Cultural Differences In The Football Coach By Jim White

This movie was based on a true story that depicts daily cultural struggles that Hispanic children had to face in order to pursue their passion for cross country. Jim White was a football coach who got fired for threatening one of his players for being ignorant and uncooperative. White then moves to a new environment than what he was accustomed to. After being hired at McFarland high school, he was given a position as a football coach but after budding heads with the previous football coach, he created a cross country team. White spent his time recruiting and encouraging Hispanic students who ran fast in order to join his team. He made his athletes run for several hours a day but he was not aware of the true reality that his athletes faced every

The character that faced cultural and lifestyle differences the most was Jim White because due to circumstances he left everything he had known behind and moved to a more culturally diverse environment. He became exposed to a different culture and customs in which was hard for him to get used to. White also faced various lifestyle differences throughout the entire movie. For example, White was not accustomed to waking up by the crowing of the roaster early in the morning when first moving into his new home but he later got used to it. Another lifestyle example was when White was invited to a Mexican dinner in which he saw how they all sat together in harmony and discussed how their day went. White did not experience this with his family in the beginning but throughout the movie, he starts to incorporate new changes at the dinner

I grew up in a very Mexican household meaning that I was raised by strict Catholic parents, grew up to love Mexican food, and was expected to follow my family’s customs and traditions. As I became aware of my surroundings as I got older, I was noticing that my friends at school came from different cultural backgrounds. Instead of shaming them for their cultural identity, I was totally amazed how they did things differently because of their culture. Being open-minded, much like coach White, opens the door to new experiences and possibilities that can make a meaningful impact. McFarland, USA relates to my own life by portraying my entire cultural background within the entire film. Much like White’s daughter, I also had a Quinceañera where my parents and relatives celebrated my rite of passage into adulthood. Much like the Hispanic family eating dinner together, my family comes together for dinner and we all discuss how our day went while we all eat dinner. Much like the town people, my entire family is willing to help those in need no matter the situation. Various traditions that were portrayed in this film relate to the traditions that my family follows as well, in which allowed me to relate to this film the most. After watching McFarland, USA, I have learned to never judge a book by its cover and that life is full of surprises. This film incorporated the