Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights

Life in Odessa, Texas apparently revolved around the Permian High School Football team during the late 80's, and why not? From the few scenes featuring the layout of the small town, the town seemed to be have been in a state of economic stagnation for quite a while. The film follows several key players of the football, namely Miles, Winchell, and Billingsley. The team is known for being the best around the West Texas area, as evident by many of the alumni displaying State Championship Rings as means of pressuring the current team to win an undefeated season.

Winchell, the quarterback, is the one with the good heart and displays an excellent portrayal of leadership. However, he constantly dealt with the pressures placed on him by the town to win the state championships. The movie opens with the scene of him eating breakfast while his mother going over plays and maneuvers. Despite having a solid head on his shoulders, Winchell can't help but sometimes give into the social pressures from his friends. Winchell reluctantly went to the party and felt it was necessary for him to prove his heterosexuality to one of the girls hitting on him by sleeping with her.

Billingsley's conflict throughout the movie was dealing with his father after any of his failures on the field, whether during practice or during a game. His football-obsessed humiliates him in public on numerous occasions: pushing him around during a practice for fumbling the ball, taping the ball to his hands in front of a girl while he tried to beat it out of him for dropping the lamp, then finally smashing his car windows for losing the game. However, Don Billingsley continued to forgive his father, even went as far as looking for his State Championship ring after his father threw it out the window. Their relationship changed towards the end of the movie, and we see the two hug.

Boobie Miles, the cocky tailback, exemplified how one's fortune can quickly turn sour as if some divine intervention came down to punish him for being too arrogant. At the beginning, he is seen as having the most potential to being the most successful. We hear in the background how he could win a Heisman. However, a devastating knee injury quickly crushes any hope for him to play football during his senior year. He's forced to watch the rest of the team succeed throughout their season and even