 back to life lessons in film. Maybe making sense of life through cool runnings. It follows Doris and Sanka, Jules Brenner and Junior, as they become the first Jamaican Bob's letters to compete in the Winter Olympics. A move that was spearheaded by Doris after he lost qualifying for the Summer Olympics sprinting. Junior fell and then tripped Doris and Jules. So then Doris, it's brought to his attention that there was a guy, Irv, who wanted to actually establish a Bobsled team with spinters in Jamaica. So he goes and pursues this guy, convinces him to actually create a team. I haven't seen this picture in 20 years. Would you look at me then? Would you look at me now? Irv goes to the Olympic Committee to try and get them to fund the team. Committee doesn't want to because they don't actually think they have a chance of winning and they don't want to be the laughing stock of the international community. It's bad enough how you embarrassed your own country. I'm certainly not going to allow you to embarrass ours. Doris is very persistent and he is very ambitious and then gets everybody together. Then they qualify, they get to the Olympics and on their last race they crash but they go the distance and they finish the race with their heads held high. So yes the main characters are Doris, Ewell-Brenner, Junior Bevel, Sanka, the best Derby-Kart, Dirt-Kart, Dirt-Kart, something-Kart and then Irv. 20 years ago you came down here to see if you could make a Jamaican splinter into a Bobster and you never got that chance. Look at me Mr. Blitzer. I'm your chance. Take it. There's a lot about Doris that I like. Life has a lot of its challenges and he's the kind of guy who is like okay here's a challenge, things didn't go as planned and so on to the next plan. Someone that never gives up, always a planned BCD. You have this huge dream, a split second, it's over. Beyond his control. It's fair for Doris to be super upset for what happened because it's not his fault but that's the thing about life right? You may not be responsible for the injustice but you are at the end of the day responsible for how you actually face this unjust thing that happened to you. And keep going after that, keep going forward. Yeah and so I like people like that because I think there are people who love to stay in victim hood and people who say okay well you know yeah I was a victim of this thing and he was a victim. I mean he's allowed to be angry. Once you're done you know being upset and crying, life is here. What are you doing? Yeah so I really like that about him especially when you compare him to Yule. Yule is bitter. Yeah. I don't really think that that's the way to live. Living with that kind of anger and resentment towards someone. Yeah. Look at Yule. Nobody likes him initially anyway. He changes but he's just like negative Nancy. Yeah they only took him on on the team not because they liked him and they wanted him to also be part of it. It's just they were desperate. They were desperate exactly. Hey coach, I have to ask you a question. Sure. But you don't have to ask if you don't want to. I mean I want you to but if you can't I understand. You want to know why I cheated right? Yes I do. The other thing that I really like about Doris right? Doris is the kind of person who's like you're a human being. You're allowed to be flawed, you're allowed to make mistakes. He comes to learn that Irv cheated. It's a personal thing and even if you did eventually hear about it it's not something that Irv told him and so it might mean then that he's not comfortable to talk about it so let it be. But at the same time he's had enough of a relationship with Irv to actually have a sense of the kind of person Irv is. He's a good man who's doing his best at the end of the day. He actually gave himself to this team and respected them. This is something that Doris knows of Irv and so okay sure now I'm finding out that Irv cheated in his past but that doesn't change what I've seen. It doesn't change this person because some people have this thing where you have this wonderful relationship. You've been kind to them. They know who you are. At least you think so. You think that they have been taking stock of your character which Irv's character in terms of relating to these people has been amazing but then you make one false step and then you're cancelled completely and it's like we forget all of the things that happen and that's problematic to me. 16 years ago I made the biggest mistake of my life. I cheated. I was stupid. I embarrassed myself. My family. My teammates. My country. And my coach. If it's revenge you want, take it. Go ahead. Disqualify me. Banish me. Do whatever you want but do it to me. It was me who let you down Kurt. It wasn't my guys. That would have been a huge blow for the coach, Irv's coach to feel like the someone that he was his pupil, that he was mentoring, trusted, and then probably had a good relationship with and then gets totally humiliated himself as well as everything, right? Everything he was about. But that's also time has passed. 