I attended the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival on Tuesday, April 26 and watched the film “Boys of Summer.” I had never attended a small screening before and it was free, so I decided to go for it. The film was a documentary about a little league baseball team from Curacao. It offered an inside look at the coach, the sport, the players, the training, the season, and the culture of Curacao. In the beginning of the film I found myself drawn to the beauty of the country and the individuality of each player on the team and by the end, I was clinching my teeth hoping for a win in the championship game. There were three aspects that I contemplated upon after watching the film: unity, spreading of knowledge, and pride.

Unity was quite apparent in the film. I noticed the unity of the players to perform, unity of families to support the team, and unity of the coaches and other coordinators of the team. Each of the players on the team was unique and had their own spot on the team. By spot I don’t just mean literal playing position i.e. pitcher. I also mean each player added something to the team characteristically. One of the pitchers, Junters, who was very talented, added responsibility and inspiration to the team. Another young boy, Dennis, added humor and comedic relief to the team. Each player with his unique personality and skill united the team as a whole so the chemistry was right for success. Families came together to support the team and even traveled overseas to support their children. Upon return from away games, those who did not travel waited at the airport or bus stop to hold a “welcome home” ceremony. Having support when on a journey for a certain goal is key in success and can aid in confidence. The coach of the team united with other coaches and coordinators of the team to have the best possible training for his team. The coach was close with an older man who was well known in the baseball world in Curacao and even had a room in the field house. He was a huge asset to the team because he brought wisdom and experience to share to the players. All of this unity synchronously added to the fire of the team and their drive to be World Champions.

From the film watching experience, I realized the spreading of knowledge occurs more than we think. I had no idea what Curacao was prior “Boys of Summer” and I had little information about how intense the Little League is. I was able to see the culture of the country and see the logistics behind the Little League World Championship. My enrollment in this Humanities class opened my eyes to how much knowledge is out there to be discovered as well as how easy it is to go about finding it. From working on the time capsule projects, I have independently learned so much about four different artifacts I was clueless about before the class. I became aware that spreading knowledge is a positive action because it can allow for growth in the mind and character of a person. I realized it is viable to learn about unknown topics and now I am more likely to have an interest in new information.

The last aspect I observed in the documentary was pride. At the Little League games, you could see the different colors, flags, and signs of each section from a different country cheering for their team. There were also different chants being yelled and different national anthems sung. The people from Curacao had national pride and gladly stood behind their Little League team. Each team playing to become world champions represented their country. In a way, it was more than just a game of baseball. The teams reflected their own country’s strength. This is one of the reasons there was so much passion for the Curacao team to win. The high talent level and good sportsmanship of the Curacao team reflected a positive view of their country.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and learned new things about foreign countries, the sport of baseball, and the independent film world. I took away more than I expected from the film. I enjoyed it so much that I would like to attend next year!

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