Opinion: Dissecting the Myth Sold by The Boys in the Boat

Noah Berlatsky (@nberlat), a freelance writer in Chicago, shares his own perspective. You can find more opinion pieces by visiting CNN.

During my middle school and college years, I dedicated a decade to competitive swimming. Early mornings were routine, with 5 a.m. practices before classes, followed by hours spent in the pool or weight room after school. Many days, I didn't see the light of day, and the chlorine exposure even bleached my hair.

Noah Berlatsky

Noah Berlatsky

I loved swimming, despite not being very good at it. Despite my efforts, my physical limitations as an ectomorph with asthma meant that I could only improve so much. Coaches tried to find my niche, but eventually accepted that I wouldn't be winning any races and let me swim at my own pace in the outside lanes.

The experience of trying hard at something we care about without achieving great success is a common one, yet Hollywood tends to focus on outlier underdogs who ultimately achieve overwhelming success. This perpetuates a misleading faith in meritocracy and the idea that hard work and virtue always lead to victory. George Clooney's new film, "The Boys in the Boat," follows this familiar trajectory without much variation, making it feel overly predictable. The movie is a sports biopic about the eight-man crew team from the University of Washington that qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Nazi Berlin.

The main character is Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a first-year engineering student who has been deserted by his father. Joe is essentially without a home; he is unable to afford his tuition and fears that he will be expelled from school. He decides to join the crew team in order to receive the team stipend and access to housing reserved for student athletes.

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The film is based on the real events recounted in Daniel James Brown's 2013 nonfiction book. However, the decision to share this story is clearly influenced by its potential to succeed in Hollywood. Similar to the horse racing movie "Seabiscuit" (2003) and the fictional film about unlikely music stars, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000), the Great Depression serves as a backdrop of poverty and desperation. Joe and most of his teammates are motivated by their lack of options. With limited knowledge of rowing, they join the team as they have little else to fall back on.

The inexperienced but determined rowers caught the eye of their coach, Al Ulbrickson (played by Joel Edgerton), who saw potential in the young men. With hard work and perseverance, they overcame elitist skepticism and the manipulations of East Coast rivals like Harvard to make history. This theme of underdogs achieving victory is a common one in Hollywood films, such as "The Karate Kid" (1984), "Hoosiers" (1986), "Bring It On" (2000), "Miracle" (2004), "Pitch Perfect" (2012), and many others, depicting unlikely heroes prevailing through dedication and virtue.

Hollywood sometimes portrays underdogs who truly fail, but these failures are not typically attributed to bad luck or lack of resources. Instead, they are often depicted as being the result of personal flaws or weaknesses.

For instance, in the film "Nightmare Alley" (2021), the character Stan (played by Bradley Cooper) is fatherless and impoverished during the Great Depression, much like Joe Rantz. Both characters find their niche, with Stan gravitating towards carny card-reading psychic sideshows and Joe joining a crew. Despite their different paths, both characters work diligently to achieve success in their respective fields.

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Joe is the complete opposite of Stan. He is faithful to his girlfriend and does not engage in cheating or stealing. Stan's downfall is a result of his bad choices and moral character, not just due to economic hardships. This raises the question of what a film would look like if it did not always portray the most hardworking and virtuous individuals as the winners. One possible example is Kelly Reichardt's "Showing Up," which features a slow-paced storyline with a protagonist, Lizzy, who is not particularly successful as an artist.

Lizzy approaches her art with meticulous obsession, but without much recognition. Her reward is the art itself, and (maybe) the appreciation of friends and family. The film lacks a compelling storyline because Lizzy does not have a clear narrative journey; she is not seeking fame, fortune, or Olympic glory.

Reichardt's art (like Lizzy's) has a limited audience. "Showing Up" may do moderately well during awards season, but it was never meant to be a blockbuster. One irony of these films about underdogs is that the films themselves are not underdogs. There is an endless demand for stories that depict the idea that hard work is rewarded, and that good, attractive, all-American individuals find success in love and achieve great things.

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In reality, having a significant amount of capital (such as real estate heir Donald Trump) often leads to the most success in any pursuit, while hardworking individuals like Lizzy typically receive only modest recognition at best. While it's nice to imagine a world where meritocracy reigns, it would be refreshing to see more films like "Showing Up" that showcase the underdog who puts in every effort but ultimately falls short.

Being a very average athlete myself, I would like to watch that movie. It's important to remember that not everyone has the same resources as world-class athletes, like Joe, and they also deserve a chance to succeed. When we emphasize that hard work and virtue alone lead to success, it becomes a justification for not helping those with fewer resources. Why provide assistance to Joe when he can achieve success on his own merits? "The Boys in the Boat" is meant to be motivational, but the idea of meritocracy, when repeated enough, becomes a reason to disregard those who are not the most outstanding successes, leaving them to struggle.