Cool Running Movie Analysis

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Heading/Title:

Cool Runnings/First Jamaican bobsled team. Psychology themes identified in this movie, Motivation, Leadership, and Goal settings.

Plot Outline:

When Jamaican sprinter Derice Bannock is disqualified to the Olympic Game’s due to a track accident with his future bobsled teammates, he then pictures the chance to participate in bobsledding at the upcoming Olympics. He then meets the dishonored coach Irving Blitzer, disgracing himself by putting extra weights into his team's bobsled in the Olympics, resulting in his gold medals being taken away from him. Blitzer is living in the tropical country and Derice convinces him to coach the first Jamaican Bobsled Team. Then the adventure begins. They form a group with Sanka Coffie, Derices best friend. The sprinter Yul Brenner who also wanted a chance to sprint at the Olympics and the rich kid Junior Bevil who’s father forbidden him to participating on the bobsled team, he wanted him in school instead studying.. They participate without any sponsor, fly to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to participate of the XV Olympic Winter Games.
In the freezing weather Derice, Sanka, Junior and Yul are laughed at, since nobody can take a Jamaican bobsledding team led by a disgraced trainer any serious. In the end, the team fights off the negative attitudes from different countries rise up and walk across the finish line to earn everybody’s respect. Team spirit and healthy self-confidence leads to a few surprises in the upcoming Winter Games and for all to witness based on this true story.

Themes:
Motivation: From day one in the movie, focus, determination and not giving up were the main factors for winning. Derice was determined to follow in his father's footsteps and compete in the Olympi...

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...t, you'll never be enough with it." I believe that was Derices motivational factor in winning the gold not only for his coach but also his country.They were the only team with different color and still they respected all the other teams and of course their own. It comes down to this for me at least, we are given reasons to care about the characters themselves, and we are given a story that is worth following, even if we would never follow the sport itself ever. It's a sweet film, and I doubt there are more than a handful of people who could resist its charm. They started coming together when other teams started fighting them and disrespecting them. Text at the end says that Derice, Sanka, Junior, and Yul returned to Jamaica as heroes - then four years later returned to the Olympics as equals. Making this a heart-warming film for everyone to see over and over again.

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