MovieChat Forums > Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) Discussion > The schoolteacher made very odd comments

The schoolteacher made very odd comments


About Josh and compared chess to playing cards as if being a chess genius is no big deal.

Josh's father was outraged by what she said.

Why did she make those comments?

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she's an american

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The boy was putting too much time into chess and was falling behind in everything else.

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Chess was not a big deal to her...she thought of it as a hobby that was hurting his school work.

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"His D-bag of a father overreacted."

I disagree. She was questioning his fitness as a parent.

Then she compares chess to pinochle? What a stupid thing to say to the father of a chess genius!

He sorted her out good.

Watch the scene again and you will likely agree with me.

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I agree, The Laura Linney character was way out of line. She was using 'feminist' jargon to belittle the father.

The only thing that bothers me is that the filmmaker doesn't make it clear that she's in the wrong. In fact, the mother pretty much agrees with her.

This is a great film, but it has some minor flaws, like this one.

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There was nothing remotely "feminist" about what she said. Gender was not mentioned.

What the teacher was saying was that Josh's social development and his academic work were both suffering because he was concentrating so much time and energy on chess. A child of his age is developing his personality, and she was concerned that he was not developing these other aspects and becoming a well-rounded person. It was a reasonable concern, even if her choice of pinochle as an analogy wasn't the best one she could have chosen.

Prodigies are often encouraged to focus so much upon their area of talent that they fail to develop other important aspects of their character. You see this in high-level athletics, in music, in spelling and geography bee contestants, etc. It's a tricky balance, developing special gifts while still being a "normal" person. This film illustrated that dilemma beautifully.

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Prodigies are often encouraged to focus so much upon their area of talent that they fail to develop other important aspects of their character. You see this in high-level athletics, in music, in spelling and geography bee contestants, etc. It's a tricky balance, developing special gifts while still being a "normal" person. This film illustrated that dilemma beautifully.


I agree with this assessment. It works within the context of Bobby Fischer, who was said to have never had a childhood.

I thought the teacher (Laura Linney) was condescending and out of line. She should have made her suggestion, and left it at that, rather than getting into an argument. She came off as a little bitchy, Linney plays that part very well.

Its a pretty minor detail. But the film makers put it in there for a purpose, maybe to support the mother's perspective.

As I said, it s great film, but it has some flaws. The characters of Josh's parents are sort of simplistic.

As for Josh's dilemma, the solution was somewhere in between.

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The father was being an arrogant prick.

The teacher knows what is best for Josh and is just trying to point out how his studies are suffering because he is spending too much time on the chess thing.
The dad is way too stuck up, proud and arrogant to want to listen to her.
He was in the wrong in thinking he knew what was best for Josh.

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absolutely not. Any decent parent knows far better than any teacher what is best for the child.









Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
if your cup is full, may it be again

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The father was right to be angry. The teacher should have realized that Josh was a real prodigy at chess and when you are that good at a thing you concentrate your efforts on getting better at it, and not just be an average student that would forget 9o% of what he had learned after graduation. I bet she would have been more supporting if Josh was an athlete.

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"I bet she would have been more supporting if Josh was an athlete."
GREAT POINT!

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heheh Laura Linney is a lil cutie but damn comparing cards to chess is pretty dumb.. I agreed with the dad all the way.

imagine someone said to Mozart's parents 'heyyy your 3 year old son who is already composing should maybe learn how to play baseball hmm?' dafuq

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No way the teacher was all the way correct - she raised reasonable points but in a condescending, small-minded way.

Some actors, while talented, are so effective at certain "types" that their very casting is a kind of shorthand.

Hal Holbrook is the kindly gentleman who's cold and evil inside.

Gene Hackman is the cocky, smart-aleck who's basically decent at the core.

Patrick Wilson is a the smart, charming, seemingly perfect man who's got a sleazy side.

And Laura Linney is the prim, proper but small-minded teacher-type with barely-hidden condescension oozing out of her.

They're all great actors, in my opinion, but they each truly excel in their respective specialties.

So, Josh's dad did overreact and did get too involved with Josh's chess ... but the director chose Linney for a reason - he wanted us to, at least for that scene, be on Fred Waitzkin's side.

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