Racism In Friday Night Lights

Football is America’s go to entertainment sport. The NFL hit its peak in 2015, with an average of 114.1 million television viewers throughout the year (“Statista,” 2017). This sport is loved by all, the players, parents, coaches, and fans. But, is football merely entertainment? Is it just a simple game, teaching young boys the value of teamwork, dedication, and discipline? Are parents spending their Friday nights to support their boys, or is there something bigger happening? In H.G Bissinger’s novel, Friday Night Lights, one can see the true effects of this toxic drug through the mindset of the players and the actions of the coaches. While society sees football as entertainment, it actually functions more like a drug.

Abstract: High school football in the state of Texas has become out of control. The sport is no longer played for the sake of the school but rather has become a Friday night ritual to these small towns in Texas. The players are no longer just high school kids inter acting in school sports but have now become heroes to these small town communities. Communities simply no longer support their local high school team but rally in pride of their hometown rivalry against another team. School administrators and coaches no longer are teachers and mentors for the kids but are the equivalent to what in professional football are team owners and "real coaches". Parents have become agents and sacrifice their jobs and homes so that their child

     Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? Recent newspaper headlines include such items as coaches abusing student athletes; fathers of athletes murdering coaches, and mother’s disabilitating cheerleading candidates to assure their daughters make the cheerleading team. In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have

In order to convince the reader about the dangers of high school football, Billinger shares the stories of former football players and the long range effects of them playing football. The story of former Permian player Joe Bob Bizzell showcases the effects and dangers of playing football in high school and beyond. Bizzell shares the fact that “he felt [the effects of football] in the mornings when he couldn’t bend over to tie his

“‘Athletics last for such a short period of time. It ends for people. But while it lasts, it creates this make-believe world where normal rules don’t apply. We build this false atmosphere. When it’s over and the harsh reality sets in, that’s the real joke we play on people’” (Bissinger xiv). “Friday Night Lights” shows the darker side of high school football. Players are taught to play games to win, and thats all that matters. Football players are put under a tremendous amount of pressure, almost enough to be considered unfair. Even though football is a “team sport”, pressure on individual players is unnecessary. Some players have the burden of the team, the city, their family, and their future, resting on their shoulders. These players

Jordan Peels’s Get Out (2017) is entertaining through its chilling aspects; however, it also focuses on an extremely important issue in today’s society. Peele uses the combination of sound and graphics to portray the ongoing issue of racism. In this film, a black man by the name of Chris (played by Daniel Kaluuya) is going to meet his Caucasian girlfriend of 4 months- Rose’s (Allison Williams) parents. Chris is very paranoid that his skin color may be a problem with Rose’s folks, but she assures him that her parents are loving of everyone no matter their skin tone. When Chris arrives to Rose’s parent’s upscale property, he is a little uneasy. The housekeeper and groundskeeper are African American and they have a very strange persona, which increases his discomfort. Through tone and dialogue, Get Out expresses how the factor of racism has continually added to the aspect of racial paranoia.

In H.G. Bissinger’s novel Friday Night Lights he goes in-depth describing the world surrounding high school football in Texas. There is nothing like high school football in Texas, it is the best thing to happen to many of the people that live there. Winning a high school state championship in Texas can make someone a hero for the rest of their lives. This being said, it causes a lot of difficulties once this peak in their life is over at such a young age. Many of these people do not know how to live with themselves after their days of football are over. They grow up and live through their kids. Sports and academics are two of the areas of life where parents attempt to live their dreams and ambitions through their children.

Football is a sport known for the excitement it brings to the audience and to the players. This sport is being played around the country professionally, and throughout colleges and high schools. With all the tackling, screaming, touchdowns, and energy football produces, people either love the sport or find it to be too dangerous. Many people who believe football to be a dangerous sport especially fears the danger it puts high school students in. The concern of young lives being at stake just to be a part of a sport makes numerous people question football in high schools. What those people don’t realize though, is that football in high schools is an amazing opportunity for young men (and in some cases young women) to prepare for life and the trials it comes with. Playing football in high school will teach young men to learn to have a great work ethic, make quick decisions to better not only themselves but the others around them, and give them a chance to get athletic scholarships for colleges.

“According to McCrea’s studies (2004) this chart shows how violent high school football is compared to other sports”

Popular television shows aids to heavily influence American audiences, perpetuating, and problematic ideas about homosexuality. Not all mainstream media adheres to traditional social ideas. South Park uses satire to deconstruct heteronormative views on homosexuality. Therefore, homosexuality is accepted more widespread through use of mainstream media.

Elijah’s daughter, Luvenia, struggles to get a job and into college in Chicago while her brother Richard travels back to South Carolina. Abby’s grandson, Tommy works with civil rights and protests, and tries to get into college for basketball. The story ends with Malcolm, Richard’s grandson, getting his his cousin Shep, who is struggling with drugs, to the family reunion. In reading this story one could wonder how the transition from slavery to segregation in the United States really occurred. The timeline can be split into three distinct sections, Emancipation, forming segregation, and life post-Civil War, pre-civil rights.

At Tom’s school, Chicago Grammar School, the Negro children were often separated from the white children, the only exception being in smaller classes where there were only five to ten students. Tom could never understand why the two types of children were separated. When he talked to them during recess he realised that they were just normal people. They may not have had the exquisite items that Tom had but they were people - people who could afford to send their children to the prestigious school of Chicago Grammar.

He is eventually cleared to play through court cases and relentless commitment by the school’s administration. In the midst of all the madness and all of the hype surrounding high school football in Texas, it is clear that there is no recognition of the importance of education. There is so much emphasis put into high school football in these communities like Odessa that athletes pour all of their hopes and dreams into it. Ultimately once these you athletes are eventually stripped of the game of football, their futures are jeopardized and their lives are irrevocably damaged. They are finally exposed to the real world more underprepared than ever. Fundamentally all that is left is a few memories of athletic stardom and still an inadequate education.

In the 1940‘s racial segregation gripped southern American life. The notion of separating blacks from whites created immense tension. Separate water fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, etc. were variables that helped keep races apart. “Jim Crow” laws in the south were intended to prevent blacks from voting. These laws, combined with the segregated educational system, instilled the sense that blacks were “separate” but not equal (174). Many people of color weren‘t able to survive through this time period because of the actions of whites. One individual who overcame the relentless struggles was Ralph Ellison. Ellison, a famous author, depicted racial segregation in the 1940’s through a fictional short story entitled “Battle Royal.” Battle

Its almost difficult to too determining whether “Fruitvale Station” does in fact show images that are so called, “nice” but actually have a wider spread of racism or doesn’t show any sign of racism at all. It can be argued that this film shows no signs of racism because it is only a story of what a man had to go through but then we can argue that the film does have a wide spread of racism due to the fact that we might see images of what a “African American” stereotypically does in the city of Fruitvale. When Louise Spence and Robert Stam discuss the dangers of “positive images” its hard to put this upon “Fruitvale Station”, because it’s a story of a man who does all he can for his daughter, but he so happens to live in the a very rough neighborhood.