20 years or something and he's still holding it back. Exactly. And you know what? I think it's okay to be disappointed when people hurt you but if you really have had a relationship with someone and you know the foundation of the person, the person is not their mistake. A mistake is a mistake. True. Now you could say maybe he was holding onto that because it was never resolved between him and Irv until Irv came into the meeting and said, you know what? Take it out on me. Don't take it out on my team, it's not fair. And then after that then his former coach just kind of seemed to ease up. Okay, now I feel like now I can move past it. Yeah, that's fair. I mean we don't know whether or not Irv actually knows. Maybe he ran away. Maybe he just completely just cut and run. Next one. Sanka. I like Sanka. Yeah. What I like about Sanka is he's able to level with people in a way that really cuts through when people are trying to, you know, just not be real and direct. Everybody is going to want to be on my bobsleigh team. Look, Star, let me tell you a little something, all right? When you need something from me, you don't have to hand me a bunch of lines. All you have to do is look at me in the eye and say, Sanka, you are my best friend. We've been through a whole heap together and I really, really need you. I think it's really hard to ask for help. Sometimes when you're asking for help, you're a bit uncomfortable. Am I burdening this person? And so then you kind of ask very indirectly. Yeah. And you're worried about, you know, you're really hoping he'll say yes, but what if he doesn't? And then that's what makes you unsure. Sanka is like, you don't have to sell me on anything. If we're friends, I'm supporting you and you don't have to maneuver your way around asking me a question. Because we're friends, I'd like for you to have the comfort of knowing that if you need my help, I'll be there. Sanka is very much not into the idea of joining the Winter Olympics. He hates the cold more than anybody, but he still does it. For his friend. The other thing that I really like about this guy, right, is that he's the happiest person here. The embodiment of self-acceptance. When we first meet him, he's having fun with the kids. They have the song for him and he's just reveling in this experience. He's going down. He's like, I love Jamaica and Jamaica loves me. He has his kiosks, selling clothes and all these things and he's quite happy with his life. He's not pining for anything like everyone else. Yes, Sanka is the only one that it would be fine not going on that adventure. Exactly. When you're looking at things like, I'll be happy only if I have ABC. Things like, how much am I winning? What are my successes? What do other people think of me? That's an example, right? He's the guy who's like, I'm happy. Even if I don't ever get those things, but everybody else just kind of has that I need to win to be able to feel good about myself. Which means you do not have a strong sense of your own value. If you're not accepting of yourself, then it's going to be hard to have relationships. Yeah, absolutely. You betray yourself, you betray other people. Everything else in life when you have that sense of self-worth is like a cherry on top. You had two gold medals. You had it all. Doris, a gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it. I think that's the one thing with Doris where it's kind of like, man, you got to maybe focus on looking at the fact that you have a wife, you have a home, you have a job, look at where you're living, you're living in paradise. That's where Irv is like, well, whether or not you win, what's going to happen in the end, it depends on how you are, because when I ended up cheating, it was because I wanted to win, and that was the thing. And then nothing was ever enough. And then there's Yule Brenner. He kind of has the most change of anyone in terms of overall attitude towards things. He comes in being very competitive, focused, and bitter, and angry. Later, he develops camaraderie with the team. At first, he's not playing along. He doesn't really want to become teammates with anybody. He's just doing it just to get away from Jamaica. And after I, Yule Brenner, win the Olympics and become famous, I'm going to leave the island and live right down there. Well off in a bolt. That's Buckingham Palace. And this is what Yule saw the dream, and he seems hell bent on somehow realizing it. He's a good example of how you really need people in your life to actually be happy. Yeah. Okay. He's angry, first of all, at Junior. But in general, he's angry because even before the tripping, do you remember before the repeat? He wants to intimidate everybody. But as the movie progresses, he's happier because he now has a community. Him and Junior actually develop a friendship. And he finds like he can actually then find meaning through mentoring Junior in a way. Exactly. Both of them mentoring each other because when he shows them, okay, this is where I want to live, Sanka is laughing and he's solo. Yeah. And then Junior is like, you know what, Dory, you can build your own Buckingham Palace. You can still fulfill that dream. Exactly. With others, you know. Knock you down. Knock you down. The more Yule Brenners we got making it in this world, the better off this world would be. Especially for Jamaicans. Go