August 29, 2014
I finished this book last night in about an hour. It's actually the screenplay for the famous TV movie from the 1970s starring James Caan (love him) and Billy Dee Williams. Now, I never would have selected the book myself, and was a little appalled when one of my veteran colleagues suggested having it as a common text between our LA classes. I only understood the story as a sappy interracial bromance between two football players, in which one dies. Essentially a chick flick for guys. But if looked at in the appropriate historical context, and keeping in mind that the story of Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo is a true one, it's more than that. And I'm not at all surprised to hear accounts from self-proclaimed "non-readers" who say that they enjoyed reading the screenplay...when asked to do so for school!
So I gotta hand it to my colleague, this will be a good one to use. I would want to examine the contrasting "characters" (Piccolo, boisterous but friendly; Gale, shy and seemingly surly), and look at the meaning of the title. It might refer to when Brian would sing the fight song of his alma mater, Wake Forest. But of course it has a deeper meaning. From Gale's perspective, Brian made him the best of himself. He helped him overcome his shyness, and worked with him to get back in shape after a knee injury. And Brian just wanted Gale's friendship in return, even as they vied for the same offensive position (running back? The fuck I know...). The respect that they had for each other as teammates and competitors gave their relationship such complexity. If it weren't for the times, race definitely wouldn't have been a factor.
It wasn't a huge focus, but it was significant that the Chicago Bears were the first team to desegregate their players in training and on the road. Brian and Gale both catch heat for it, yet it doesn't even touch their friendship. In fact, it becomes a joke to them. When Brian calls Gale the "n-word" to push him to work his healing knee harder, Gale just laughs at him. Brian explains that the slur "wop" pisses him hard enough to really push it. They laugh over the racist letters sent to them, criticizing them for rooming together. They're so above it, and too busy pushing each other to focus on it, like, at all. Pretty cool.
Of course, Brian Piccolo got sick from cancer, and died after two unsuccessful operations on his lungs. It's pretty sad that a genuinely decent man, with a good heart and good morals, and so full of life, would go down like that. Of course since then, there have been countless films if varying quality, fictional or true, that have show people dying of cancer. Brian's Song told a true story, and told it well.
So of course I need to watch the film. Apparently there was a remake like 15 years ago, I don't know. I wonder if the music for it will be cheesy; that would kind of ruin it for me, dopey dramatic music. Yuck. But I'm pretty sure my students would like the screenplay. I am looking forward to this year, having "survived" the first week.
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