Movie Scene Analysis - Case of Moneyball - Essay Example

? Movie Scene Analysis “Moneyball” I.D: Teacher’s “Moneyball” When the General Manager, Billy Beane enters the locker room of his baseball team, ‘Oakland Athletics’, only a couple of the players notice him. There is loud music being played inside and the atmosphere is very relaxed and jovial. The music seems to be belonging to the dance genre and is fast-paced and energetic. Everyone seems to be relaxing and having fun as some of them are dancing while others are singing along with the song. While some players are either getting dressed or changing, some are plainly standing and talking amongst themselves with a few who are seen to be tending to their lockers in the room. One is swinging his bat in the room which shows that he still want to play and have a chance to practically prove himself and show his performance to others. There is clutter everywhere and its intensity is signified when we observe that one of the players throws his dirty shirt into a nearby but ill-placed trolley. Some of the players are not fully clothed and are shirtless. This again signifies that they are at ease and comfortable enough with their surroundings and conditions to expose themselves (Crooks et al. 2011, 504). This exposure is not just literal but has a deeper meaning as well. People only expose themselves when they do not feel any sort of insecurity from those around them as well as when they do not feel that they either lack something or have done anything wrong (Schaefer, 1984, 132). Their conscience seems to be clear at such points in time. Therefore the roaming around shirtless tells us that such players are fine with themselves at the moment. One player is looking at his locker mirror and busy in grooming himself. His actions depict that he is preparing himself to look good for something he’s about to do. He would not have been doing this if he was upset at his performance in his game. The reason is because then he would not have been thinking about looking good but instead feeling guilty. But this attitude shows that he also is content with his performance in the situation put in-front of him. The layout of the room is such in this scene that most of the players are seen to be seated in chairs or sofas placed right in the middle of the room, with Giambi standing on one of the tables and dancing in front of them. Some of the other players sitting around Giambi are talking to each other while one is fanning him with magazines and another uses a towel for the same purpose. Both these guys’ actions depict as if Giambi’s performance is very sought-after and very precious (DeFrantz, 2006, 13). As if it deserves to be preserved and respected and taken care of? At the same time, one player can be seen to be throwing money at Giambi’s dance which shows his interest in the dance performance and his willingness to pay for it as signified by the money (Perman, 2008, 326). The guy is continuously rocking his chair which displays that he is restless but still seems to be enjoying himself. Then again some of the players are simply watching Giambi dance. This shows that they are in conformity with their situation and are happy with the results they have achieved, which is why they are relaxing. They appreciate the performance put forth in their previous baseball match, not only by themselves but also others whose dance they are viewing. If they were not fine with the performance of either themselves or the one dancing they would not be looking at it. After carefully observing all of this, Billy Beane smacks one of the lockers with the bat in his hand to gain attention of the players who seem oblivious to his presence. His action startles most of the players in the room, including Giambi who looks visibly irritated at being disturbed during his actions and looks at Beane in a questioning way. At Beane’s order he steps down from the table he was previously dancing upon and stands with his chest out to signify his defiance, hands on his hips and sports an indifferent facial expression (Rail, 1995, 205). When Beane asks Giambi if losing was considered fun, he doesn’t reply at first. However being adamant, Beane repeats his question and asks if Giambi considered losing to be fun, to which Giambi answers ‘no’ in a very stiff tone. His body language and actions show that he does not care what Beane thinks and is in no mood for a lecture. He seems to be arrogant and ignorant in this scene as he probably considers it his right to have fun and enjoy. While Giambi is the only one standing up to Beane, no one else tries to copy him. Hence when Beane further inquires about the reason why all of the players were having fun. There is no response from anyone. Guilt can be observed to come on the faces of most of the players by now. While some literally look like they are ashamed and sorry at their actions, others look at Beane with curious expressions to understand his next move. It is worthy to note that at this point Giambi’s body posture matches that of Billy Beane’s as they are both standing with their hands on their hips. This shows a conflict of power where Giambi imitates the same traditional authoritative posture as he does not seem to think of Beane as his superior and someone who could order or discipline him? On the other hand Beane is visibly irritated with Giambi’s defiance. Beane throws the bat to one side of the room where it is heard rolling off the floor. Silence is ensured at that very moment, and Beane with his finger pointing towards the environment above their heads stands in that position for a few seconds before he swings his finger down in-front of himself with his head nodding and declares that, this silence is how losing should sound like. In this instance his actions of swinging his finger while nodding seems to show that everyone present in the room should know that he was the one who gives the orders in this environment to the players and he decides what is right or wrong? His statement that, ‘this silence is how losing should sound like’ seems to have brought awareness upon all of the players in the room including Giambi that Beane is the boss whose authority is supreme in their immediate surrounding. Having said this, Beane exits the scene with one last display of his authority around him when he grabs and throws the water cooler to a corner, in a display of anger, and leaves the room. Before witnessing this situation Beane was already upset because his team had lost a number of games. Beane is in a lot of pressure due to the seemingly unsuccessful methodology he has applied from various quarters, including his boss, the media, the larger baseball fraternity, and even his own manager, Art Howe and the team mates he is playing from his old team. Everyone is against it. His job is on the line and so is his reputation. He needs to show positive results and improvements in order to continue with his job and be respected. Then again he himself has a lot of personal mental baggage which he carries around with him since his early years in the sport. He doubts his decisions to have left his scholarship to Stanford University for the chance of playing in a Major Leagues team because of the huge amount of money which served as a basic attraction apart from the chance to play his favorite sport. Due to the lack of thought put in before making the decision he ultimately fails to leave a mark on his career with the team as he has the talent but lacked the confidence to play. Thus while he is the General Manager of Oakland Athletics, if his plan of using the Sabermetric method of recruiting new players with the help of his assistant works out, he perceives it would clear his reputation from the stain caused earlier in his playing career. So with this entire scenario being the driving force behind Billy’s actions he desperately wants to prove himself right. Thus when his plan seems to be failing at the beginning for which he has put everything on the line he is highly disturbed. In such a scenario when he enters the locker room and sees the team dancing and having fun he freaks out and screams at them and throws things around in anger. For a moment he seems to be helpless at his situation that his team does not understand his predicament. That he has given a chance to players who weren’t being given such a chance at such a big level by any other team and fears that it might not have been a very good idea afterall. WORK CITED Crooks, Robert, and Karla Baur. Our Sexuality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. DeFrantz Thoman F. Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture. Illustrated, reprint. Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Perman, Anthony Wilford. “History, Ethics, and Emotion in Ndau Performance in Zimbabwe: Local Theoretical Knowledge and Ethnomusicological Perspectives.” 2008:n. pag. Print. Rail, Robert R. Defense Without Damage: A Photo-Illustrated Guide to Low-Liability Arrest and Control Skills. [Upland, Pa.]: Diane Pub. Co., 1995. Print. Schaefer Charles E. How to Help Children with Common Problems. [S.l.]: [s.n.], 1984. Print. Read More