Reconsidering the Classics
HBO has started showing A League of Their Own on a pretty regular basis these days, which is fitting both because it's a great movie and because it's almost baseball season. I've always been bothered by the ending, where in the final inning of the final game of the World Series, Kit (Lori Petty) bowls over her older sister Dottie (Geena Davis) at home plate, jarring the ball loose and scoring the series-clinching run for Racine. Yesterday it hit me. Dottie blows the final play on purpose, deciding that in the end it means more to her to see Kit succeed than it does to actually win the series. Anna says that this reading means a betrayal of the principles of the film, but I disagree.
As the Racine players (which include Brearley Beaver Tea (Panto)Leoni) go apeshit with joy on the field after vanquishing Rockford, Dottie stands with manager Jimmy Duggan (Tom Hanks) on the steps watching it, a smile comes across her lips. It's reminiscient of that famous shot after the 1980 Olympic hockey game where one of the Soviet players stands on his blue line, head resting on his stick, watching the American kids jump up and down a half-smile on his face.
In addition to the patriotic triumphalism inherent in the story, some have suggested that the professionalism of the Soviets lost to the enthusiasm on the American college kids. That the CCCPers were almost a little happy to lose, just to see the passionate outpouring of the Americans.
So take Dottie. She is the league's first star, the person who put gets the cover of Life Magazine with her behind the back, do-the-splits catch of a foul ball. She is the best hitter and a team leader. She is Michael Jordan. But what she has to earn is the title "ballplayer." Only Duggan can really bestow that title. Simply by returing for Game 7 she proves to Duggan that she feels the lure of the game and understands how to be a professional baseball player. One of the things that all pro understand is that they are in the winning-and-losing business. Outcomes, therefore, are always secondary to process. Losing totally sucks, but a player understands that he or she can't control whether a shot goes in, only what type of shot that player can take. By returning to the field, Dottie proves she understands that.
That understanding puts her on a different plane than Kit, who is concerned solely with beating Dottie, with finally outshining her older sister. In their final exchange under the stands at Racine Field, Kit is the hero and Dottie is the goat. Kit is the winner, but Dottie is the ballplayer. Is that enough for Dottie? You can see some of the conflict in Davis' face. Davis never acted this well in her life.
I also don't think that it takes away from the movie. A League of Their Own is one of the great sports film and that complexity is part of it. There is an even longer rant here about the earnestness in women's sports movies that I'll leave for another time. But what you learn from Dottie in her final speech about what she'll miss is that being there everyday with her teammates and friends, going through the prepartation is what makes sports worthwhile for the participants. This is sports beyonds scores and it's a lesson that gets lost in most discussions.
As the Racine players (which include Brearley Beaver Tea (Panto)Leoni) go apeshit with joy on the field after vanquishing Rockford, Dottie stands with manager Jimmy Duggan (Tom Hanks) on the steps watching it, a smile comes across her lips. It's reminiscient of that famous shot after the 1980 Olympic hockey game where one of the Soviet players stands on his blue line, head resting on his stick, watching the American kids jump up and down a half-smile on his face.
In addition to the patriotic triumphalism inherent in the story, some have suggested that the professionalism of the Soviets lost to the enthusiasm on the American college kids. That the CCCPers were almost a little happy to lose, just to see the passionate outpouring of the Americans.
So take Dottie. She is the league's first star, the person who put gets the cover of Life Magazine with her behind the back, do-the-splits catch of a foul ball. She is the best hitter and a team leader. She is Michael Jordan. But what she has to earn is the title "ballplayer." Only Duggan can really bestow that title. Simply by returing for Game 7 she proves to Duggan that she feels the lure of the game and understands how to be a professional baseball player. One of the things that all pro understand is that they are in the winning-and-losing business. Outcomes, therefore, are always secondary to process. Losing totally sucks, but a player understands that he or she can't control whether a shot goes in, only what type of shot that player can take. By returning to the field, Dottie proves she understands that.
That understanding puts her on a different plane than Kit, who is concerned solely with beating Dottie, with finally outshining her older sister. In their final exchange under the stands at Racine Field, Kit is the hero and Dottie is the goat. Kit is the winner, but Dottie is the ballplayer. Is that enough for Dottie? You can see some of the conflict in Davis' face. Davis never acted this well in her life.
I also don't think that it takes away from the movie. A League of Their Own is one of the great sports film and that complexity is part of it. There is an even longer rant here about the earnestness in women's sports movies that I'll leave for another time. But what you learn from Dottie in her final speech about what she'll miss is that being there everyday with her teammates and friends, going through the prepartation is what makes sports worthwhile for the participants. This is sports beyonds scores and it's a lesson that gets lost in most discussions.
1 Comment(s):
- Posted by
Form at March 17, 2005 6:13 AM |
Permanent Link to this Comment
This seems like an interesting topic to respond to but I am unwilling to invest either the effort to rent "A League of their Own" or the money to subscribe to HBO. One question, do the historical circumstances play a role in this message? What you were describing seems somewhat antiquated.
BTW: What are the odds "There is no crying in baseball makes it into the Congressional Hearings today?"
