5 hours Ago By Jeffrey Mills
Directed by Sydney Freeland, Netflix’s sports film ‘Rez Ball’ centers on the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team located in Chuska, New Mexico. Following the suicide of the team’s premier player and local icon, Nataanii Jackson, the Warriors unite to secure the state championship in his memory. As the team captain, Jimmy Holiday guides the players to surmount challenges and strive for their objective, motivated by the memories of their late comrade.
Coach Heather Hobbs, a prominent former basketball player, assists them in realizing their aspirations. The Warriors’ campaign evokes numerous real-life underdog narratives, particularly in the realm of sports. WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW.
Rez Ball is Somewhat Inspired by the Chinle Wildcats’ 2017-2018 Season Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo authored ‘Rez Ball’ partially inspired by Michael Powell’s non-fiction work ‘Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation’ and an essay he contributed to The New York Times. The sports journalist’s book details the Chinle Wildcats’ quest for the Arizona State Basketball Championship during the 2017-2018 season, led by Coach Raul Mendoza. The film is set in New Mexico, while the actual basketball team is located in Chinle, a census-designated area in Apache County, Arizona.
Although the Wildcats’ campaign influenced the storyline, there are numerous distinctions between the two. Initially, Freeland and Harjo were disinclined to produce a biographical film regarding Raul Mendoza and the Wildcats. Instead, they aimed to develop a narrative linked to reality solely by its premise, which involves a Native American high school team’s quest for success among the challenges encountered by the players.
The narratives that constitute ‘Rez Ball’ are entirely fictional beyond this foundation. Harjo, the co-writer, failed to thoroughly review Powell’s words, referencing Freeland as his “source material.” As both authors belonged to the Indigenous community, they were not entirely dependent on narratives authored by non-Native Americans.
Consequently, Freeland and Harjo constructed the “world [in the film] from the ground up,” according to the filmmaker’s interview with TIME. ‘Rez Ball’ culminates with the Chuska Warriors triumphing in the New Mexico State Basketball Championship by defeating the Santa Fe Catholic Coyotes. In actuality, the Chinle Wildcats concluded their 2017-2018 season without securing the championship.
Following their entry into the playoffs, the squad was defeated by the Winslow Bulldogs, so failing to qualify for the title game. Freeland and Harjo regard ‘Rez Ball’ as a success narrative, and the fictionalization of actual events facilitated their conceptualization of the Warriors’ triumph. In the story, the championship signifies Jimmy Holliday’s triumph over his inner demons and his achievement of something significant as a Native American boy, hence validating the establishment of this imaginary development.
Nataanii Jackson’s Suicide Didn’t Happen in Reality The differences between ‘Rez Ball’ and the Chinle Wildcats’ campaign also encompass the demise of Nataanii Jackson. The film commences the Chuska Warriors’ quest for the championship following the suicide of their top player. In actuality, Raul Mendoza did not lose a player, contrary to the depiction in the sports drama.
He even referenced it as one of his most significant accomplishments. “Are you aware of what I take the greatest pride in during my life?” None of the teenagers I counseled committed suicide. “They lived, every one of them,” the actual coach informed Michael Powell, according to ‘Canyon Dreams.
’ Nonetheless, the situation was distinct for Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo. Indigenous individuals address suicides within Native American communities differently than Mendoza, a non-Indigenous man. Similar to the film’s characters, Freeland was raised on a Navajo reservation, where suicide ranks as the second greatest cause of death among Navajo adolescents, as stated in Powell’s book.
Consequently, the director sought to confront it. She constructed the film’s narrative on the premise of Nataanii’s death, believing in the importance of “drawing from our own personal experiences growing up, which entailed depicting both the positive and negative aspects,” according to GLAAD. Coach Heather Hobbs Was Created to Get Around the White Savior Trope Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo were resolute in their decision to exclude a “white savior” from outside the Native American community in the conception of ‘Rez Ball.
’ They want to avoid a reiteration of Gene Hackman’s Norman Dale in ‘Hoosiers’ as their protagonist. As Raul Mendoza is not of Navajo descent, the authors devised a coach character entirely from imagination, leading to the creation of Heather Hobbs. Having participated in “rez ball” on the Navajo reservation, Freeland likely found it effortless to develop an Indigenous character who achieved success as a basketball player.
Moreover, Freeland and Harjo identify as individuals from matriarchal societies. This tradition informed their decision to portray the coach as a woman unapologetically. The inclusion of a Native American protagonist was crucial for the screenwriters as it allowed them to transform the conventional sports drama formula into a narrative grounded in authenticity.
“In the context of a sports film, one encounters the conventional tropes.” ‘This segment illustrates their defeat; this segment illustrates their victory.’ This is the segment in which they surmount challenges.
That is where the opportunity arose. The filmmaker stated to Collider, “If a coach is from the community, her solutions must be tailored accordingly.” Consequently, Heather directs her teammates to her grandmother’s location to engage in herding sheep as a team-building exercise.
The directives provided in the Navajo language provide another “solution” that anchors ‘Rez Ball’ in Native American culture. To contextualize the film inside Indigenous communities, Freeland and Harjo utilized a fictional protagonist. Jimmy Holiday is a Fictional Basketball Player Likewise, Jimmy Holiday, the premier athlete of the Chuska Warriors, is a fictional persona.
In truth, no player on the Chinle Wildcats grappled with the suicide of his best friend and closest teammate. Jimmy embodies the quintessential “hero” archetype in a sports drama, exhibiting remarkable abilities and a strong sense of responsibility. Regarding the Wildcats, the player that is most comparable is Nachae Nez.
He is characterized as the “premier player” of the team. Similar to Jimmy, Nachae likewise served as captain of his squad and emerged as its top scorer. Nevertheless, the actual counterpart was not a member of the Wildcats’ 2017-2018 roster.
By the end of the season, he had already graduated. During the 2017-2018 season, the Wildcats were predominantly guided by Angelo Lewis and Josiah Tsosie. Although the former was the most formidable of the Wildcats, his discipline troubled Raul Mendoza, unlike Jimmy in the sports drama.
Powell remarked in his book that the player “slumbered through excessive practices, jesting and laughing, waging a tenacious resistance against maturity.” Conversely, Josiah was acknowledged as one of Arizona’s premier cross-country runners. Mendoza characterized him as “swift, astute, capricious, and temperamental.
” These traits strongly evoke memories of Jimmy. Jimmy embodies the archetypal hero through which Sydney Freeland and Sterlin Harjo illustrate the positive aspects of maturation on a reservation. He exemplifies an ideal teammate and friend.
When his teammates and loved ones face difficulties, Jimmy is around to offer assistance. Freeland and Harjo demonstrate that Native American communities possess the ability to create heroes through these attributes. Want to know more about the interesting world of “Rez Ball” and its distinctive perspective on Native American sports narratives? Visit our for further insights into the film’s inspiration, its fictional characters, and its departure from conventional sports movie conventions.
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