Visual Discrepancy

W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel Shoeless Joe follows the story of an idealist who aspires to build a sizable baseball field on account of mystical voice. Nevertheless, Kinsella doesn’t only write about the obstacle behind the laborious journey but also compacts the story with the element of redemption, love and one’s personal goals and life dreams. It is about the ability to realize the most esoteric dreams. It is about one’s need for closure to allow them to conclude an unresolved issue that had previously been clouded in ambiguity and uncertainty. It is about gaining real happiness and the hard work to attain it. As expected, the limitless fantasy pieces of the novel perform in a pleasuring manner with the magnificent visualization of the film adaptation from Phil Alden Robinson’s 1989 film Field of Dreams and render a magical fantasy that enhances the audience’s euphoria. While the novel is definitely an American classic work, the film version more effectively illustrates the magic of Ray’s journey. Accordingly, the two perspective audiences can harmonically agree and share the equivalent intense moment over the journey of the main characters. On account of Kinsella’s wondrous literary technique to use first person point-of-view and Robinson’s ingenious techniques on special effects, the audience is able to grasp the strength of the scene depicting the physical and emotional transformation of Archie Graham very profoundly.

When Karin accidentally fell from the bleacher, Archie Graham decides to help but realizes by stepping off the field “divider” of the two worlds, he would morph into the old “Doc” Graham, but yet he chooses to continue. The prominent scene is quite significant for the reason that the audience is given the ability ...

... middle of paper ...

...eld, even though initially they are clueless of what they pursue. It is conveyed through the story’s message that they don’t know have to know what they’re looking for, as they just have to start looking. It is their choices that show what they truly are, far more than their abilities. Additionally, the simple story of one farmer’s dream to build a baseball field and the conflict that arises in the process gives the viewer a sense of hope and enthusiasm of one’s dream. “"There is a magic about it, you have to be there to feel the magic" (Kinsella 98).

Works Cited

Field of Dreams. Dir. Phil A. Robinson. Perf. Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta. Universal Pictures, 1989. DVD.

Kinsella, W. P. Shoeless Joe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. Print.

Petrie, Dennis W., and Joseph M. Boggs. The Art of Watching Films. Dubuque: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2012. Print.