Spellbound

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Spellbound's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Spellbound completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 9 November 2003.

Overall comments and recommendations

Spellbound as a documentary is quite entertaining and refreshing. The focus of the movie is on the children themselves and they present an interesting mixture of characters. The movie captures a social picture of contemporary America where the message is that anyone can succeed regardless of one’s background. The success of children from such a variety of cultural backgrounds is used to underscore this.

As American culture is much more competitive than Australian culture, and this competition is evident in the concept of a National Spelling Bee, Spellbound might not have the same appeal here. However, it is gratifying that all of the parents are very proud of their children regardless of the outcome.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Spellbound contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

The Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is an annual event which has been held in America since 1925. Spellbound documents the background of eight of the participants in the 1999 event and their progress to the national event. In doing so it provides a snapshot of the diversity of culture in present day America.

Angela is the daughter of Mexican illegal immigrants who fled to Texas 25 years ago and who still don’t speak any English. They came to America to give their children a better chance at life and are very proud of Angela when she wins the regional competition.

Nupur is from an Indian family in Florida who beats her three rival male competitors to win the regional event.

Ted comes from a farming family in Missouri and is considered a little different by his school peers. His family live in a caravan and he enjoys archery and shooting.

Emily comes from the most affluent family in the group. She lives in Connecticut and likes horse riding and singing. She says she doesn’t particularly like spelling but is very competitive.

Ashley is an African American being brought up by her mother in Washington. She comes from a disadvantaged area where there are signs prohibiting drugs and firearms. Police cars patrol the school ground.

Neil is another Indian boy from California whose father Rayesh is driven to make his son succeed. Neil has a coach who works with him for eight hours at a time as well as tutors who drill him in French, Spanish and German words. Rayesh insists that Neil should meditate and play sport to keep him well balanced.

April comes from a Pennsylvanian family who love playing word games. Her mother devotes all her time to her and April puts her life on hold while preparing for the Bee.

The final character is Harry, a lively boy from New Jersey who loves to crack jokes and ‘speak robot’.

The final competition takes place over two days where 249 children are put through their paces spelling very difficult words. The tension and excitement of the children are most evident.

Use of violence

There is no violence in this movie.

Material that may scare children

There is nothing scary in this movie.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity.

Use of substances

There is no use of substances.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language.

The movie's message

There is not really one take home message in this movie but there are several comments made by different people that are worth taking note of including:

• Nupur says that there are no second chances in India like there are in America.
• Rayesh says if you work hard in America you can make it – that doesn’t exist in most other places in the world.
• When Angela gets out she says she already feels like a champion because she made it to the National Bee. Angela thinks it’s because of her background that she’s worked so hard.
• Ashley: if she loses she’ll be upset for a little while but then she’ll rise above it – it’s just another obstacle to overcome.

Values that parents may wish to encourage include:

• determination
• self sacrifice
• self motivation
• disadvantaged background is no impediment
• ambition
• cultural harmony
• acceptance of not winning.
• Values that parents may wish to discourage include:
• intolerance
• obsessive behaviour.