Reflect on this comment attributed to the producer
of The White Shadow, Mark Tinker: “it was the first television series to
faithfully portray a sport; but more than a series on basketball, it was a series on the concept of ‘fish out
of water.’” How does the pilot episode lay the foundation for this messaging?
Post your response in comments.
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The pilot lays the foundation for the “fish out of water” theme with the white professional NBA player in a predominantly black environment, Reeves is immediately an odd man out. But beyond the physical environment, it is set in Reeves’ transition from professional basketball player to high school coach. Reeves was a “fish out of water” no longer being able to play professional basketball and having to find a new occupation while dealing with his life altering injury.
Going back to becoming the coach of a predominantly black and impoverished team, he did not fit in with the team, and initially failed to garner respect amongst his players. Here the showrunners lay the foundation for the theme in the team’s lack of respect for him, but also in the lack of respect he has for the team. The showrunners purposely frame Reeves as a character that does not understand his situation, to show his growth as a character and his ability to navigate a new and uncertain situation and environment. This lays foundation for the “fish out of water” narrative specifically seen in a man who does not fully understand what others around him are going through and why.
Beyond Reeves and the team, the show displays the “fish out of water” narrative in other characters and situations. For example, with Reeves’ sister being volunteered to watch Heyward’s brother and her reluctance and unsure behavior; but also, Heyward’s brother not knowing what a Den is. Here both characters are uncomfortable in new unfamiliar situations, the showrunners here design the impact of social class and upbringing on an individual. Overall, a display of the “fish out of water” theme beyond Reeves and the basketball team.
The pilot episode of The White Shadow successfully lays the foundation for the concept of being a “fish out of water.” The episode begins with Ken Reeves, a successful NBA player, injuring his knee. After being approached by an old teammate, Reeves decides to move to LA to coach at Carver High School, a predominately black inner-city school. Reeves immediately becomes a “fish out of water” since he is a white coach to a mostly black team, and he is surrounded by an all-black school administration. There are evident tensions almost immediately between Coach Reeves and the school Vice Principal, who tells him “Don’t come charging in here like the white knight.” Coach Reeves is also a “fish out of water” due to his transition from playing professionally and constantly traveling, to staying in one place coaching a group of boys who don’t seem to show him respect (at first). Coach Reeves is brutally honest with the players and, despite his initial aggravations with the players' inability to stay out of trouble, eventually comes to want them to succeed in life, not just on the court. This is another way that this episode may be displaying the message of being a “fish out of water.” Not only does the Coach seem to not really belong, but he seems to be encouraging his player to also become “fish out of water.” In a town where getting into trouble is normal and a significant portion of the population is poorly educated, Coach Reeves encourages his players to go out and make something of themselves, even outside of basketball. This is evident from the measures he takes to encourage Hayward to return to school and get a job in order to help support his siblings and mother.
The pilot episode of "The White Shadow" sets the tone of being a fish out of water successfully. With Coach Reeves, the narrative is displayed in two main ways. The first way is by him being a coach of a predominantly black team as a white male. When he first meets the team, he is unsure of how to go about their respective personalities and qualities of each person. Because of this, he seeks to learn more about the people on his team through the principal and vice principal, who in addition to knowing the most about the individuals are also African-American, which assists the coach in understanding them better. Through these processes, he is able to begin the process of making his team the best they can be, which is shown in them winning the game during the last scene.
The narrative is also displayed through Reeves transitioning from a professional athlete to a high school coach. When Reeves is initially approached about the job, he is very skeptical that he will be able to do well. Despite this, he trusts in his college friend and accepts the job anyways. He still is shown having questions as to how to properly coach the kids, but as the episode progresses, he begins to learn how to teach rather than just show how to play the game.
