subsequent financial crisis at the end of the last decade; and the 9/11 attacks.

Dr Crossan argues that, in response to times of crisis and challenges to American society and values throughout history, the sports film has played a central role in affirming the belief in the myth of the American Dream.

“The mainstream sports film has been centrally concerned with affirming the meritocracy myth of the American Dream, particularly at points where it would appear to be most under threat,” said Dr Crossan. “Indeed, some of the most commercially successful depictions of a range of sports have been released over the past 10 years and these films represent, at least partly, a response to political and economic challenges to the American Dream ideology itself.”

Dr Crossan said few films typify this as much as the Rocky franchise, and said the Rocky trajectory of sporting heroes coming from ordinary beginnings on the margins to achieve wealth and fame set the template for most Hollywood sports movies.

“These films are less about sport or the reality of the events they portray, but more about the use of sport as a metaphor to engage with and address larger issues in society — with the result that they simplify or obscure the reality of these issues,” he said.

“For example, all the empirical evidence shows that the concept of the American Dream is unrealistic for the vast majority of a US society where over 15% of the population live in poverty.”

Dr Crossan said sports films have a particular strong appeal in American society. He pointed to the fact that the majority of sports films are made in the US and are vastly more popular there than in other parts of the world. This is in contrast to most other Hollywood genres, which are more popular outside the US.

Dr Crossan also said sports films made internationally also act as metaphors for bigger societal issues but often in a more nuanced way than their US counterparts.

“The film This Sporting Life with Richard Harris is an example,” said Dr Crossan. “You see the gritty reality of rugby and the view of sport as a way of gaining respect and recognition effectively questioned and undermined so that, by the end, the players are as exploited by the sport itself than by the working class environment they are from.”