Was this movie an example of racist thinking in the early '70s? Shouldn't it have been a black athlete that the coach found in Africa? How many white guys are actually running around in the African jungle?
shareumm, probably quite a few in South Africa.
shareNot overtly racist - why, cause at the time all of hollywood was racist in the sense that there were so few black actors of any sort. Today, there wouldn't be even a second thought - he would be black - period. Even Villanova (the school in the movie) had two of the finest olympic black track stars of the time before this picture was made - Frank Budd and Paul Drayton - I know cause I went there in the early 60s. Still, a nice movie for the kids.
shareIt's been awhile since I seen this movie but in the end didnt the coaches see another boy (black) in africa to bring back?
shareNo, in the end of the movie (and book) the coaches went on a trip to CHINA and saw a Chinese boy running fast next to the great wall. The coach then took off after him, much to the consternation of the other coach.
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Frankly, I was surprised how nondiscriminatory this movie was. Dr. Gazenga was clearly more educated than the rest of the doctors (and more wise than all of the Americans). This is completely unheard of in this day and age; no non-Westerner would be the most intelligent person in the movie. And, for that matter, Dr. Gazenga's comments and practices were to some extent based more on thought (and research into "Jungle Medicine") than archetypal medicine-men.
Disney movies have gone down-hill since this movie, I guess. Instead of glorifying Western society, they diminished it next to more 'primitive' civilizations. I thought this was a highly insightful film.
The (not particularly plausible) explanation given in the movie is that Nanu is the son of white missionaries.
shareWhy is that not plausible? A friend of mine is the daughter of missionaries, came back to the US at 13, never having seen it, and graduated with honors from the Naval Academy.
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How about the fairly progressive idea of having a black head coach in 1972? I think that deserves some attention here, too.
shareThen again, shouldn't coach Sam Archer have been white? There weren't many head black coaches in college sports then. There were assistant sports coaches in colleges who were black, sure. Coach Archer probably was black because John Amos was very well cast as Coach Archer, and Amos happened to be both black and almost certainly cheap to hire, as his acting career was just starting. Star Jan Michael Vincent also could not have cost that much to hire. Walt Disney Pictures then and now was a pinchpenny operation.
shareRacist!
shareMaybe not because it was kind of a Tarzan story. BUT, why oh why John Amos third in the credits???
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