I feel like, as of right now, movies have stopped implementing societal pressures and issues that give us a new perspective on the world.
Though there are movies like “Barbie” and “The Sound of Freedom” that bring to light the core problems that our social state is currently in, most don’t give any more substance and just feel very surface level.
That’s why going back in time to the 1983 film, “Quarterback Princess” shows an early perspective on what feminism is as well as diminishing gender roles in a time like the 1900s.
This is a story told about a teenage girl, Tami Maida, from Canada who moved to Oregon with her family and wanted to join the local football team at her new school.
As the plot thickens, of course at that time period there was an array of disagreements from the people in the town who never really experienced a girl wanting to play a “boy sport” before.
What was more shocking to the people in the town was the fact that Tami was genuinely a good quarterback. Yet, there were still discrepancies against her playing football.
One of the core moments within the film is specifically the scene where Tami goes on her first date with Scott Massey, a popular guy, and he takes her on this crazy tree-climbing activity because she plays a “boy sport”. Tami runs away screaming at him that even though she plays football, she’s still a girl and likes what is considered “regular girl things”.
Though this isn’t what truly captures the ambiance of the film, once he catches up to her Scott asks her, “So if you’re not a boy, and you’re not a girl, then what are you?” to which Tami responds. “I’m just me”.
And it makes sense. Why do we as a society have to label everything with a title and not just give out life? But I also think what’s so hard for me with this movie and any other film alike is that I wouldn’t have any opposition to what Tami is doing, so why should other people?
Something a little more interesting about the film is that it’s based on the true story of Tami Maida. In fact, in some scenes where Helen Hunt, who played Tami, was playing football, Maida was actually her stand-in for most of the game scenes.
For a pretty old film, it does its job but I think, given the time period, it gives a whole new perspective on women’s rights and gender roles in a sports setting rather than just the primary subject.
It’s cheesy, I’m not going to lie, a lot of what happens is predictable but aren’t those movies always the best ones? As much as you can sort of guess where the plot is going, it’s also pretty addicting to watch.
The “Quarterback Princess” gives its audience an early take on hesitations within the world and how we as people can react to them rather than just make a big show of it; it gives an insight into the future.