Spellbound,_Critique

In the beginning was the word: Spellbound Pettipiece, Tony April 2009 And the child. And the child spelled the word and saw that it was good. And the parent saw the good child. This spelled good for the child and the parent and the movie business. Or does it' “Childhood is a congenital disease and the purpose of education is to cure it", a crazed analysis uttered by a drugged-up James Mason in Nicholas Ray’s Bigger than Life. Maybe he had a point though' While the kids in this film represent a fair cross section of society none of them seem normal if you want to define normal by what the majority of kids their age idle their time away on. The number of hours these contestants spend studying for the big day is excessive. The kids sense this and Emily asks early on if this whole thing is not “a different form of child abuse'”. And when she’s eliminated she says “now I can throw away the books and be a normal kid again“. Ted “feels relieved after dropping out.“ Many of the parents push the kids deliberately hard to succeed in this battle. Are they doing this for the kid or for their own selfish agenda' I think much of it is for self and it is not hard to imagine some of these dads and moms fighting with the coaches or punching out other parents as one sees on the hockey/soccer fields. My reaction always is “stay out of the game, lets the children play.” I kinda felt the same here. The negative impact of all this learning is unclear but one could safely say they are happily breeding geeks. An Indian kid, brilliant with book learning but so unaware of his own cultural history as to not know that Darjeeling is a famous district in India with an even more famous tea to its name. Bottom line is that 5 hours a day of spelling coaching may amount to child abuse. I don’t care if it’s two in Spanish, two in French, two in German, it does not add up to nurture. I found this aspect of the movie upsetting and at first it overshadowed the primary theme which is that even if we are not all born here, or to privilege, we can still participate in the great American dream. The self starter kids, those of more modest means and less overbearing parents, seemed more at ease with themselves and better rounded as individuals. Many of those less-parented kids though did seem to have a strong teacher standing in the background substituting for the parent role. One teacher was mistaken for the mother when she was bawling her eyes out after a regional loss. I had other problems with this film. I found it to be slick, manipulative and immensely entertaining. There is no duping of the audience here, what you see is what you get. You pays your money, buy into it and get on board for the ride. The camera leads us into the life details of each of our child actors as they are forced into the larger than life staged event in DC. Their dream is to excel and win but they are doomed mostly to fail, and in public in prime time. The audience knows this and we feel compelled to root for them ALL, pawns in director Blitz’s game as he whittles the 249 contestants down to the final four. By forcing us to glob onto one or more of the innocent kids and dragging us along (all willing participants) in these eliminations, he build us up emotionally just to knock us down later. This he does with all the skill and ease of an old prostitute milking her client. The fragility of the contestants is well captured, like little Harry, spazzing out in the spotlight, his ticks run amok. So human, so vulnerable, so easy to empathize with . There is a great sequence where the kids, shell-shocked by the bell when they are ousted, are led off the stage in a stupor. They are taken to the recovery room like the old fighter who's last shot at the title just flew by. Somebody up there liked me but its all over now. They are deflated from the adrenalin high that comes with participation to the shock-to-the-system that comes with the KO. To be sucker punched in prime time is the ultimate degradation for the kids and the promised voyeuristic thrill for the audience. In their blissful innocence they never see that killer-rabbit punch coming, but we do. Close up of the kid reeling under the punch (in many cases they were “moved” by the bell), cut to the parents reaction as it changes from elation to pain. Then we all go “awww.“ That’s entertainment! The whole film is executed very effectively with a stylized bag of long shots (get to know the character), rapid shots (hey look at me, I’m on a roll, then DING! bye bye, next contestant please), extreme close-ups of the kids as they stress out, clam up, hyperventilate on the verge of tears. The very first shot of each vignette provides a rapid social commentary on the contestants hometown environment. Immediately you begin to sense the background and the circumstances of the individual kids be it some strung out town in Texas, a sunny beach-side mansion in California or the implied opulence of a historic looking clap-board house in New England. These contrasting images are some of the most effective tools in the film. By using the same set of techniques for each individual’s story we are brought to see the similarities and differences unique to each. Each has a riveting opening shot, interviews with parents, interviews with teacher, kids relaxing, or trying to, study regimes, plus some quiet moments of contemplation where we get to glimpse what the kid might really be feeling on that great march to the hoped for victory. The differences of the affable, nerdy contestants to their hometown peers is attested to by all as they post well wishes on small town billboards to egg them on. Of course the misspelling in these boards emphasizes the differences, but in a playful, “we’re all in this together” way. Class differences are further highlighted by the tools and techniques the kids have at their disposal. Some have computer software with audio that teaches proper pronunciation. Angela is proud of her home made jigsaw puzzle of words that she built from scratch. It all adds up to a very engaging montage that makes us think about different facets of growing up, garnering an education along the way and how it might be used(for one‘s own betterment or with a broader social goal'), gathering baggage and its impact throughout life and finally how we (those being raised, growing and evolving here) mature and become part of the American dream. As an immigrant myself who has lived and enjoyed the American dream I perhaps read more into this nice little movie that it merits. It does reflect some of the best aspects of our society (anybody can win attitude, there are always second chances here) alongside some of the more self-centered me me me, my victory, my glory, my pocketbook mantra that can make some Americans unpleasant to deal with or just be in the same room as. I came away with reinforced convictions that I am glad to be a part of the dream, but at the same time happy to have been born outside of it as that allows me to sit back and selectively participate in the parts I choose. Or at least be more aware of the scheme I am caught up in. Having just got laid off, effectively starting over again in harsh economic times, I realize that I am in the land of opportunity and all will be OK as long as I just keep trying. I would not feel the same if I lived in France or Ireland and this little movie was pretty much a good pep talk that made that clear. Whether such was the filmmaker’s intent or not I do not know. I would like to think they had a larger social agenda that just tracking some kids through their ups and down in a spelling bee. The enormity of the situation and competitive environment vs the individual is well depicted through the lingering shots of gynormous hotel lobbies, batteries of microphones, TV reporters, pundits and former winners all swooping down on the venue to heighten and capture the all important victory moment. Also the historical import of the proceedings is depicted by going back and interviewing the very first “champ” who of course still fondly remembers his moment in the spotlight. The 9mil kids that are managed down to hundreds, then dozens, then your new closest friends on the silver screen builds the pressure nicely. This all works very well as we have been transported at a heightening pace from the wide angle, quiet long shots of the opening sequences to the MTV editing and madness of the crowd at the showdown. Other techniques used well include shifts in time, the first scene in the movie is Harry struggling on stage and is used to set the background and tone for where we’re going form here after we go back to fill in the back-story. The soundtrack use was interesting as it ranged from almost flip electronic-doodling to appropriate regional sounds and music. Bottom line: Every picture tells a story and this one tells many stories very well. Good one champ!