College of Education
Long Island Univer
February 16, 2011
This is the first time I am watching October Sky. I am looking at the movie with a different perspective than I would have if I had not had this class first. I really like the movie, it is true to life in the 1950s and in many ways can be assimilated to life in the 21st century. The movie almost makes me feel sad that there have been, and still are, people that would suppress someone's dreams and hopes because of societal expectations of that person.
In Homer's case, he and the other boys were expected to go on to become miners, just as their fathers had done before them. Only a "lucky" few were expected to go on to college with sports scholarships because there was not enough money for the families of Coalwood to pay for higher education, therefore, the boys were conditioned into believing that their only option would be to step right into the coal mines-for the rest of their lives.
I don't necessarily believe that Homer's father was wrong to want him to stop experimenting with the rocket. At that time, the mines were all they knew. The whole town felt homage to the coal mines. His father probably, in some ways, was protecting his son from getting his hopes up, then let down. Homer's father realized the situation and did the best he could until he had also come to the realization that his son was actually good enough to be one of the "lucky" ones, without a football scholarship.
I believe in the end that Homer finds his father to be extraordinarily proud of him.
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