Sky -- a Great Movie With Profound

¶ … Sky -- a Great Movie with Profound Values

Back in the late Fifties, more than ten years after the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a struggle called the "Cold War." The Soviets were trying hard to extend their influence to third world countries (and other nations around the world) and the U.S. was doing the same. And then in October, 1957, the Soviets shocked Americans -- and made U.S. technology seem far behind what the Soviet communists were doing -- by launching the first man-made satellite. It was called "Sputnik," and it caused the U.S. government to gear up its space (and rocket) program. But the movie goes much deeper than that, as it tells the story of a young boy (Homer Hickam) who was fascinated with the idea becoming part of America's space exploration and yet his father wanted him to work in the coal mines of West Virginia. This paper reviews and critiques the film and points to the reasons that it made a strong impact on me when I saw it a few years ago.

The characters and the tension of October Sky

This movie actually tells the true story of Homer Hickam, who was a young man in high school growing up in West Virginia and eventually became an engineer at NASA. The main tension in the film is how Homer had to turn away from what his coal miner father wanted him to do as a career. His father was adamant about Homer doing what he (the father) had done all his life -- work in the coal mines. The family clashes in this film are very realistic and the audience can clearly see all sides of the issues. John Hickam (played very believably by Chris Cooper) is a hard-working man whose whole career has been underground. One of his two sons is a good football player and is likely to get a scholarship to play football in college.

But Homer is not an athlete, and he is not very good at math and science; still, after he becomes inspired by Sputnik, he becomes determined to learn to build rockets and become involved in the exploration of space. Any high school boy in American who has had fights with his dad can relate to this ongoing schism. John Hickam is just as determined that Homer will follow in his father's footsteps; it is John's dream that a son of his will take over as mine superintendent, a position of authority that John conducts with a powerful presence and skill.

Though John Hickam is dead set against Homer's interest in rocketry, and though John issues threats to his son and is very belligerently opposed to Homer's dreams, Homer is passionate about space and rockets and he gets together with several other boys to start working on their own rocket. Going against one's parents is always risky, and the emotions from Homer's rebellion against his father's wishes are powerfully conveyed in this film.

One of the most dramatic moments is when the boys -- including Homer's friend, Quentin Wilson, a geeky kid who is unpopular but brilliant in science and math -- build their first rocket. When the rocket goes off course and allegedly starts a forest fire (and the boys are arrested by the local sheriff) John Hickam is really mad. But later when it turns out the boys' rocket couldn't have started the fire, Homer and his friends go back to developing another rocket.

The symbolism and irony in this movie

In time, the high school science teacher Miss Riley (played well by Laura Dern) helps the boys learn how to develop a successful rocket that shoots quite high. Present at that public launch is Homer's father, previously a bitter skeptic but after being asked to push the button to launch the rocket, he sees the value in what his son is doing and that's how the movie ends.

This film has many powerful symbols. First of all, the clash between father and son (with the mother on the son's side but in this house the father rules) is a universal theme. Probably every child (boy or girl) at some point in his formative years has had serious conflict with his father. The battles between John and Homer are sometimes vicious and loud. I have had fights with my father that were every bit as loud and mean-spirited as those in the film. Secondly, while his father wants him to have a career underground in the coal mines Homer wants to go into space. The ironic contrast in careers is very poignant; father and son couldn't be more dramatically farther apart in their goals. Coal mines are not only dirty and dangerous, they are deadly; but the opportunities in space are limitless. Today the International Space Station and the American-built craft that is roaming around mars are in place because someone dreamed this could be done and went about doing it.

Thirdly, the bond that Homer and Quentin formed is a beautiful story in itself. Every high school has nerds like Quentin; he is extremely bright but not a very handsome boy, not an athlete and not popular for sure; in short, not the kind of adolescent other kids gravitate to. But Homer needs Quentin's brains and Quentin could use a solid friend -- and this science project excites Quentin -- so the two become a powerful science team. Granted, Quentin became friends with Homer due to the rocket project -- and not because Homer simply wanted a friend -- but together they packed a powerful punch.