{"product_id":"the-bad-news-bears-in-breaking-training-a-novel-approach-to-cinema-9781593764180","title":"The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training: A Novel Approach to Cinema","description":"In 1977, \u003ci\u003eThe Bad News Bears in Breaking Training\u003c\/i\u003e had a moment in the sun. A glowing junk sculpture of American genres--sports flick, coming-of-age story, family melodrama, after-school special, road narrative--the film cashed in on the previous year's success of its predecessor, \u003ci\u003eThe Bad News Bears\u003c\/i\u003e. Arguing against the sequel's dismissal as a cultural afterthought, Josh Wilker lovingly rescues from the oblivion of cinema history a quintessential expression of American resilience and joy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRushed into theaters by Paramount when the beleaguered film industry was suffering from \"acute sequelitis,\" the (undeniably flawed) movie miraculously transcended its limitations to become a gathering point for heroic imagery drawn from American mythology. Considered in context, the film's unreasonable optimism, rooted in its characters' sincere desire to keep playing, is a powerful response to the political, economic, and social stresses of the late 1970s. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo Wilker's surprise, despite repeated viewings, \u003ci\u003eThe Bad News Bears in Breaking Training\u003c\/i\u003e continues to move him. Its huge heart makes it not only the ultimate fantasy of the baseball-obsessed American boy, but a memorable iteration of that barbed vision of pure sunshine itself, the American dream.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJosh Wilker\u003c\/b\u003e studied writing at Johnson State College and Vermont College. He has worked as a proofreader, copyeditor, teacher, bookstore clerk, liquor store clerk, truck loader, and gas station attendant. He writes about his childhood baseball cards at cardboardgods.net and in his book, \u003ci\u003eCardboard Gods\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives with his wife in Chicago.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Catapult","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50358848815378,"sku":"9781593764180","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9a1df5ca-b43b-4a91-9f55-38a2378291d3.jpg?v=1728346812","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-bad-news-bears-in-breaking-training-a-novel-approach-to-cinema-9781593764180","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}