The Netflix documentary Cheer was a compelling glimpse into the world of competitive university-level cheer. It's a very American thing. Thanks to ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
daybreak for reccing it.
Students at Navarro College in Corsican, Texas, can earn an associate's degree in one of 99 different programs, per the website. This is usually accomplished with two years of study. Cheer coach Monica Aldama has led her squad to multiple championships.
Netflix filmed Navarro College's 2019 cheer season, leading up to the big contest against other cheer squads in Daytona, Florida. I was impressed at how quickly the filming, editing, and even music choices got me invested in some young athletes doing a sport that doesn't really interest me.
Coach Aldama could have one of those "tough love" bio-pics made about her; she gets impressive results from young athletes in a very short time span; many of those athletes are in desperate need of someone to give them structure and support. Aldama does that, but she also demands a lot from her athletes: physicality*, a 'team player' mentality, and a public persona that doesn't allow for many missteps.
I could say a lot about the individual students who get the most screen time; I was rooting for them, I hurt for them, their choices scared or thrilled me... but the show also had me thinking a lot about expectations on athletes, and what it means to be an observer in someone else's life / how being observed has an unavoidable impact on those who are the 'object' of the camera lens.
The longest-lasting thought I have is this: one of the choices made by a student after the cheer season ended may come across as "playing it safe" to the audience or as a waste of time. To spend a third year on a campus geared toward two-year degree programs: what's the point? But I have a nephew who will probably never earn a bachelor's degree; his brain doesn't work that way, and his future career plans will take more time to achieve than some of his peers. Me, I "crammed" four years of a bachelor's degree into six years. Since then, years of teaching has taught me that the pressure of "go straight to a four-year college and get that degree in that exact amount of time" just doesn't work for a lot of people, and that's okay. There are so many more paths to the next step in life than that.
( brief related spoiler, no names included )
*The physical aspect deserves the kind of consideration that we've only recently started applying to American football and concussions. It's scary to watch and contemplate the short- and long-term impact that the sport of cheerleading may have on the bodies of these kids.
daybreak for reccing it. Students at Navarro College in Corsican, Texas, can earn an associate's degree in one of 99 different programs, per the website. This is usually accomplished with two years of study. Cheer coach Monica Aldama has led her squad to multiple championships.
Netflix filmed Navarro College's 2019 cheer season, leading up to the big contest against other cheer squads in Daytona, Florida. I was impressed at how quickly the filming, editing, and even music choices got me invested in some young athletes doing a sport that doesn't really interest me.
Coach Aldama could have one of those "tough love" bio-pics made about her; she gets impressive results from young athletes in a very short time span; many of those athletes are in desperate need of someone to give them structure and support. Aldama does that, but she also demands a lot from her athletes: physicality*, a 'team player' mentality, and a public persona that doesn't allow for many missteps.
I could say a lot about the individual students who get the most screen time; I was rooting for them, I hurt for them, their choices scared or thrilled me... but the show also had me thinking a lot about expectations on athletes, and what it means to be an observer in someone else's life / how being observed has an unavoidable impact on those who are the 'object' of the camera lens.
The longest-lasting thought I have is this: one of the choices made by a student after the cheer season ended may come across as "playing it safe" to the audience or as a waste of time. To spend a third year on a campus geared toward two-year degree programs: what's the point? But I have a nephew who will probably never earn a bachelor's degree; his brain doesn't work that way, and his future career plans will take more time to achieve than some of his peers. Me, I "crammed" four years of a bachelor's degree into six years. Since then, years of teaching has taught me that the pressure of "go straight to a four-year college and get that degree in that exact amount of time" just doesn't work for a lot of people, and that's okay. There are so many more paths to the next step in life than that.
( brief related spoiler, no names included )
*The physical aspect deserves the kind of consideration that we've only recently started applying to American football and concussions. It's scary to watch and contemplate the short- and long-term impact that the sport of cheerleading may have on the bodies of these kids.
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