The Natural’s Nostalgia
Nostalgia is something that everyone seems to love. The memory of a time that once was, truly brings a great feeling to a person. One clear example of this is the movie The Natural that was released back in 1984. Most of the movie is set in the late 1930s. The story is about the main character, Roy Hobbs, and the series of obstacles that he had to overcome to finally fulfill his dream of being a professional baseball player. In this story, there is a great sense of nostalgia of what America once looked like. The Natural shows America in a different light in comparison to what it is on a day-to-day basis. It gives a glimpse of a more pure America where people could go out to baseball games with no worries, and it seemed …show more content…
The movie may show that Roy Hobbs does just have “natural, God-given” talent, since every time he came up to the plate it was either a big home run or a strike out. But, Roy did have to work hard to get where he wanted be in life. After his near fatal altercation with Harriet Bird, it took Hobbs more than 15 years to finally to get back to where he started in the beginning when he was 19. He had to work hard not only physically but also mentally to get back into baseball that finally led him to the Knights. The mental aspect of it was more enduring because even once he came back to baseball, Roy was still very reserved. Anytime anyone would ask where Roy was from he would say “nowhere important” because of that one incident that still haunted him (The Natural). Without Roy working so hard mentally, he may have never made it back to baseball at all. Roy also had to work extremely hard to overcome his older age. When Roy joined the Knights he was 35 years old, way past his prime, and had no support from his teammates or manager because of it. He also had to first perform at a very high rate once Pop decided to finally put him in and win over his teammates. Anyone who has played sports knows how hard it is for a “new guy” to when over different teammates, which makes this feat very important and really rewards Roy for all the work he put …show more content…
When Roy was speaking to the owner about a new contract Roy said “he hadn 't given it much thought” (The Natural). Even when the owner continues to press at Roy about money, it’s very clear that Roy plays for the love of the game. And that’s a very refreshing trait to have because now in the year 2015, baseball players get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play the sport. The highest paid player right now in the MLB is Giancarlo Stanton, who is getting paid over 320 million dollars over the next 12 years. With money like that, some players now get accused of playing baseball just for a check. In Sports Illustrated’s article Underworked and Overpaid, Joe Sheehan argues that players are sometimes even overpaid because the lack of production from particular players. One example that Sheehan gave was former Detroit Tiger pitcher Max Scherzer. Sheehan showed that even in 169 career starts as a pitcher, Scherzer has never completed a full game, but is still most likely sign a huge nine-figure contract in the off season. This is the perception of the modern athlete—that they don’t work hard and get paid a lot to do it. And Roy Hobbs is the clear opposite, in which he gets overworked and underpaid. Nevertheless, thats something that society, and baseball fans, admire because it shows that there no different then the common man. Many fans now feel
Nostalgia is something that everyone seems to love. The memory of a time that once was, truly brings a great feeling to a person. One clear example of this is the movie The Natural that was released back in 1984. Most of the movie is set in the late 1930s. The story is about the main character, Roy Hobbs, and the series of obstacles that he had to overcome to finally fulfill his dream of being a professional baseball player. In this story, there is a great sense of nostalgia of what America once looked like. The Natural shows America in a different light in comparison to what it is on a day-to-day basis. It gives a glimpse of a more pure America where people could go out to baseball games with no worries, and it seemed …show more content…
The movie may show that Roy Hobbs does just have “natural, God-given” talent, since every time he came up to the plate it was either a big home run or a strike out. But, Roy did have to work hard to get where he wanted be in life. After his near fatal altercation with Harriet Bird, it took Hobbs more than 15 years to finally to get back to where he started in the beginning when he was 19. He had to work hard not only physically but also mentally to get back into baseball that finally led him to the Knights. The mental aspect of it was more enduring because even once he came back to baseball, Roy was still very reserved. Anytime anyone would ask where Roy was from he would say “nowhere important” because of that one incident that still haunted him (The Natural). Without Roy working so hard mentally, he may have never made it back to baseball at all. Roy also had to work extremely hard to overcome his older age. When Roy joined the Knights he was 35 years old, way past his prime, and had no support from his teammates or manager because of it. He also had to first perform at a very high rate once Pop decided to finally put him in and win over his teammates. Anyone who has played sports knows how hard it is for a “new guy” to when over different teammates, which makes this feat very important and really rewards Roy for all the work he put …show more content…
When Roy was speaking to the owner about a new contract Roy said “he hadn 't given it much thought” (The Natural). Even when the owner continues to press at Roy about money, it’s very clear that Roy plays for the love of the game. And that’s a very refreshing trait to have because now in the year 2015, baseball players get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play the sport. The highest paid player right now in the MLB is Giancarlo Stanton, who is getting paid over 320 million dollars over the next 12 years. With money like that, some players now get accused of playing baseball just for a check. In Sports Illustrated’s article Underworked and Overpaid, Joe Sheehan argues that players are sometimes even overpaid because the lack of production from particular players. One example that Sheehan gave was former Detroit Tiger pitcher Max Scherzer. Sheehan showed that even in 169 career starts as a pitcher, Scherzer has never completed a full game, but is still most likely sign a huge nine-figure contract in the off season. This is the perception of the modern athlete—that they don’t work hard and get paid a lot to do it. And Roy Hobbs is the clear opposite, in which he gets overworked and underpaid. Nevertheless, thats something that society, and baseball fans, admire because it shows that there no different then the common man. Many fans now feel