Richard Williams sacrifices the fate of his first five children for the next five. He then sacrifices the fate of his three daughters for the remaining two. Then finally, he sacrifices one of the remaining children for another. As to why he does this, we can give answers that are kind-hearted, cynical, or declaratively condemnatory. I don't know how much it was in Richard Williams' character to consciously and deliberately manufacture black idols of his children who would inspire generations of African-Americans with their success stories, and how much it was dominant in his desire to unload the racist abuse he himself suffered on majority white society in such an indirect way. Sadly, no sadly, meanwhile, the father pressed Serena and Venus into stardom by the means of what the film euphemised as playful, but still just hardcore means, while sadly, no sadly, as a side circumstance, becoming a star himself, enjoying the celebrity lifestyle in front of the cameras and making a shet ton of money.
This kind of genius building, where the child is the nail and the father is the hammer that drives them relentlessly into the tree, is to me somewhat revolting, and however much it may be ideologised by the fact of discrimination and poverty, it still borders on child abuse in my eyes. And the film teases with these issues when the wife takes Richard Williams to account for his motives, but nevertheless glorifies the father who, stomping on the backs of his 'not destined for success' children, pushes Serena and Venus to the top of the podium. He was a seer! A visionary! Oh, the master plan! He was right all along! Well, perhaps it's the kings and not the kingmaker who should be celebrated. Cause it kind of stinks this way. It does not leave a good taste in the mouth.
The story itself was for me suspiciously convenient, too clean and polished. The experience is that reality is not like that, and even if facts were not deliberately distorted, important details were omitted which would have been unpleasant for the narrative that was ironed into the edge. This film could have been exciting if it had gone deeper into the question of whether it is permissible to use this level of force on a child? Because the answer is not "but the girls are world champions! Look how many medals they won! It just proves that it works, which we have known for a few hundred years. It's not a big revelation. But the moral aspect of it would be interesting to go around, and you could even nuance it by adding the reality of the racial issue if you wanted to. This is an action that the film did not take, because it would have involve taking risks and potentially making divisive content. And that is something to be wary of like a fire. So let's stick to the level of a feel-good movie with a puddle of depth, shall we?
This kind of genius building, where the child is the nail and the father is the hammer that drives them relentlessly into the tree, is to me somewhat revolting, and however much it may be ideologised by the fact of discrimination and poverty, it still borders on child abuse in my eyes. And the film teases with these issues when the wife takes Richard Williams to account for his motives, but nevertheless glorifies the father who, stomping on the backs of his 'not destined for success' children, pushes Serena and Venus to the top of the podium. He was a seer! A visionary! Oh, the master plan! He was right all along! Well, perhaps it's the kings and not the kingmaker who should be celebrated. Cause it kind of stinks this way. It does not leave a good taste in the mouth.
The story itself was for me suspiciously convenient, too clean and polished. The experience is that reality is not like that, and even if facts were not deliberately distorted, important details were omitted which would have been unpleasant for the narrative that was ironed into the edge. This film could have been exciting if it had gone deeper into the question of whether it is permissible to use this level of force on a child? Because the answer is not "but the girls are world champions! Look how many medals they won! It just proves that it works, which we have known for a few hundred years. It's not a big revelation. But the moral aspect of it would be interesting to go around, and you could even nuance it by adding the reality of the racial issue if you wanted to. This is an action that the film did not take, because it would have involve taking risks and potentially making divisive content. And that is something to be wary of like a fire. So let's stick to the level of a feel-good movie with a puddle of depth, shall we?