Mark Tinker utilizes conflicts and contrasts between Coach Reeves and his inner-city team that many in the school system had deemed problem children. As Reeves transitions into a coaching role, his job calls on him to fulfill his responsibilities by becoming more understanding and developing as a moral and physical mentor for his team. For Reeves, his team, and the audience, the inability for Reeves to relate to his players develops a feeling of "fish out of water" in White Shadow. Reeves initially struggles to understand why the players play basketball, unable to relate his recent professional experiences with their treatment of basketball as a hobby. Furthermore, the social and economic differences between Reeves and his team displayed through Hayward's explanation and backstory. However, Reeves works to support his players in the ways that he can, accepting that he might not understand or relate to their struggles. The pilot episode purposefully reinforces that one critical aspect of being a good team is trusting each other, sometimes even blindly. At Carver High, Reeves must abandon his understanding of coaching as it existed during his professional career, where athletes keep their careers and home lives separate, freeing coaches to focus their players on basketball. Reeves' situation and development as a high school coach portrays the "fish out of water" messaging by emphasizing Reeves' new attempts at building relationships with his players to promote buy-in on the team, creating coach-player relationships in a way he had likely not experienced in the NBA. Through the pilot, Tinker established that Reeves will embrace being a "fish out of water" by briefly showing his transition from a player to a coach and a teammate to a mentor.
After viewing the pilot of The White Shadow, the concept of “fish out of water” was quite prevalent. The audience is introduced to Ken Reeves, a former professional basketball player who accepts the job as head high school basketball coach after career-ending injuries. However, this is no easy job as Reeves, a white, financially-well professional, is tasked with working in a lower-income, racially diverse environment. The story in the pilot lays the framework of what Reeves will do to help his players become not just better basketball players, but better people. Many of the visual elements shown illustrate this divide between Reeves and the environment he is in. For instance, he is shown living in a suburban home and driving a nice car. In contrast, the school is shown as being “run-down” and with trash strewn about. Along with that, the players are all from rougher backgrounds. The overarching mentality of many people in this environment is dissimilar to that of Reeves too. Reeves is there because he wants to be since he accepted the challenge of coaching for the love of the game, knowing he would not make as much money. On the other hand, everyone else is there and working hard for money (such as Hayward, and even the English teacher). Overall, this episode provides a nice insight into the “fish out of water” concept that looks to be explored greater throughout the series.
The narrative of a "fish out of water" is highly prevalent throughout the course of the pilot episode of The White Shadow. The protagonist, Ken Reeves, is a former professional basketball player who, after injuring his knee, is employed by an old friend to coach basketball at Carver High School, a mostly black school in Los Angeles. This new role that Reeves adopts is obviously out of his depth, as he begins to clash with his players almost immediately. Coach Reeves' different perspective on the game from his players is evident during the scene where Coach Reeves visits James Hayward at his house, saying he wants to see how the other half lives. Coach Reeves isn't used to the life he's seeing at Carver High, as further evidenced by the way he dressed and by the way he talks as opposed to how the students dress and talk at Carver High. This juxtaposition of lifestyles demonstrates the "fish out of water" themes to a high degree.
After viewing the pilot episode of "White Shadow," the idea of "fish out of water" is prevalent. The opening scene depicts Ken Reeves, a white, financially stable, pro-basketball player who recently injured his knee. He is then asked to be the coach for Carver High School in Los Angeles. Right from the start there is evidence supporting the concept of 'fish out of water.' In the opening angle of Carver High School, one of the 'o's in "school" is missing, and the front yard of the high school is covered with trash. Carver High School is a predominately black, low-income high school. Reeves comes into his first day working as the coach dressed in a suit and tie, immediately making the divide that Reeves comes from a different background and lifestyle. Furthermore, he immediately starts to clash with the players especially James Heyward. He then goes to visit him in his home saying the line, "I wanted to see how the other half lives." Reeves is depicted in the show as driving a nice car and living in a suburban home. Heyward's home, however, is more run down, and he must work while in high school to help pay for his mom's medical bills. Reeves also mentions to the principal that he must get "bailed out every twenty minutes" suggesting that he does not believe he belongs there. Reeves eventually realizes that he cannot just teach these athletes the game of basketball, but he also must help them navigate their lives as young men. This episode lays the foundation for this contrast between Reeves and his players, suggesting that even though Reeves might not feel as though he belongs there, he will try everything to prove he does have an influential position at this school.
In "The White Shadow", the film begins with Ken Reeves, a white professional basketball player whose career is recently over due to an injury, accepting a coaching position at an inner-city predominately black high school. Reeves is quickly depicted “as a fish out of water” through the conversations he has with other staff members about the struggles he’s having, his inability to initially communicate with and effectively teach the players (as he has never coached before), and his ability to foster respect and relationships with the players. Because he has not coached before, and he is also in an environment very different than the environment he was previously in, Reeves begins to learn through interactions with the players and their families, as well as with conversations with administration, the ways that he must adapt and grow his mindset and attitude to the players. Initially, it is evident to viewers that he is “a fish out of water” by the quick frustrations he feels at the first few practices and the first game, leaving practice when he gets angry, grabbing a player by the jersey, and in many other instances. However, as he begins to show the players respect, drive, and devotion, he also begins to receive it in return.
