Spellbound

Spellbound is an intriguing movie about the National Spelling Bee. Every time we watch it I just get more and more excited to get farther into the film. Although we haven't gotten to who wins yet, I know who takes the title (Thanks, Londen, for spoiling it for me). They interview spellers from different parts of the US, and it shocks me how different they all are. I think a lot of it have to do with their parents. Some parents are extremely competitive with it, and some are proud of their child no matter what. The two child-parent duos that stuck out to me were Neil and April. They were basically opposites. Neil's father was insanely serious about the competition, and I think he put a ton of pressure on him. His grandfather said that if Neil won the Bee, that he would feed 1,000 hungry people in India. I personally think this is just wrong. That is way to much pressure to be put on a young boy. Not only if he loses will he be upset for himself, but he will also feel guilty for not being able to feed hungry people in India. I'm sure he felt blame, since he didn't win, and I just think it is flat out wrong to do to anyone, yet alone a young boy. Although Neils father was strict, he taught him good methods for studying, and showed Neil how to always follow through with something whether you succeed or fail. On the other hand, April and her parents were extremely different. Her parents were easygoing, and even though they were serious about the spelling bee, they made it fun and made sure they let April know no matter how well she did they would be proud. You could tell how proud they were of April and how kind-hearted they were. Although her parents were a little strange, they were sweet and you could tell. April unfortunately didn't win either, which was okay because she was proud of herself for coming in 4th. Her dad said something about how he wouldn't be happier even if she came in 1st place, which shows a lot about him and shows he is genuinely proud of his daughter, which I think is really cool. Overall, all the students in this film were interesting, but I believe Neil and April really stood out. This was a really good movie and I would recommend it to anybody!!