ahead, Yule Brenner. Go get your palace. And no matter how tough you are, you can get knocked down by words. Exactly. That you all get. And so you need someone to pick you up. What Yule tells you as well is that, you know, sometimes the exterior doesn't actually reveal what's going on inside. Also, a lot of the times when people are acting the way that Yule is acting, it's coming out of fear or insecurity or some kind of pain or discomfort. There's a lot of stuff I think he has anger towards. Yeah. And that's most likely what we're seeing more than just him actually being a horrible person because in the end, when he does get that comfort of feeling like these people are a community and maybe he didn't have that before, you know? I mean, first year resents Junior for coming from a rich background, which Yule, I guess, doesn't. So he feels like now I'm stuck with these guys that seem to be happy for no reason or just rich and doing well. I've been given nothing, but then Junior ends up being the biggest supporter in a lot of ways. I think the thing I like about the relationship between Yule and Junior is that initially he assumes that his life is perfect. Exactly. But then he keeps being exposed to Junior's relationship with his dad and realizes that, wait a minute, this guy actually was having a tough time. Yeah. For my father, he says I have to come home right now. That's Junior's main struggle is that he wants to get outside of his father's shadow. His father has Junior's life all planned out, doesn't really have much choice in the matter of where his life goes, and Junior decides he wants to do something else. I mean, his father never even really respected his wanting to be an Olympian, a runner, but now you're really stepping out of line with wanting to do even more stuff that I don't approve of. And Junior probably would have been stuck in that position with his father if not for Yule. I see pride. I see power. I see a badass mother who don't take no crap of nobody. You really see all that? Yeah man. But it's not about what I see. It's about what you see. But he finally stands up to him and gets out of that and forces his father to have to look at his son differently. I am not a lost little boy, father. I am a man and I'm an Olympian and I'm staying right here. I think for me, Junior is an example of what happens when you surround yourself with the wrong people. Those wrong people could also be your parents, by the way. The people in your life can a lot of times dictate how you feel about yourself and how you see yourself. His dad the whole time is like, you know, you're a lost little boy who would be nothing without me. He's always telling him what to do. He gets a job for Junior and doesn't even apply. So the dad isn't allowing him to fend for himself. Junior never actually learns how to be independent. When your parent is doing that, that overbearing way of parenting, it doesn't allow you as a person to actually develop a sense of like, I can actually do things on my own. But then also just the verbal abuse, really. Your lost little boy who would be nothing without me. What kind of parent says that? That's messed up. That's where I'm like, who you're surrounded by. What are the messages? What kind of things are they saying to you? It makes a huge difference. Especially if these are people you call your friends, people you love, if they're telling you these things, if your own parent is saying that you're nothing, then you do tend to believe that. And if you look at Junior, this guy is really amazing. Despite the fact that his dad keeps knocking him down and not supporting him with his dreams, he keeps fighting for himself, sells his car without the dad knowing. And, you know, he tries out for the Olympics. That alone is something, you know, that's hard to do. A lot of people don't ever even work hard enough to get to that point. On top of that, he faces up to his mistakes. So he tripped these guys, understands that him tripping them by mistake, you know, stood in the way of their dreams, huge dreams. But then he still has the strength to show up and say, you know what, I want to be a part of the team. That's brave. That's courageous. Because I know when I've heard someone, I always feel like the worst person. And it's so hard for me. I do make it a point to actually own up to my mistakes. But man, it's hard. Because of his dad always telling him, you're not good enough. He doesn't see all of these amazing things that you'll actually see that says you are power, you are pride. Yeah, you're power, you're pride. You know, you did a heck of a lot to get to where you are. Last one is Earth. He won two gold medals. That guy won two gold medals. And maybe he was already seeking that to begin with, actually achieves it. And then notices that he wants to keep that feeling forever, which you just can't have. But he believed that he needed to keep that feeling of winning. It's quite simple, really. I had to win. The idea of cheating the morality of that kind of disappears. Because in your mind, you will easily justify it as it's not a big cheat. And I mean, normally notices it hurt anybody, it'll just, you know, it's fine. I'll just keep up my streak. Then