Breaking the Barrier

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2007)

When I was in high school, I was offered a scholarship to play basketball for the NJCAA. Being an African American, I never really thought about not being able to start because of my skin color. About forty years ago, this was something men thought about before entering the college level. That explains why many African Americans did not even bother playing for the NCAA. The movie "Glory Road" (2006) showed how one coach changed things for African Americans who wanted to play college basketball in 1961.
In "Glory Road" Don Haskins (Josh Lucas), a Texas Western coach, led the first African American starters to a NCAA final championship game. He goes through many obstacles trying to get African Americans on his team. He receives threatening phone calls, and he is called many names. One of the players on the team is even beaten by an upset man, because of skin color. These are some of the negative parts in the movie. The team also goes through many obstacles. The challenge in the film is whether or not the team will win the national championship.
This movie was directed by James Gartner. He may have wanted to show how a rebel can turn out being a hero. In "Glory Road" Bobby Joe Hill (Derek Luke) was the point guard on the team. He was very cocky, and he was the rebel on the team. The players followed Bobby Joe in what he did. There was one scene when the team had a morning practice, and Bobby Joe wanted to go out. The whole team went out and the next morning practice was horrible for them because the coach Haskins had found out. He made the team run all day and he even made Bobby Joe run bleachers. After this had happened, Bobby Joe became a great leader and led the team to the national championship. The director may have tried to send a message to kids that practice can make you good. One of the characters in the movie by the name of Orsten Artis (Alphonso McAuley) was not the best player in the beginning of the movie. He had low self esteem and was always picked on by the other players. The coach changed that by making him stay in the gym and practice. In the national championship Orsten Artis was one of the main scorers in the game.
Many people can relate to "Glory Road." The director did a good job so that anyone could sit down and watch the movie to a point they would leave with a upbeat mind. This was a positive thing the director showed. Towards the end, everyone had each others back. The players even entered their classrooms with confidence. This was a symbol that when we as a people start being positive about things nothing but good will happen to us.