This episode of "The White Shadow” portrayed the “fish out of water” concept in more ways than one. First of all, main character Ken Reeves begins the episode as a professional basketball player seemingly in his prime. Thanks to a serious injury to his knee, he is forced to begin rehab and try to work his way back onto the court. After another one of Reeves’ games on the bench, his friend appears and talks to him about how slim the chances are of him ever seeing the court again. With this, he offers Reeves a coaching job at Carver High School - an offer that Reeves says is “irresistible.” This brings on the first “fish out of water” situation with him transitioning from a professional sports player to a coach in a high school environment that Reeves is very unfamiliar with. The second situation comes when Reeves gets to know his team and their backstories. Most of his players are black, and quite a few of them are in trouble - both academically, and with the law. Navigating this new inner-city environment is a challenge for Reeves at first, but he quickly falls into the “fatherly” role of a coach and brings it upon himself to try and help his players be more than athletes, but also functioning members of society. This brings on another “fish out of water” situation, as when we see Reeves’ home we see a nice suburban home that is clean and has high-end vehicles outside, but when he takes a trip to James Heyward’s house, we see a run-down home with garbage littered everywhere, and no father in the family at all and a mother who is sick in the hospital.
The pilot episode lays the foundation for the messaging of Mark Tinker through the use of an NBA player, Ken Reeves, adapting to a new environment full of various challenges. The episode begins with Ken getting injured during one of his games and though he tries to recover, he eventually accepts a position from his principal friend, Willis, as a basketball coach for Carver High School. Carver High School is a vastly different environment than what Ken is used to and after meeting with the players of the team and Willis, Ken realizes the team is disorganized, is not doing well in school, and even has a criminal history. Ken talks to his sister and even mentions that he doesn't know if his metabolism can handle not getting on and off a plane every day. During the team’s first game, they lose by 47 points, and afterward, the vice principal of Carver High, Simon, informs Ken of Hayward quitting school because Ken grabbed him in the locker room. Simon reacts to Ken’s behavior by saying that he is cocky and sarcastic and that he doesn’t know anything about education. At the next practice, Ken wins the respect of the team after winning a 2v1 game and then drives to Hayward’s home to understand why Hayward quit. Ken learns of Hayward’s sick mother and little brother and decides to help Hayward get a job and be able to go back to school with the help of Simon and his sister. Ken then teaches the team new passing strategies and after helping the team and boosting their morale, the team wins a game. Unfortunately, at the end, Coolidge does get arrested for stealing a 62’ chevy vehicle, thus showing Ken still has more challenges to tackle in his new teaching environment.
The pilot for "The White Shadow" sets the groundwork for the show's "fish out of water theme" on racial and socio-economic lines. Ken Reeves, a white former NBA player becomes a high school coach in an underprivileged high school in Los Angeles. His students are mostly black and hispanic, and often deliquent teenagers. There is an immediate distinction between Reeves and the players on the basis of race, economic security, and age. As a result, Reeves soon realizes that he has signed up for a much bigger job than teaching basketball: he must also set the impressionable young men on the right path. For example, he goes out of his way to make sure that James Heyward, a student from a single parent household, can get a job to support his sick mother and young sibling.
Reeves not only sticks out from his students — his transition from professional player to a coach requires him to deal with the protocol of working for a high school. Some of his interactions with the students, like casual abuse and gambling, are obviously frowned upon by his colleagues. The vice principal and child psychology PhD, Sybil Buchanan, disgarees with Reeves' approach and is more heavily invested in the academic careers of the students.
The theme is applied to the supporting characters in addition to Coach Reeves. Take, for example, the scene where Heyward and his brother enter Coach Reeves' home for the first time. They clearly aren't used to some of basic luxuries he has, like a den. Presumably, the show will use those two characters as vessels to convey the "fish out of water theme" — but this, in tandem with Coach Reeves' interactions with his colleagues and players, are what lay the groundwork in the pilot episode.
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