I have been to McFarland the town. It is about 60 miles from my home. Last night we finally watched McFarland, USA the movie. What Coach White and those young men accomplished is the American Dream. Right now in our country many are preaching that the Dream is dead. They proved that wrong.
McFarland the town in like many in California's Central Valley, the poorest region in the country. The area produces much of the food that the country eats and exports more. To make that possible you need people to do the hard labor of farm and field work. Much of that now is done by people from Mexico and Central America. It wasn't always that way as many others from the Midwest and South of the US came to California to provide the labor needed to make farming possible. This creates towns like McFarland.
The movie was partially filmed in McFarland. If you go there you will recognize some of the buildings, certainly the high school. The track that was filmed is still there, though they have a new track, football stadium, softball and baseball fields. You get the feel of a small Central Valley town in the movie, and that is key to the story.
We from the Central Valley know we come from a poor region, yet we can be successful both here and elsewhere. McFarland, USA reminds us of that.
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One of my favorite parts of the movie was at the end. There they added footage of the actual people who were depicted in the film. They also gave an update on their lives. Most completed college. Most came back to McFarland to work in the community. Only one ended up on the wrong side of the law. That, to me, was more of a success story; that the kids actually succeeded in life, not just in cross country running.
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