This film is a very good representation of how life is like for high school football players. Being a past football player myself, this movie causes flashbacks to my old days on the football field. Most of the people of West Canaan, Texas, (the setting of the film) are infatuated with their high school football team. Everybody in the town idolizes the coach, Bud Kilmer, and his success in two state championships and 22 district championships. The main character, Jonathan Moxon, is the team’s second-string quarterback behind the best player in the state, Lance Harbor. There is even a billboard in the Harbor’s front yard with a picture of the All State quarterback. Mox, as the team calls him, soon faces

Mox also states that in West Canaan there is another society, the members of the team, parents, fans, and school officials involved in the football program. Subculture is a sociological concept that deals with groups that share many elements of mainstream culture but maintain their own distinctive customs, values, norms, and lifestyles. In short, a subculture is not necessarily deviant, but is definitely set apart from the rest of society. First, there are the normal, law-abiding citizens of West Canaan that have seemingly normal lives and are a normal small town. Then, there is the football society that is only concerned with the football team and its success.

It was also stated previously that as a boy growing up in West Canaan, you never question the sanctity of football. This is a folkway, which is an informal rule and/or expectation that guide people’s everyday behavior. If you will, it is an unwritten rule that people don’t think about, but follow anyway. The idea around West Canaan is that if you are a healthy, strong young man, you play football and even the parents are obsessed with making their boys play for Bud Kilmer’s team. It is also just an understood rule that no one questions the coach’s authority and follows his commands. Even the whole community listens to Kilmer and what he says is right is right.

This brings me to my next point. Bud Kilmer, the coach, is considered an authoritarian leader of the team. By definition, authoritarian leaders give orders and direct activities with minimal input from followers. In some cases, they may be said to rule with an iron fist that crushes all dissent. Authoritarian leaders are often thought of as rulers of nations, but they also could be leaders of smaller social groups. Bud Kilmer is exactly that. He

Some topics in this essay:
West Canaan, Bud Kilmer, Coach Kilmer, Mox America, Lance Harbor, Brian Robbins, Canaan Texas, Jonathan Moxon, Movies Sociology, Bud Kilmer’s, west canaan, social differentiation, bud kilmer, football players, canaan texas, sociological concepts, west canaan texas, authoritarian leaders, football team, laws sub culture, rules society, people community, sub culture folkways, growing west canaan, example social differentiation,