(spoiler-free)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to blow up existing box-office records like they were Alderaan and it was the Death Star. Whether you’re a raving fan or barely paying attention, it was hard to miss the excitement, which briefly eclipsed both the holidays and the presidential race in the public’s imagination.
If you break it down to its prehistoric DNA, the plot of “Jurassic World” and its predecessors resembles anybody’s bad day at the office: You set out to do something with good intentions and high hopes. Something goes wrong, but no big deal—there are systems to deal with it. Systems fail. Plan B is launched. Unintended consequences ensue. Repeat with Plans C, D, and E until you conclude that maybe the entire concept is flawed.
Even when no dinosaurs are involved, it’s a frustrating spiral. But short of casting an action figure to come in and save the day, what can you do when a plan you’ve worked to bring to reality goes horribly wrong?
Have you seen the commercials for the latest movies out on DVD? I would highly recommend McFarland, USA. It’s a sports movie based on a true story and features a group of kids who fall outside the mainstream, a coach with issues, some long odds, and—well, not to give away the ending, but they manage to surprise a lot of people, including themselves.
In this case, the coach (played by Kevin Costner) is a fired high school football coach and PE teacher who finds a job in an impoverished area of central California, where most of his students are from families of impoverished agricultural workers.
If you haven’t yet seen the new film directed by Angelina Jolie, Unbroken, or read the book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand, you may not even know Louis Zamperini’s name. But you should. The story of Zamperini’s life holds enough drama for half a dozen movies. It also conveys leadership lessons on perseverance, courage, teamwork, and faith that we all should learn and apply.
