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Friday Night Lights |
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This topic contains:
Overall comments and recommendationsFriday Night Lights is adapted from the best selling novel, Friday Night Lights: a town, a team and a dream , and tells the true story surrounding the 1988 season of a Texan high school football team. As such, its relevance to Australian audiences is somewhat diminished. However, for older viewers, the highs and lows of a season experienced by this team of young athletes, will ring true. Adults may also appreciate the believable depiction of the characters and the gritty style of the film.
About the movieThis 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 reviewThis review of the movie Friday Night Lights contains the following information:
A synopsis of the storyIt is the start of the 1988 football season in the small struggling town of Odessa , Texas . The coach (Billy Bob Thornton) prepares the Permian High Panthers for the tough season ahead, including living up to the overwhelmingly high expectations of the townspeople. The team of 17 year olds include quarterback Mike Winchell (Lucas Black), Don Billingsley (Garrett Helund), Brain Chavez (Jay Hernandez) and the extremely talented James “Boobie” Miles (Derek Luke). As the season progresses, the team have to deal with the successes and losses of their Friday night game, under the glare of the lights, media attention and at times hostile town support. The coach is under pressure to get team to the playoffs, tolerate the constant stream of advice as to how to play his team and preserve his career for another year. Mike faces a struggle looking after his mentally unwell mother, while trying to secure his way out of the town with a football college scholarship. Don has his own challenges living up his former football star father's (Tim McGraw) standards and coping with his father's constant negativity. Boobie's future appears secure, till a career-threatening injury occurs, which changes the team's fortunes and dramatically changes his life's plans. Use of violenceResearch shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another. Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world. The violent scenes in Friday Night Lights are generally related to the football play on the field. In scenes involving football training or games, the players are involved in tackling, occasional disputes, and several players and spectators get injured (torn ligaments, broken fingers, dislocated shoulder, broken noses, bleeding lacerations). During the play-offs, an opposition player kicks Mike's helmet into his mouth. He is in obvious pain and sustains a deep chin laceration. Mr Billingsley directs his aggression towards his son in a few scenes. After Don drops the ball again, his father pushes him around and punches him in the head (Don still wearing his helmet). Later at home, his father angrily tapes a football between Don's hands and punches the ball repeatedly. Material that may scare childrenUnder eightChildren under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters. The aggression and violence inherent in playing football are shown graphic ally throughout this movie, which may be scary for younger viewers. These scenes are accompanied loud music and varying levels of support or jeering from the spectators and the coach. During tackles, players are shown to be in pain and several are injured. (torn ligaments, broken fingers, dislocated shoulder, broken noses, bleeding lacerations), which may disturb viewers. Mr Billingsley is a menacing presence for a large part of the movie. He is aggressive verbally and physically towards his son, and is often drunk. In one scene, where Don is driving them home after a game, his father kicks out the backseat windows and throws out his own ‘football championship ring'. A very distressed Don is then shown crying and searching in the dark for the ring. ‘Boobie' Miles becomes aggressive towards a doctor who tells him he can't play football. Later, Boobie is shown to be inconsolable when he realises the implications his injury has on his life. Younger viewers may be scared or upset by these scenes. Aged eight to fifteenChildren aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened. The aggression and violence inherent in playing football are shown graphic ally throughout this movie, which may be scary for younger viewers. These scenes are accompanied loud music and varying levels of support or jeering from the spectators and the coach. During tackles, players are shown to be in pain and several are injured. (torn ligaments, broken fingers, dislocated shoulder, broken noses, bleeding lacerations), which may disturb viewers. Mr Billingsley is a menacing presence for a large part of the movie. He is aggressive verbally and physically towards his son, and is often drunk. In one scene, where Don is driving them home after a game, his father kicks out the backseat windows and throws out his own ‘football championship ring'. A very distressed Don is then shown crying and searching in the dark for the ring. ‘Boobie' Miles becomes aggressive towards a doctor who tells him he can't play football. Later, Boobie is shown to be inconsolable when he realises the implications his injury has on his life. Younger viewers may be scared or upset by these scenes. Over the age of fifteenAdolescents over the age of fifteen should be okay with the themes of this movie. Product placementResearch shows that children, particularly children under the age of eight, are vulnerable to product placement in movies. Even if the child doesn't recall seeing a particular brand in the movie, they will choose that brand in preference to another, if they have just seen it used or displayed in a movie. This effect may be exacerbated if the product is highlighted as part of the story or if an actor or character they admire is seen to endorse or enjoy the product. The following products were displayed or used in this movie:
Sexual referencesWhile at a party, Mike is asked by a girl (Melissa) why he doesn't have a girlfriend and whether it's because he's gay. He denies it, and she asks him to prove it, leading to a scene where it is apparent they have had sex. Nudity and sexual activityMike and Melissa are shown doing up their trousers in the bathroom after apparent sexual activity. Mike's shirt is off, but Melissa's remains on. They kiss a few times. This is the only time Melissa's character appears in the movie. Another young footballer, Don, comes home after the party with Maria. The pair enter the scene kissing and removing each other's shirts. They continue kissing on the couch. Their bare backs are shown, but no further nudity. Their activities are halted by the arrival of Billingsley's father. Use of substancesSome of the footballers go to a party where many young people are shown drinking alcohol and vomiting. Don's father is shown in a number of scenes drinking alcohol. Coarse languageCoarse language is use at various times throughout the movie, particularly by players, parents, spectators during training, including:
The movie's messageThe coach often tells his team to “Be perfect”, which he later describes as knowing you gave it all for your team and family; and that winning isn't everything (i.e. it's how you play the game ). He also tells a player that the world's not fair; some people draw the short straw and that's all they get (i.e. so make the best of your opportunities ). Content with values parents may wish to encourage include:
The following content could be used by parents to discuss with their children what their own family's values are, and what the real life consequences can be of some actions and attitudes, such as:
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Page Modified
05-Oct-2006