Motif is a fundamental element of any story since actions of all characters are stipulated by a particular cause that shapes their behavior. Therefore, a motif could also be defined as a central idea of a story, which constantly appears in different situations or visual elements of the movie. In such a way, it correlates with the central theme and adds sense to various events. Race is a sports biographical movie.
It exhibits the story of Jesse Owens who becomes a legendary athlete through hard work, dedication, and struggle (Schaap, 2015). The film reveals the efforts the protagonist has to make in order to overcome various obstacles in his life and sports paths. In general, the work displays the continuous struggle of the main hero with his weaknesses and prejudices that have existed during the time shown in the film. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the motif of struggle that can be traced throughout the movie.
General Description and Scene Analysis
The film reveals the story of an African-American person who comes from an ordinary family that does not possess much wealth. Nonetheless, the young man is gifted physically. Due to his outstanding athletic potential, the man is enrolled in the university athletics team in Ohio in which he starts his career under the strict guidance of his coach (Schaap, 2015). The central themes of the work are the outstanding power of will and the determination to meet all challenges to attain success. Therefore, the main motif of the movie is the internal and external struggle of the African-American male with the existing biases.
Overall, the work displays the three most important years in the life of Jesse Owens, a legendary black American runner who has to fight against racial discrimination and prejudiced attitudes. However, despite all the problems, he manages to achieve success and become strong enough to take part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016). The plot emphasizes the main motif of the movie, which is the readiness to overcome all obstacles and demonstrate an outstanding power of will to reach significant results.
The first scene in the movie immediately introduces the motif of struggle to the viewer. In particular, it demonstrates a young African-American male who lives in harsh conditions. He has only one shirt while a jacket that his Mom gives him is too expensive for them (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016).
Despite the pressing conditions, Jesse decides to go to the University. The setting intends to place the audience in the context of discrimination to make viewers realize how difficult it is for a black man to achieve his aim when living and functioning in a discriminating environment. In such a way, from the very first scenes of the movie, it can be observed that the primary motif is the power of will supported by readiness to face all difficulties and determination to achieve success.
Another scene exposing the audience to the main motif of the movie is the conflict on the bus. Apart from the leitmotif, this part of the movie allows the viewer to understand the main character and the overall idea of the movie better. During his short journey on the public transport, Jesse accidentally touches a white woman. She becomes unpleased of this event and offends him by a biased attitude (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016).
The episode exhibits segregation peculiar to the society of that time and the complexity of the issue Jesse has to solve to become successful. Despite the fact that all the people on the bus had an equal right to travel, and their background or some other differences did not imply superiority over others, the woman did feel the need to display her disapproval and dissatisfaction that an African-American male had touched her.
The episode is crucial in the context of the entire movie since it reveals that discrimination is experienced in different aspects of life, and it can frequently be met in daily settings and environments (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016). Jessy has to struggle with segregation even when he travels on public transport in the same manner as everybody else.
The movie also shows how difficult it is for Jesse to go to the Olympics in Germany. In one of the scenes, the whole family is sitting together discussing his visit to Nazi Germany. The situation is complicated by the fact that NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) does not recommend Jesse to go there due to certain political issues (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016). However, he decides to go and shows his desire to struggle and become a winner despite all the problems that may appear.
One of the scenes that should be discussed in the light of the motif of struggle is connected to the visit of Hitler. It is his first visit to the stadium. It is vividly displayed in the movie that thousands of people are greeting him using a Nazi salute (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016). However, Jesses face demonstrates resolution and readiness to give a dare and destroy ideas of the superiority of a particular race. This moment correlates with the main motif of the movie.
Interestingly, the movie has numerous scenes that help to comprehend the central ideas better. The scene demonstrating the reward that comes from hard work and willpower needed to face all challenges additionally highlights the key topic of the movie. When Jesse wins a triumphant victory in Nazi Berlin, he is not only pleased that his hard work has brought him a remarkable result but also because he can debunk the existing myth of the superiority of certain nations (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016). Due to the conquest of four medals in the competition, the main character defies Hitler and his propaganda of racial discrimination. Thus, this scene shows the victory of the protagonist over himself and racism through struggle.
Finally, the scenes depicting Jesses victory and his inability to enter the restaurant because of his race complete the main characters image and help viewers understand the leading motif (Brunig & Hopkins, 2016). Although the dinner is dedicated to him, he has to get to the place through the back door. Since Jesse has a mentality of a winner, and he always achieves his goals, he takes all the challenges stoically. The significance of this scene, as well as of the motif in general, lies in the idea that the African-American man has been able to achieve a lot while society still has a long path to social justice and equality.
The struggle of the protagonist with society and himself can be considered the main motif of the story as all Jesse’s actions and decisions are stipulated by the desire to move forward and prove society that race does not give ground for oppression or injustice.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the movie Race revolves around the motif of internal and external struggle. The main character devotes his life to sports, and rivalry is an integral part of his life. For this reason, the protagonists should be able to overcome obstacles and compete not only with his direct rivals but also with society and its biased attitude.
References
Brunig, K. (Producer), & Hopkins, S. (Director). (2016). Race [Motion picture]. United States: Focus Features.
Schaap, J. (2015). Triumph: The untold story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.