SYNOPSIS OF THE MOVIE
In the late 1960s and the beginning of 1970s, Steve Prefontaine was a distinctive and unique personality. He was an athlete who revolutionized his running career and managed to bring his sport in the headlines. The movie majorly focuses on Prefontaine aggressive personality and his constant refusal to pace himself. The only way Prefontaine was interested in winning was by “flat-out leading” in the whole race. He was undefeated in the US and acquired all of the American records between 2000-10000 meters. At the Munich Olympics, he ran one of the most memorable races. Prefontaine was greatly favoured to attain victory at the Montreal Games in the year 1976. Unfortunately, he never had the chance as he died at the young age of 24 in 1975. Prefontaine died in a car accident.
The movie focuses on Prefontaine from when he was a youth in Oregon. He is shown as talented runner despite him having to encounter several challenges. While Prefontaine attended the University of Oregon, he met and developed a strong bond with Bill Bowerman, his coach. Bowerman is the man who later found the Nike shoe corporation. While in the university, Prefontaine fell in love with Mary Marckx, his classmate. His romantic relationship lasted until his unfortunate and untimely death in 1974 through a car accident. The movie shows the audience a man passionate with winning and even more passionate about testing his limits. The movie producer makes sure the audience understand the emotional and psychological makeup of the athlete striving to meet his goals. Without Limits is basically about the grace and price of American victory.
HOW SPORT IS PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE
The main theme of the movie is a young man unwavering self-belief. The movie proposes that knowing and pushing limits are crucial parts of anyone’s ideal nature. Prefontaine had encountered several challenges that could hinder him from running like other athletes. However, due to his abrasive personality he still proved to be a talented runner. He refuses to pace himself despite the fact that this decision would add a couple of seconds into his time. He is a passionate and fanatic man who believes that he has to constantly push himself at each and every moment. Evidently, Prefontaine strikes the audience as an outrageously charismatic and driven individual. From the look of his smile one could see he loved the effect he had on those around him, such as the groupies he met at the University of Oregon and the people he met at stadium crowds who received him with cheers and jubilant cries. The movie looks into the psychology of running. It perceives the races as sequences of intellectual and physical beauty.
Running is a form of self-expression. The movie portrays running not only as a competitive sport, but also as a sport for the determined and strong willed. The sport story presented in the movie is not entirely about losing or winning, or how one plays the game; it offers a wider parable than the audience expected. Prefontaine headstrong nature and aggressive personality is largely responsible for his success in running. Prefontaine’s story is unexpected as he did not always win nor trumpet his policies and principles. Moreover, there was no solid evidence that he would prosper in his sport of interest. However, his stubborn nature enabled him to overcome his challenges and complicated experience and expectations. Prefontaine’s stubborn nature is further seen when he vehemently refuses to pace himself. He perceived running as a “work of art” a chance for him to test himself and show his fans his skills and determination. Prefontaine’s success in running presents a fascinating story displaying determination and strategy.
The movie presents running as a sport which requires physical training, coaching and mentoring. Through the coach of Bowerman, Prefontaine not only enhanced his strategical, physical and technical skills, he also enhanced his psychosocial skills. Through the coaching programs, Prefontaine learnt and developed new skills under the advice and supervision of an expert, the Movie is more concerned with the workings of his head than his strides. The relationship between Bowerman and Prefontaine was characterized with support, honesty, liking, empathic understanding, cooperation, responsiveness, acceptance, friendliness, caring, positive regard and respect. Therefore, the effective relationship between an older man’s wise experience and a youth’s brashness played a significant role in the success of Prefontaine in sentimental ways. Bowerman attempted to teach Prefontaine the significance of pace over superhuman exertion, Prefontaine grasps the lesson but never fully accepts. My impression of running as acquired from the movie, is a sport that requires discipline, determination and appropriate coaching. It is also a sport that has immense ability to bring communities together.
DISCUSS THE ROLE OF SPORTS IN THE MOVIE
Sport has the ability to inspire and create hope where there is despair. Sports have the ability to inspire and affect positive outcomes in the youth. Running in the film was used to demonstrate the importance of motivation in attaining goals. Motivation refers to carrying out any activity with satisfaction and pleasure obtained from participating in the activity. Motivation is a combination of the drive within an individual to achieve and the outside factors which impact it. Engaging in sports out of fun and passion has proved to be a significant determinant of sport performance and persistence. Prefontaine is intrinsically motivated and this influences aspects of his behaviour, how he feels, thinks and interacts with others. High motivation is largely accepted in sport as an important condition to help athletes attain their potential. Prefontaine intrinsic motivation and his autonomy supportive surrounding are strongly associated with his success.
A sport has the ability to bring people together, it unites people in an outstanding way. Running in the movie encouraged teamwork. For teamwork to be successful it is important that team members accept each other’s errors and differences in order to achieve a common goal. There is a lot of understated bickering between Prefontaine and his coach. Prefontaine ignores the coach’s teaching and strategy and manages to set another record for himself. However, when he accepts the teachings of the coach he decides to have a new standard for himself. This eventually becomes another victory for both Bowerman and Prefontaine. Sports can also be enjoyed by a majority of people, it brings individuals together in stadiums. Majority of individuals globally come together and have fun during sports. Due to Prefontaine talent he stimulated positive effect from his fans, people came together in stadiums to receive him with cheers and jubilant cries.
The tracks in the film “Without Limits” are impressively done. The audience can feel the gasping of the runners before they successfully get into the finishing line. Additionally, people are very good at sound interpretation. Human beings have a deep understanding if the role of music. The music and soundtrack in the film impacts the audience in several ways, it sometimes induce fear and anxiety in the audience. Moreover, the editing and the music in the film support a sense of excitement, fear and anxiety when it’s appropriate.
CONCLUSION
Currently, sports industry is characterized by huge-money sporting athletes and events. Therefore, it is impressive to acknowledge a world-class competitor who based his career on his passionate love for his sport. Prefontaine was one of those outstanding athletes who set records, and left an inspiring legacy to motivate fellow athletes. The main theme of the movie is his unwavering self-belief. The movie proposes that knowing and pushing limits are crucial parts in achieving one’s dreams. Prefontaine encountered several challenges that could hinder him from running like other athletes. However, due to his abrasive personality he still proved to be a talented runner.
The role of sport in the movie was well communicated to the audience. Sport has the ability to inspire, motivate and create hope where there is despair. Sports have the ability to inspire and affect positive outcomes in the youth. Running in the film was used to demonstrate the importance of motivation in attaining goals. Moreover, sport has the ability to bring people together, it unites people in an outstanding way. Running in the movie encouraged teamwork. For teamwork to be successful it is important that team members accept each other’s errors and differences in order to achieve a common goal.
Work Cited
Without Limits. Warner Home Video, 1998. DVD.
