Film Analysis: The Manassas High School Football Team

When a physical, demanding sport collides with a brutal, poverty-stricken town, true character is revealed, and the devastating realities of high school kids are shown to those who live in a sugar-coated world. The Manassas High School football team is full of new talents that are apparently worthless when a different players is shot, imprisoned, or drops out of school on an almost weekly basis. That is just a glimpse inside the misfortune that the kids of this film are enduring day in and day out. Some parentless and some virtually homeless, it seems as if the only way out of a constant state of need is a miracle, or death. Released in 2011, Undefeated has much more to offer than the typical football documentary. It shows the challenging life of high school football players, struggling to keep their priorities straight when just about everything that highlights their hometown environment makes life seemingly hopeless. Daniel Lindsay and TJ Martin co-directed this 2-hour long film, and won an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2012 for their hard work (American Film). Taking personal cuts from their filming, and following them up with interviews, the duo was able to create an emotional upbringing of the lives of three african-american football players, and their volunteer white coach.

The program had not won a playoff game in over 110 years, and went on a 14 year span without winning a game. However, this didn’t stop Courtney from having faith in his new team. His first year there he won four games, and ended his career later on with a 10-2 record, reaching the playoffs and losing by just one point. The film, though it does spend some time on the game of football, grabs the audience 's attention much more effectively by focusing on the internal struggles of Coach Courtney and his three star players, O.C., Money, and