Questions and answers about Friday Night Lights, Movie Mistakes, and Reading Questions.
How is Brian Chavez different from the rest of the team?There should be at least three references.
The only Hispanic player on the team is Brian Chavez.He is not a token example of the massive influx of Hispanic people in the area.Brian's differences are more than just cultural.He is the only boy who does well in academics and football.Brian will do well regardless of whether football is in his future or not.The other boys who have all their dreams wrapped in one year of football or, at the very best, a few years in college ball have a different juxtaposition to Brian.
This is a social phenomenon.To understand how high school football fits into their collective mindset, one needs to study the history and socio-economic demographic of Odessa.People are subjected to unstable times with the short boom and long bust economy.Financial and social instability can come from a poor economy.For many people, the only constant is Permian football.The boys thrill of victory and their agony of the defeat makes the town happy.
The gender roles in Odessa seem to be from the 50's.There are gender expectations for both boys and girls.
The girls follow gender roles from the 50's.The majority of girls at the school want to be aPepette.The girls devote themselves to the football players.Each player is assigned aPepette.They cook them football themed deserts or make signs for them as domestic servants.If a girl is smart, they dumb down themselves to fit into the school culture.There is a world where the boys on the team are treated as men through the lens of male hegemonic masculinity.The boys are often insulted by the coaching staff under the guise of motivation.
Discuss how Boobie Miles is a commodity in high school and college football.
Boobie is a black athlete.Boobie has been courted by major colleges and universities since he was a junior in high school.Boobie had all the makings of a champion player.The coach bets the team's chances at going to state on Booby.Even though he can't read glossy brochures, colleges and universities are willing to promise him the world that he will perform at an even higher level.Boobie injured his knee during a pre-season scrimmage.There was interest in Boobie in his high school.The machine that is West Texas football is damaged by Boobie.
The book deals with desegregation of schools and racism.Until the future of its football program was at stake, the rest of the country seemed unwilling to change.Discuss the statement.
Although segregation in America ended in 1964, Odessa never got that memo.People from more populated centers might think that they are in a time warp.The lack of desegregation was based on what would happen to the football team, which was the last bastion of white supremacy in the area.The white population of Odessa was not obvious until now.White football teams couldn't compete against all black teams.Desegregation would transfer black athletes to the other side of the country.In 1982, Odessa followed a federal law that was instituted eighteen years earlier.
These boys are treated as heroes on the football team, yet after their final season, they are forgotten or only briefly acknowledged at football pep rallies.Explain the contradiction.
There is a bleak picture of life after football.In their final year of football, these boys live in a world of hero worship and dreams.Most of these boys will return to the land of mortals once their final year is over.These will be a let down if a few go onto college football scholarships.Tony Chavez is the only one of the boys who will be able to handle college life.No matter how good they were in high school, they are disposable in college.If they should get on a college team, the hero will disappear.Most players just drop out of school because they don't have any external stimuli or motivation.
In the fifty-five year history of football in Permian, only six players have made it to the pro league.Most of these boys get jobs in the oil business that will slowly tax their bodies and souls, just as the business had done to their fathers.Many Permian football alumni will relive their glory days through their sons or in a bottle when they become men.
Football, political ideology, and culture are all related in one way or another.The dynamics of these relationships are explained.
At one point in the book, the game was won by the Permian team.The scene after the game that West Texas football fans conjure up in their dreams is the most impressive.The smell of hot dogs, popcorn, and beer linger in the air as the bands on both teams belt out patriotic tunes.The teams line up on both sides of the field, their helmets off, looking like gladiators after a battle.Children, parents and grandparents are in awe of this spectacle.The politics of the white middle class are related to this brief revision of days gone by.The white middle class in Odessa believes in traditional American values of hard work, church, minimal government and racial homogeneity.The values most middle class West Texans cling to are associated with George Bush and the Republican Party.The Republican platform has the idea of hot dogs, barbecues and football.
It is like a strange world in its own way.Football-playing boys have grown accustomed to hero worship and academic accommodations in a small pond.What are the stark realities after football ends?
Most of the boys don't go on to play college football.They return to the world of mortals with a mediocre education and some fond memories of greatness.Many slip into their old habits of drinking and raising hell, but this time there are no reasons for their celebrations, there is a sense of melancholy and emptiness.The few invited to enter the world of college football are quickly discouraged.They are expendable at university.Academics are left to drown in their academic incompetence unless they are superstars.
The question and answer section is a great place to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
The coach had a talk before the game.What arguments does Belew use to get the players to do their best?Do you think he is convincing?Why not?
Their next game is against an opponent.Coach games tells his boys to play with their "balls out" and to make sure they light up Roderick Walker, the star running back of Irving Nimitz.The quick Irving Walker is not in the game.
3.How has the phone call from the Texan Christian University recruiters changed the outlook on football and his future?