tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post2016311686891031080..comments2024-01-30T04:32:47.585-05:00Comments on The Cooler: Reasons 'Why': The Price of GoldJason Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-58343282688646364432014-06-14T15:01:21.521-04:002014-06-14T15:01:21.521-04:00One of the few 30 for 30s I've yet to see, but...One of the few 30 for 30s I've yet to see, but I'm looking forward to checking it out. Zach Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13082822697901306809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-38245738752726903152014-02-08T21:30:20.636-05:002014-02-08T21:30:20.636-05:00It would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.
...<b>It would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.</b><br /><br /><b>And Burstein allows us to feel a measure of sympathy for the poor girl surrounded by poor influences who was marginalized by her sport for not looking the part.</b><br /><br /><br />Yes. Tragic. Damn this movie just made me sad. I want to respond to this marginalization below:<br /><br />This is great piece, Jason, and I'm glad I finally got a chance to catch up with this. I think the opening of the film is so important because it gives us much needed context. I really don't think there's anyway someone could honestly believe that Harding was totally innocent in this whole deal, but my God that opening footage is, as you say, "sobering."<br /><br />It's too bad Harding was so far out of her element in regards to the attention she was getting. She could have represented something important in a sport that was all about girly-girls and grace, she was all about athleticism. And her athleticism was amazing. If she could have just had a better support system around her (many much younger than her have successfully navigated the media), she could have been a great representation for success despite not looking the right part, wearing the right clothes, or skating to the right music (like what Kerrigan did).<br /><br />I think Americans love an underdog, and she could have been the ultimate avatar for that: if you're excellent at what you do, and you have a passion and a drive to succeed in whatever your vocation is, then who cares if you don't fit into that "proper" image. <br /><br />Unfortunately (and I see this all the time with my students who have zero positive support in their lives), the people around her got the best of her, and it was just so obvious that she was out of her element through the whole thing (I can honestly believe a scenario where she agreed to the attack before she realized to have agreed to such a thing). <br /><br />I like the way Craig said it: she had a sincere passion for skating, but she just couldn't handle the depths of her situation. <br /><br />I was fascinated by the footage of the media and how they treated Harding, especially the stunt with the tow truck...oof.<br /><br />I don't think anyone's opinion on whether or not Harding was guilty is going to be changed by this documentary, but I'm glad it exists for pointing out the fascinating and sad tale that is ultimately a story about class.<br /><br />As for the Kerrigan stuff...whatever. Harding created that (allegedly), so you can't really blame the media for shaping the whole "Cinderella story derailed by politics" narrative. Oh, and my wife watched this with me and said basically the same thing you and Craig did about Kerrigan: she was boring to watch skate.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-5392746028536528472014-02-01T15:10:09.983-05:002014-02-01T15:10:09.983-05:00This sounds like an excellent doc. about one of th...This sounds like an excellent doc. about one of the most bizarre stories in sports history.<br /><br />This was all over the news - constantly - on Cape Cod because Kerrigan was the darling of the Boston Area - born in Woburn, hometown Stoneham - and because of her Irish heritage. When she visited the Cape, she would skate at the rink in Dennis.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-78699404200596601712014-01-19T14:12:49.485-05:002014-01-19T14:12:49.485-05:00I think what I didn't like about that last par...I think what I didn't like about that last part is it unwittingly underlined the entitlement of Kerrigan that Harding had always suspected and resented, not to mention the suggestion of U.S. commentators/analysts who, then and now, advanced the notion that Kerrigan "deserved" the gold because of what she went through. (A narrative they were advancing even before the incident.) It probably wouldn't have stood out as much had I watched the whole thing.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-24486220403008294322014-01-19T09:08:36.853-05:002014-01-19T09:08:36.853-05:00P.S. Now they need to do the Nicole Bobek "30...P.S. Now they need to do the Nicole Bobek "30 for 30."Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-70024345384056887172014-01-19T09:07:38.267-05:002014-01-19T09:07:38.267-05:00Craig: It's definitely worth trying to see the...Craig: It's definitely worth trying to see the first half, which has some pretty sobering footage of a Harding who is very young with very little foundation -- emotionally or financially.<br /><br />As for Kerrigan: Yeah, I remember her as a glider, too, particularly in comparison to Harding. And, yeah, I suppose if you're going to raise the anti-American theory, it probably demands showing something from Baiul's performance other than her post-performance emotion. But I'm fine letting that one go as a fringe plot line in a documentary that isn't really about whether Kerrigan wins or loses but about what was done to prevent her from even trying. (And, yes, it's interesting that as much as American skating and corporate America tried to make Kerrigan the complete princess, it never really took. I recall the SNL she hosted being a disaster. And there was something about her manner of speaking that didn't fit the image -- all the better for her to glide and look pretty, and as the documentary makes clear, in skating that goes a long way. The film doesn't challenge Kerrigan specifically, but through the remarks about judges (might have been in the first half of the film), it's pretty clear that judges seem to be protecting the sport (their image of what's best for it) as much as evaluating what happens on the ice.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-35852741031952284062014-01-17T13:34:11.531-05:002014-01-17T13:34:11.531-05:00I caught the second half of this last night and......I caught the second half of this last night and... enjoyed it may not be the right phrase. I thought it was well-made, considering it's a subject I recall with distaste and was in no mood to revisit. One thing that mildly surprised me was the then-footage of Harding coming across less calculating and cynical than I thought originally. She <i>is</i> those things, to be sure, but there was also a sincere passion for skating and, as one of the interviewees pointed out, a cluelessness about exactly the depth of trouble she had gotten herself into. Still should have spent some time in prison.<br /><br />I can see why the filmmakers wouldn't have wanted to bring this up about Kerrigan even if they believed it: Was she really that great a skater? I watched her mechanically proficient, fairly boring routines again and was reminded of my mom's muttering during the Olympics: "Glide...glide...glide...glide. She's a glider, nothing more." I didn't like the conspiracy theory trotted out at the end that the judges hoodwinked her out of the gold. Footage of Oksana Baiul's much more spirited and imaginative routine was conveniently left out to suggest this. But I remember her performance well enough to know that while skating is a subjective judgment, it wasn't on par with the U.S.-Russia basketball travesty in '72 Munich, which is what they seem to be indirectly implying. Still a gutsy performance just getting out there on the rink again, and enduring the Harding madness. I too thought Kerrigan was petty at the time that she didn't win the gold, but today I'm more inclined to take Scott Hamilton's view and give the girl a break (um...).<br />Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-7191079932873578112014-01-17T12:53:43.205-05:002014-01-17T12:53:43.205-05:00Awesome write-up. I cringe reading it, because I ...Awesome write-up. I cringe reading it, because I remember it being semi-traumatic as a kid seeing it all happen live. Ugh, I don't know if I could revisit this, but I sure did enjoy your post. Thanks a lot.jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377590117374193997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-31633701588861580272014-01-15T23:34:17.818-05:002014-01-15T23:34:17.818-05:00I don't know if I'll have the time to watc...I don't know if I'll have the time to watch this, but I recently read an excellent piece in The Believer while watching the skating performances (for the first time), receiving the story for the first time. Incredible. Michaelnoreply@blogger.com