Envision yourself and your classmates viewing a movie in a tiny theater with just five rows, each with four seats; you forget you’re even in a learning environment when the lights go out and the bass begins to tremble.
This is the environment that surrounds The Rhetoric of Sports in Film, my favorite class. In a world constantly changing with technological advancements, COM414 has become more than just a personal interest. It has become a key to understanding and navigating the complexities of sports films.
Since his arrival at the University of Rhode Island in 2019, Matthew R. Hodler has collaborated with colleagues and students to kick off the sports media and communication program at the University. Hodler’s research is primarily concerned with how race, gender, nationality and social class meanings are built, generated and/or recalled through sport and sporting media.
Before taking this class, I anticipated reading a lot of material about the influence sport films have had on modern culture. Whether the films were set in the past or we’ve seen their production process, we get to analyze and appreciate them in real time. The usual classes I’ve taken at URI are nothing like this one. You will value this shared experience for its variety of conversations, examinations and analyses.
The components of Hodler’s teaching approach that I like the most are his willingness to surrender his knowledge and allow students to take the lead in discussion topics following a film. The dynamics of the classroom vary from day to day. Tuesday classes are held in a small auditorium that also gets used for documentaries and movie screenings. During the first 10 to 20 minutes of class, Hodler will explain the movie and highlight important concepts and areas of interest.
Immediately after class, we take a couple of minutes to discuss our initial thoughts on the film and have basic discussions with our peers. On Thursdays, class is held in a completely different building, one where we can face all of our classmates in order to further discuss our thoughts on the film.
This course is designed to help you gather the skills necessary to place sports films in the context of larger social issues, cultural beliefs and power dynamics. To help us understand the various ways that sport, identity and culture intersect and interact, there are three different sections to the course, each with four to five films. This allows us to make compelling and significant stories in our own sports media endeavors and productions.
The three units include films pertaining to the American dream, biopics, gender and sports. You can expect to watch movies like “Rocky” (1976), “Battle of the Sexes” (2017) and “Bend It Like Beckham” (2002). Along with sharing a weekly discussion about each film we watch, we get to share our understanding of the three units by writing a reflection essay after each of the units.
What distinguishes COM414 from other URI courses are the two assignments at the end of the semester. As the class comes to an end, you are just asked to analyze your participation and write a reflection on your overall experience.
Going into a sports media and communication minor was personally very sudden for me. Getting the opportunity to have Hodler as one of the main professors of the program has influenced my decision to continue this academic journey, as well as has created a safe learning environment that allows me to explore the sports media world. Having a space where your opinion is encouraged and often leads to more in-depth discussions is very important when applying your experiences beyond the classroom.
COM414 is my favorite class for a number of reasons, including the opportunities it has provided for both academic and personal growth, the influence the professor has had on me personally and the lessons it has taught me. I’m grateful for the times the material has forced me to step outside my comfort zone and taught me the importance of trusting my peers to create a sense of community in the classroom.
I’ve learned in this class that learning is more than just reading and textbooks. To put together an analysis, you must take into account your own knowledge in order to identify relationships and meanings.