he did have to face the consequences of that. Is that you? Roger, how are you doing? Hello, Kurt. Been a long time. Obviously not long enough. Hello, Larry. Jesus Christ, what the hell did you do to yourself? Again, going back to where you do need people in your life, he needed DeRise to help him redeem himself. You know, he was in a stuck place. Now, it's hard to get out of that. Another thing with Earth, too, is they all start to give each other courage. That's the thing, too, when things that you can get from, say, being on a team of some kind, all having a common purpose and goal that you're all working together with for, I think can really bring a lot of group courage, but individual courage. With Junior, it's confronting his father. And with Irv, it's confronting his old coach. It's confronting the whole Olympian committee to fight for his team. It was just a Hail Mary attempt to give them another shot at staying in the Olympics because they were going to be disqualified out of spite. His cheating is an example of what can happen if you make winning your whole life. You know, if those are the things that you're striving for, instead of the things that actually matter or the things that go to who you are as a person, things like your character, for example, you want to be happy. A lot of times when you're sourcing your happiness from external things, you end up doing a lot of seedy things, selling your soul to the devil, hurting a lot of friendships. Yeah, hurting a lot of friendships. Yeah, in relationships, you know, was the other thing or something like, you know, she just checks what we don't waste. Sure. My time. Primes above it. You don't see the Swiss team drinking and carrying on and such. And you don't see the Swiss team smiling neither. In fact, if one of those Swiss boys ever come across a pretty girl, you probably yell, I am right. Try and try to push her down some ice. To re-swit the Swiss, you can aspire to and want to emulate something else, but you can't ever copy it. You have to still be you. You have to do your own thing, your own way. Otherwise, they'll just, you'll never be as good or work quite the way as the original. That's what Doris finds out, where he's inspired by the Swiss bobsled team. They seem really tight and know what they're doing because he wants to win. He wants to be like, well, let's copy them because they seem to know what's up, but it gets in their heads and it throws them off and sonka reminds them, like, well, no, we got to be ass. Doris, I've known you since Julie Jeffries asked to see you dingaling. I'm telling you as a friend, if we look Jamaican, walk Jamaican, talk Jamaican, and is Jamaican, then we sure as hell better bobsled Jamaican. It only works if you're authentic. Yeah. You know, anything you actually pursue actually only works if you're authentic to who you truly are. Copy someone only so far. Yeah. And then you have to allow your originality to come through. At the end of the day, the best person you can be is yourself. The only way you do it is your authentic way. Everything else will fall short. What's there? Oh, no. The underdog can overcome and get ahead. These guys, they have a scraggie bobsled that are scrounged up. Such good shape. They don't have the gear on top of that they're Jamaican. Everybody's just kind of like, you live in a country which you've never even seen snow. They're going into things with very little support. Like the support they have is in each other. That's it. People are laughing at them. The commentators going on about it. No one believes in them. No one believes in them. Everyone thinks it's a joke or it's an embarrassment. Even their own Olympic committee in Jamaica does not have anything. Sometimes people can just settle into that. Well, you know, we're not as well off as the Swiss. I don't have enough resources. Why should I even try? Yeah. And then you have a lot of people telling you that you don't have a fighting chance. So what kind of person do you want to be? Do you want to settle in that? That negative talk that you're facing from different people or the lack of support? Or do you want to just push on and just say, you know what? I'm going to give it a go. You do what you can with the resources you have. And don't let the limits of your resources or your means define you or limit you. People look at the appearance and how they judge. So they think these guys don't even have proper equipment, outfits. So that on its own means I can't take it seriously. That's good. Then they get blindsided pitting against them because they're not really looking at their skills. People do it all too often. They don't want to believe that someone can come in who they feel like doesn't belong or is inferior or is unskilled. But that's some stuff that we had to say about who we're running. What did you guys think? Let us know in the comments down below. Share your thoughts and our thoughts. A burning question. Is Junior's dad a good dad? Yeah. And are you allowed to be forgiven for your mistakes? Like cheating? Is there a spot for redemption after disgrace? Let us know about that as well if you think. But yeah, until next time, thanks for watching. Let's wrap. Peace.