The movie “Finding Forrester” does a good job of defining what it means to be an outsider. There are many instances in the film where Jamal is shown to be an outsider by both his friends and his classmates and teachers. Jamal Wallace is a bright young black student from the inner city who is afraid to let his friends know that he is smart. He gets by with average grades but excels in basketball at his inner city school. Jamal and his friends pass the time shooting hoops and making fun of the reclusive man watching them through the window of the apartment above the court. One day, Jamal’s friends dare him to break into the man’s apartment. Afraid of not being liked by his friends, Jamal accepts the dare. After being caught by the man, Jamal leaves the apartment, forgetting to take his backpack with him. When he goes back to retrieve the backpack, an unlikely friendship begins to form. The man, William Forrester, soon starts helping Jamal with his writing. Jamal hides this from his friends. The film demonstrates that we often change our behavior in order to try to fit in, even though the behavior might not be a bad thing.

Shortly after befriending Forrester, Jamal’s principal invites Jamal’s mother for a meeting at the school, she has no idea what to expect, fearing Jamal may be in some sort of trouble. She is surprised to learn that Jamal’s above average standardized test scores do not reflect his grades in school. When Jamal is offered a full scholarship to a prestigious high school, he is faced with the choice of leaving the school where he feels comfortable and the opportunity for a better education at the new school. Forrester helps Jamal make the decision telling him, “There is a question with your life and that is what do you want to do with your life, and that’s a question your present school can’t answer.” When Jamal chooses to attend the school, he must commute a long way to a much different neighborhood from the one he lives in. He must leave a school where he feels accepted to a much more academic atmosphere.

Upon arriving at his new school, it is evident that everyone at the school including the only other black student at the school, Damon, considers Jamal an outsider. Although Jamal is under the impression that he is there because of his test scores, it soon becomes apparent that he is there for his basketball abilities as much as anything. Professor Crawford makes it evident to Jamal that he thinks Jamal is there for his basketball abilities, noting that at his previous school, Jamal’s academic abilities were lacking. Later when Jamal relates the incident to William, he states, “It’s like he knew he was better than me.” After Jamal’s writing ability improves, Professor Crawford even goes as far as accusing Jamal of plagiarism, claiming that his writing could not have improved that much. When Crawford demands that Jamal apologize and he refuses, Crawford arranges an official meeting with the board, trying to get Jamal expelled. When Jamal intentionally misses the final free throw in the final play of the game, he lets the board know that he will not be used for his basketball talent.

Although Jamal strived hard both academically and athletically, he was treated like an outsider. He did not fit in with his new classmates or his old ones. It seems like the only person he was able to fit in with was his new friend William. It was not until the end of the film when Jamal finds acceptance at his new school. After Jamal is banned from a writing completion, Jamal chooses to attend with his friend Clare even though he will not be allowed to participate. During the competition, Crawford starts to ridicule Jamal’s work. To everyone’s surprise, reclusive Forrester shows up and begins to recite an essay. Crawford is speechless listening to the beautiful work of art. Crawford tells the class that Forrester is a great writer and the class has actually read his book. Forrester in fact has a plaque on the wall right beside Crawford. When Forrester revealed to Crawford that the essay he read was Jamal’s, Jamal was finally able to fit in at his new school. The film did a great job of defining how a person can feel like an outsider even if they clearly deserve to be somewh

Reference:

Finding Forrester. Dir. Gus Van Zant. 2000.