Project Planning 3
Sherrell
Johnson
Rhet 1311
Synopsis:
The
movie I decided to review is “Moneyball”.
This film was written by Steven Zaillian and directed by Bennett Miller
in 2011. The cast consisted of Brad
Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright and others. This movie is based on a true story. “Moneyball” is about taking chances and taking
on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy
Bean the general manager for the Oakland A’s.
He is determined that he can form a winning baseball team based on stats. The team is formed on a tight budget and he
plans to outsmart the other leagues with his rare thinking and beliefs that he
can actually win a season based on stats.
He teams up with an Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to recruit
injured, unemployed, and the least expensive baseball players he can assemble
to form a winning baseball team.
My
review about the movie “Moneyball” is that it’s a great movie that I enjoyed
watching but at times I did become bored.
I think Brad Pitt did a great job playing Billy Bean, but it wasn’t believable
for me. I think the general manager
should have been someone different someone more seasoned as an actor. Brad Pitt just didn’t look like a general
manager to me. Overall Pitt did do a
good job. I found the use of stats to
form a team very interesting. I was shocked to find out that this movie was based
on a true story and that this really did work.
Billy Bean and Peter Brand set out to show the other baseball teams that
you can use statics in baseball. Peter Brand
was a strong believer of Bill James, a marginal figure who began
publishing this method in 1977.
James
offered a new way of looking at the game by breaking down numbers in another
way. The objective findings were his
opinions initially. He called this new
approach sabermetrics. James finds
potential in unappreciated players, ignored players, underpaid players and the
least popular players. Most general
managers or coaches would overlook these players because they could not see a
win with these athletes. Another secondary theme about this movie was Billy’s
personal life and growth with his daughter. This was important worldview
because it inspired family and team success.
As Bean embraced the system, he would soon realize why he never made it
to the majors. As they form a new team,
players are traded, bought, and sold to make room for the new players. Bean would go and find injured players who
hadn’t played in years. He helped these
men by giving them a chance to be an athlete again and believing in them when
no one else would. Bean would encourage
the players and tell them that they could win despite the odds against them.
While others laughed at Bean and doubted his method, he stood firm and lead his
team. These men went on and believed
that they could and they did win the series.
Analysis
questions and answers:
1. What
worldview and underlying assumptions are being portrayed in this movie? The worldview and underlying assumptions
being portrayed are that baseball teams can be formed using statistics rather
than the more common methods of choosing athletes to build a winning team.
2. Is
the worldview accurate? Logical? Consistent?
I think the worldview is accurate because this was based on a true story
that really happened and produced a winning team.
3. What
principles undergird the focus of this film? The main principle that undergrids the film is
the line “one scout insists that an ugly girlfriend means that a player doesn’t
have confidence”, but doesn’t have the tools to fix the issue.
4. If
the claim of or principles underlying this film are accurate, what are likely
to follow? The principle question is “a
player with an ugly girlfriend has no confidence, but doesn’t have the tools to
fix the problem. Meaning players injured
or feeling like they have no worth feel they have nothing to offer. In the
movie some of the players thought it was a joke when they asked to join the
team after being injured. They felt they had nothing else to offer as a
baseball player.
5. What
does this movie assume? This movie
assumes the claim that a winning baseball team can be formed by using
statistics rather than fame or popularity.
6. If
this claim is so, don’t we also have to assume that sabermetrics can work? We should assume that sabermetrics can really
work and it produced a winning team and year.
7. What
point of view is being presented? The point of view is objective.
8. Why
was this message sent? I believe this
message was sent to inform the audience that a baseball team has really been
formed based on statistics and produced a winning year end.
9. What
social or ideological message are part of the message’s subtext? The ideological is that players don’t have to
cost the most or have the best season to be on a team and win.
10. What
was omitted from the message? The
message omits the idea that people who have money don’t necessarily want to
spend their money to win.
Analysis:
“Moneyball” offers the viewer some
different opinions about the statistics system.
The viewer can either believe the program will work or doubt the
system. The movie shows a lot of doubt
but then the doubt starts to sway as the team begins to win. Not only was it the stats system but it was
also the respect and the dignity that the men gained from Bean. He failed to
relate with his players earliar in the movie, but as time progressed he
realized how important his words of encouragement meant. He coached them and made them feel like they
were worth something, which made them want to try harder to win. Despite all
the obstacles and the doubt of the league the players went on to win. Bean is
telling the viewer that general managers don’t have to always go for the best
players or spend the most money to have a winning team.
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