Movie Review: Coach Carter

Plot Summary:

In 1999, Ken Carter, a successful sporting goods store owner, accepts the job of basketball coach for his old high school in a poor area of Richmond, CA, where he was a champion athlete. Carter quickly sees that his work is cut out for him -- the team is having an awful season, and their fights off the court are more decisive than their play on the court. As much dismayed by the poor attitudes of his players as well as their dismal play performance, Carter sets about to change both. He immediately imposes a strict regime typified in written contracts that include stipulations for respectful behaviour, a dress code and good grades as requisites to being allowed to participate.

While Carter wants to make the Richmond plays like a champion team, he also wants a lot more -- to teach the boys to respect themselves and one another, and that they must excel in the classroom as well as in the gymnasium. Carter’s rigorous workout routine not only stretches the boundaries of the human body but also the mind. The initial resistance from the boys is soon dispelled as the team under Carter's tutelage becomes an undefeated competitor in the games. However, when the overconfident team's behaviour begins to stray and Carter learns that too many players are doing poorly in class, he takes immediate action. To the outrage of the team, the school and the community, Carter requests for an academic progress report from all the lecturers, cancels all team activities and locks the court until the team shows acceptable academic improvement. His action receives the attention of whole country, some praise but much more criticism. In the ensuing debate, Carter fights to keep his methods, determined to show the boys that they need to rely on more than sports for their futures and eventually finds he has affected them more profoundly than he ever expected.

At last, Richmond Oilers end up not only be a great basketball team but at the same they do play like a champion. They are not doing boys’ business anymore. In fact, they grow up as men and they finally fulfil what Coach Carter was expecting from them “one struggles, whole team struggle; one triumphs, whole team triumph!” In the ending of this movie, although the team does not win the competition, but they already become the champion in Carter’s heart. And the most fantastic part is that 6 players out of the whole team manage to enter college and they can finally play as college basketball player!

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Characters Analysis:

>Coach Ken Carter - Samuel L. Jackson

At first, Carter hesitates to be the coach of Richmond Oilers when he witnesses the fighting of the Richmond basketball team during the competition. However, sensing diamonds in the rough, he takes the post anyway, and gets down to the business of showing the squad who is the real boss. In this movie, he is a strict yet responsible coach. In order to get participate in the basketball team, each team member must sign a contract to maintain a minimum grade average of 2.3, attend all classes, sit in the front row, and wear a coat and tie on game day.

Other than that, Carter is not a guy who will give up easily, he will insist whatever he did as long as it will benefit the basketball team. His decision to shut down the gym, force the team to study in the school library and enrage the locals is what made the real Carter into a folk hero. Being criticised by all the parents, news media and even the whole society, Carter still insists that his players must have goals beyond college ball or the NBA. Coach Carter has a heart to heart talk with the team about achieving better things in their lives and doesn't ever settle for anything lesser. He doesn’t want any of his players to end up getting into jail or death. The coach has teamed up with some college girls and teachers to help tutor the players to help them reach their required GPA in order for them to be able to play once ago. At last, his dreams come true when 6 of his players including his son get into college.

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>Damien Carter - Robert Ri'chard, Kenyon Stone - Rob Brown, Kyra - Ashanti, Tonya - Debbi Morgan, Timo Cruz - Rick Gonzalez, Worm - Antwon Tanner,Junior Battle - Nana Gbewonyo, Jason Lyle - Channing Tatum, Maddux - Texas Battle. (Richmond Oilers basketball team)

All these are the basketball players of Richmond Oilers. At first they act arrogant and very rude towards their coach and they even call their coach as DOG but Coach Carter manages to change this group of people to good students and polite basketball players who attend every single class and sit in the front row. At the beginning, they disobey the rules set by their coach and being rather harsh, Timo Cruz nearly beat the coach up but as time pass by they finally understand and agree with what the coach have done for them. All of the players work very hard and they really play like a champion team in all the competitions in order to accomplish their golden goal. Unfortunately, we feel disappointed when they lose to St.Francis in the first game of state tournament as they really qualified to be the champion. However, things are not that bad as some of them still manage to get into college. Good Job! Richmond Oilers! No matter how, you all already become the real man and the hero in everyone’s heart. You all win nothing but the honour and respect from everyone due to your behavioural growth and performance in the match!

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Social Issues

If you have watched this movie, the first thing that you will feel irritating is the disrespectful language and attitudes shown by the teenagers in this movie. At the beginning of this movie, when Coach Carter distributes the contract to his players, some of them scold the coach by using the word ‘nigger’ and ‘dog’ and even try 2 beat the coach up. However, Coach Carter manages to change all of them from the uncivilised one to be the polite one by using the word ‘sir’. According to him, the word ‘sir’ is a term of respect and even he himself also address every of his players as ‘sir’. Well, fair enough. Other than this, pregnancy of teenagers also portrayed through this movie and Kenyon’s girlfriend, Kyra (Ashanti) is a very good example of the statement mentioned. Kyra plans to give up her study and also plans not to enrol for college just because of the baby that she is having. While in the other side, Kenyon, the father of the baby doesn’t even know whether he should continue his study and to play college ball or give up everything just to earn money for his child. Besides that, as we all know, drugs can drive anyone to get addicted or even death. But sadly, in this movie itself, we realise that Timo Cruz also get involved in the drug-dealing activity. We can’t deny that it is a kind of income for him but it is just the wrong and illegal one. He can’t really make a stand, whether to choose basketball or drug-dealing as we can see that he leave and back to the basketball team for more than once until he witnesses his cousin being shot beside the street one night. This incident totally changes each and every of his point of view and perception towards his life, making he totally focuses on his study and basketball. And now, he is no longer play for himself anymore, he plays for the coach and for his bright future. Last but not least, we can also see that the whole society in this movie not really emphasize on the education. Even Principal Garrison also not really put much hope on the students, according to her, the academic results of Richmond High School is the last in the whole state and she asks Coach Carter just to focus on coaching basketball but don’t put too high hope on his players that they can go into college. Even the parents of the basketball player also agree that study is a boring activity that will only waste time and can be illustrated as not important at all. For them, basketball is the only hope for their children and they request Coach Carter to let them play basketball without asking them to study anymore. What a shame! Parents should encourage their children to focus more on study but in this movie everything is being inverted by their parents, basketball become the first and only thing in their parents’ eyes and study will be the least important for them..

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Message

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

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