ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

tennis

First One In – Grown Up Mean Girls

by Leave a Comment

In press notes for First One In, writer/director Gina Obrien talks about the “millions of women who gather to hit balls at each other” on tennis courts each day. They may not be very good. But they share this bond. First One In bats that concept around with just about as much power as those mediocre players.

Madi Cooke (Kat Foster) has had her life ruined. She has been branded an eco-terrorist for killing a cute, near-extinct animal while on a Survivor-like reality show. People protest outside her home. She loses her job because of the publicity. She can’t even get an Uber if she’s recognized. After a new hairdo, she applies to work as a real estate agent for Bobbi Mason (Georgia King). Georgia is obsessed with tennis. She only hires Barbie-doll looking agents who play tennis and help her win the club team championship every year.

Madi begins brushing up her game (she hasn’t played since high school) at a local tennis clinic with a group of rather frumpy and definitely non-competitive women. When their coach enters them into the tournament, Madi is torn between her new job and her new friends. Eventually the teams will face off, with not just a trophy at stake, but Madi’s future.

The film seeks to show that women can forge bonds and how that can help them overcome their barriers. But I have issues with the portrayal of women in this film. Bobbi and her team are vain, vapid, superficial, and just plain mean. Think of a group of middle school mean girls who are now grown up. Madi is stuck in being a victim through most of the film. Her cohort at the tennis center all seem to be aimless and incapable of really accomplishing anything. The only character who seems to be grounded and confident, Madi’s high school friend Ollie (Alana O’Brien) becomes a catalyst for Madi’s new found strength, but she is always too much in the background of the story to develop her effect on Madi.

The story becomes a battle between meanness and victimhood. The final resolution doesn’t really grow out of the growth and strength of the characters. It has more to do with Bobbi’s ultimate failure of being able to boss and intimidate others. Any growth Madi manages in the story is a biproduct of her success, not the other way around.

First One In is available on Amazon Prime Video

Unraveling Athena: The Champions of Women’s Tennis

by Leave a Comment

Unraveling Athena review – a frank serving of women's lives in tennis | Film | The Guardian

Directed by Francis Amat, Unraveling Athena: The Champions of Women’s Tennis chronicles the lifelong journey that female tennis champions experience. Filled with interview footage of the world’s most successful tennis stars, Unraveling Athena gives us a glimpse into the lives of such players as Pam Shriver, Victoria Azarenka, Jalena Jankovic, and Billie Jean King, among many others.

Most of these women started playing tennis at a very young age. They discuss their families and schooling but one thing that seems to be a common element is the unwavering support of their parents.  

Amazon Prime Video to air women's tennis doc, Unraveling Athena - Broadcast Sport

Although tennis was their passion, they acknowledge the sacrifices made as children in order to seriously pursue a career as a professional athlete.

Interestingly, we hear from Dr. Russell Hamer, a Neuroscientist who discusses the psychological aspect of the sport. He essentially speaks on the brain activity of a champion. We see that with sheer drive and motivation, also comes self-doubt and struggles with their “inner game”. Just as a professional athlete must practice the physical elements of their sport and keep their bodies in shape, they must also practice mentally. Tennis is a very individual sport and can perhaps seem lonely at times. There’s no one to blame but yourself if you fail. Even so, behind the individual is a support system of family, coaches, etc. There’s great mentorship in tennis.

Unraveling Athena': Women's Tennis Doc Acquired By Shout! Studios – Deadline

We also see the struggles women specifically face in professional sports. For example, a woman is often told that she is “so competitive” in a negative way, whereas if that were said to a man, it would be a compliment. Billie Jean King specifically discusses her attempts to bring men and women together, as well as her struggles with sexism in the tennis world. She discusses her match with Bobby Riggs (also portrayed in the film, Battle of the Sexes) and how she felt that a loss would have set women back another 50 years. She also advocated for equal prize money at the US open. She really has been instrumental in equality in tennis (and beyond).

With the quick cuts between numerous interviews, consistent background music, and what seems like stock footage of young women playing tennis, Unraveling Athena almost felt like a long YouTube video. Despite the intriguing content, the structure of the documentary as a whole didn’t draw me in.

Perhaps I wanted to dive deep into some of these women’s stories. The documentary mentions how expensive tennis is, from paying for academies, coaches, and gear to traveling all over the world for competitions. Tennis is a global sport. While many of the women discussed how their parents couldn’t afford it, their communities rallied behind them.  Personally, I would have loved to have heard more about this.

