Moral and existential dilemmas

Contemporary sports films discuss various moral and existential themes. They present how athletes struggle with their own weaknesses and also motivate the audience to excel not only in the physical dimension but also spiritually. This is particularly clear in contemporary US sports cinematography.

Analysis method

This study uses the method of film analysis where films are regarded according to Grzegorz Łęcicki’s concept of media message, with particular focus on ethical issues. The analysis posed three questions:

how do the events depicted in film narration relate to historical facts?
how are the existential struggles of the athletes captured in the symbolic message?
what moral dilemmas do the athletes experience?

Christian sports movies

Above all, the researchers searched for Christian references relevant to American film culture, both directly and naturalized in semiotic and narrative references. As a result, the study succeeded in establishing the main categories of contemporary sports moral and existential dilemmas from a religious perspective. The thesis on Christian inspirations of contemporary American sports cinema has been confirmed.

American sports movies – 8 films selected for analysis

Eight American sports feature films from 2019–2020 were selected for this analysis. Most of them are dramas, three are based on biographical plots – Safety (directed by Reginald Hudlin), Brian Banks (by Tom Shadyac) and The Brawler (by Ken Kushner), and one explicitly refers to religious faith – Overcomer by Alex Kendrick.

1. Brian Banks, dir. T. Shadyac, US 2019

2. Overcomer, dir. A. Kendrick, US 2019

3. Trading Paint, dir. K. Kader, US 2019

For the analysis, four American sports feature films from 2019 and four from 2020 were selected, with a total of eight pictures. In the course of the search, the list published in the sports category on the Movie Insider® website was used which presents previews of the latest Hollywood productions and discussions of premieres.

4. The Brawler, dir. K. Kushner, US 2019

The 2019 films analysed are: Brian Banks directed by Tom Shadyac, Overcomer directed by Alex Kendrick, Trading Paint directed by Karzan Kader and The Brawler directed by Ken Kushner.

5. Safety, dir. R. Hudlin, US 2020

American sports movies. Safety — *Safety*, dir. R. Hudlin, US 2020.

6. Jungleland, dir. M. Winkler, US 2020

The 2020 films selected for the study are: Safety by Reginald Hudlin, Jungleland by Max Winkler, The Main Event by Jay Karas and The Way Back by Gavin O’Connor.

7. The Main Event, dir. Jay Karas, US 2020

Three of them address biographical themes, namely Safety, Brian Banks and The Brawler. Seven of the films can be categorised as sports drama, including one as Christian drama (Overcomer) and one as drama action film (Trading Paint). The Main Event, on the other hand, can be described as a sports comedy. I invite you to read the whole study in „Media Education (Mediaobrazovanie”).