Friday Night Lights Film Analysis

The film Friday Night Lights (2004) is based on the real-life story of the 1988 Permian Panthers football team in Odessa, Texas. The film follows Coach Gary Gaines, portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, and his talented group of football players as they try to navigate through the season with the goal of winning the State championship. The pressure is on for the boys in the film, where they receive stressors from not only their sport and coaches, but also the townspeople and their parents as well. The town is overtly obsessed with football, so much so that they accost the players and Coach Gaines in public to question their strategies and if they’re going to win. Since the film is set in this football-obsessed town, one way to change things around is to shift it to a town that isn’t so crazy about the sport. The background would completely shift and therefore, the film would focus more the players actually enjoying playing and not feeling the heat from everyone around them. Rewriting the film to represent a change of background would ultimately impact the plot as well. Stephen Leff states that “young adolescents are greatly influenced by their parents’ interests in their endeavors.” What they do and …show more content…
Many boys (and even girls) will grow up playing it, following through high school, college, and possibly even passed that. Like with any sport, a lot of pressure can be riding on the players to succeed. The film, Friday Night Lights, depicts the tale of the Permian Panthers and their ride to State in the year 1988. All throughout the movie, the players and coach are pestered from the townspeople and constantly asked if they’re going to win State. They’re booed when they lose or mess up, and over-exuberantly cheered on when they win. If Friday Night Lights were rewritten in a different background, many things would be different. The stress and pressure placed on the players would lessen significantly, changing the plot