We hear women talking about coming out in the sport, or even being outed.  One woman briefly mentioned that she had been stabbed. I was begging for more on these events, but they were only briefly mentioned. Although perhaps Unraveling Athena is more of an overarching view of female tennis as a whole, as opposed to individual stories. 

Unraveling Athena launches on digital platforms on August 11, 2020.

4.01 Breaking Down the BATTLE OF THE SEXES

by Leave a Comment

In the Season 4 premiere of ScreenFish Radio, Steve welcomes ScreenFish’rs Julie and Paul Levac to step onto the court to talk about Battle of the Sexes! Detailing the events surrounding the legendary tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973, Battle of the Sexes has a lot to say about the nature of injustice and sexual politics. PLUS, the team shares what they learned at TIFF17 this year! (You can see our review of the film here.)

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

4.01 Battle of the Sexes

Thanks Paul and Julie for joining us!

TIFF17: Battle of the Sexes

by Leave a Comment

What happens when one justice isn’t enough?

Battle of the Sexes recounts the events that led up to the 1973 tennis match between retired all-star Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) and champ in her prime, Billie Jean King (Emma Stone). However, this particular ‘sports film’ has very little to do with actual sports, choosing instead to focus itself on the story around the match rather than the match itself. Coming at a time when women were beginning to make strides in their right for equality, Riggs’ challenge to King for an exhibition tennis match quickly became a lightning rod for conversation around gender issues.

Still, the film is acutely self-aware and knows what it wants to accomplish. By de-emphasizing the sports aspect of the film, the film allows King’s backstory to take center-stage. In doing so, Dayton and Faris focus their lens on King’s journey as a feminist trailblazer and an oppressed homosexual, giving the film a much-needed dramatic tone. Because this particular tennis match had more to do with women’s struggle against injustice than it did world rankings, the decision to emphasize King’s journey allows the film to ask modern questions, despite its ’70s look. Given that the results of the famous tennis match aren’t nearly as compelling as the context itself, the film carries with it a sense of inevitability.  (For example, when King storms off after hearing some of Riggs’ comments, Gladys claims that she is merely running towards her ‘fate’.)

Through King’s journey, the film determines that the true battle of the sexes was (is?) the fight for women to be considered equals on the pro tennis circuit. Seeking equal pay to the male stars, King and her followers are forced to fight male stereotypes at every opportunity.  Interestingly, while Riggs provides the primary example of these ideals, King identifies former boss Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman) as the true threat. In essence, King recognizes that, while Bobby preaches ‘male chauvinism,’ he also holds few genuine convictions in regards to the role of women. However, in Jack, she recognizes a deeply-embedded conviction regarding female inferiority. (“Bobby is a clown, but you, Jack, you actually believe this,” she protests.)  By accepting Rigg’s challenge, it’s this heart of injustice that King believes she’s attacking on a cultural level (as represented by Jack).  In moments such as these, the dialogue feels both past-tense and all too current as well.  (After all, it was only recently that we have heard of the differences in pay scale within the film industry itself.)

Further, however, the film also serves as a double-edged sword in its war on injustice by juxtaposing King’s battle for women’s rights with the cultural obstacles that came with her sexuality.  As further inroads are being made regarding respect for women’s freedom, King’s relationship with her ‘hairstylist’ feels like a prison, as she struggles to keep it from the public eye. In this manner, the film shows its hand of modern-day politics by establishing multiple support systems around King, ranging from team wardrobe consultant, Ted Tinling (Alan Cumming), to her [somewhat stunned] husband, Larry (Austin Stowell). (“Don’t worry.  One day a time will come when you can love who you love,” Tinling pines.) Here, the film balances its victorious tone with a reminder that, with every battle won, there remains another on the horizon. 

While the film doesn’t label the church directly, the film uses Margaret Court as a representative of more judgmental attitudes that have been presented by religious conservatives. (Now retired, the real Court is an outspoken pastor with conservative values.) Still, although Battle may use Court as an isolated ‘villain’, the divisiveness and oppressive views she represents are far broader on a cultural level. As a pastor, it pains me to see grace lost in conversations of differences in the name of self-righteousness. Even in moments where there is disagreement, the responsibility of the church is to love openly and freely in a manner that provides hope and restorative community. That is who Jesus is.

In light of this tension, Battle of the Sexes prompts us to recognize how far our culture has come but also reminds us how far we have to go.