In the American spelling bee competitions, for quite
sometime now, students of Indian origin have been winning laurels, beating
their American counterparts. However, the pain and hardwork that goes into
achieving that feat is anybody’s guess. Spelling bee is not just another
competition. Preparation for it needs a scientific approach, learning the root
of the words, their formation, understanding as to from which language they
have come to English and so on.
Director: Doug Atchison
Film clip
However, can this competition also be fun, if taken with the
right sportsmanship? Why not!
Here is a film Akheela
and the Bee. The protagonist in the film, a black girl Akheela Anderson
(Keika Palmer), wants to achieve something more than mere name and fame for
herself, by winning the spelling bee at the highest level. She is the daughter
of a widow, who struggles to make ends meet. The family has several internal
problems. However, for Akheela playing with spellings is a passion.
The film is somewhat like a sports thriller. Of course, here
the contenders do not play with balls and bats, but with spellings. And it is Akheela
who steals the show, teaching a lesson or two in sportsmanship to her main
opponent, a boy of Chinese origin.
The message that the film sends across is that it is
important to work hard with determination to reach the highest goal that you
have set for yourself. However, life is not only about that. There is more to
life than just achieving the only goal of your life. How true! To those scores
of young people who easily give up when they fail to achieve the aim of their
life, perhaps this film has a message. Yes, Akheela goes on to achieve what she
values most in life – a prize in spelling bee at the highest level. But, not at
the cost of cherishing the beauty of life, unlike the more ambitious parents who
make the life of their children miserable by setting unreasonable and unrealistic
goals. May Akheela’s tribe increase.
- Melwyn Pinto SJ
Parents need to concentrate on the inborn abilities of the children, and mould them in their likeness to excel in that line which they are interested. Then we will see the real worth, capacity and talent of the children.
ReplyDeleteAkhila and the Bee is a very interesting movie. It is a great lesson for the parents and children. Many times parents give only importance for the academic performance; they don’t give any preference for the other abilities of the children. In this film too same thing happens; mother doesn’t want that her daughter to go for spell bee test owing to her studies. Here we can see how a girl reaches her goal.
To reach a goal is not that easy, and we can not reach without the help of the others. In this she faced different obstacles in reaching that goal, but her interest in reaching that goal helped her to overcome everything, even to the extent of putting the sign of the parent, traveling so far to a school where her friends are learning spelling through passing the ball etc. Also the encouragement of her mother, brother, teacher, principal, and professor helpes her to concentrate on her ability.
The part of a professor who trains her vigorously plays a vital role. He understands the worth of that girl and is able to bring out the ability very systematically.
Another thing I liked in this movie is, how a boy who came to the last round, when he fails in the last round, he takes it very positively. This is also important because for some people it is very tough to take the failure positively. We can see the students committing suicide when they fail in the exams. This movie has its own impact on different types of people.
Amitha SDS