Page 59 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

48 • Sport, Media and Society

Secondary Characters

Baseball in rural areas can be portrayed as a transformational space through the
celebration of small town values. The local community, represented by parents, fans
and, particularly, young people serve as secondary characters who reinforce the re-
demptive features of sport. These community ballparks offer young people a chance
to develop and world-weary ex-players the opportunity to gain a new lease on life

by coaching them. The misfit group of young people and the alcohol-loving coach in
Bad News Bears transform themselves into a successful, integrated team. The alco-
holic is saved by the innocence of the children on the team, and the children develop

skills and confidence by being part of a winning baseball team.
The family also serve as secondary characters, particularly in the form of the
supportive wife or girlfriend. In Field of Dreams, the wife supports her husband
in what appears to be a foolish endeavour, and the high school sweetheart in The
Natural maintains her loyalty to Hobbs even though they do not see each other for
twelve years. The supporting wife also appears in The Stratton Story and The Pride
of the Yankees. The character of Annie in Bull Durham may be more of a heroine,
but her role is portrayed as helping her chosen young players to develop the skills
and knowledge that will enable them to succeed in the major leagues. The hero is
supported as he follows his dreams or perseveres through adversity. The supporting
role of women in the movies reinscribes baseball as a masculine space and asserts the
importance of traditional gender roles.

Plot

The central character in many baseball fi lms can be viewed as a hero on a quest for
success. This success must be achieved while maintaining or acquiring particular
values perceived as central to idealised American culture such as honesty, hard work,
kindness and integrity. In The Pride of the Yankees and Bang the Drum Slowly (1973),
the superstar heroes are faced with debilitating and ultimately fatal illnesses, yet they
maintain their love of the game, their desire to play and their integrity until the end.

Success in baseball films results from sustained effort and desire. The climax of

baseball films can often be a game, with the outcome left until the end of the movie.
The game is the ultimate test of the hero, and success may represent the reward of
hard work and perseverance as well as the fulfilment of the hero’s dreams.

Themes

Rowe (1998) highlighted the tendency for baseball films to explore the sport’s poten-
tial for helping the nation regain values that have eroded in the face of an increasingly
capitalistic and competitive society. Baseball is often portrayed as an authentic,