Breaking Away is a movie that was released in 1979. It is basically about the rivalry between the Cutters, who are the townspeople, and the University of Indiana. The movie is set in Bloomington, Indiana. It is about four friends who went to high school together and graduated together; Dave, Mike, Moocher and Cyril who are on a journey of self discovery. Dave Stoller is the main protagonist (Oxford University Press, 2004). It is through him that we are able to see what likely happens to his friends.
Dave and his friends are reluctant to embrace being Cutters. They each have their own way of reacting to the situation. Dave creates a whole new Italian persona to avoid being a Cutter and even if he does become one, he can pretend that he’s crazy. Mike decides to avoid it by avoiding working altogether. The four friends get jobs at the local supermarket, but since Mike isn’t good at doing what he’s told if he doesn’t want to, he gets fired. And he consequently convinces the rest of the guys to quit too.
Cyril reacts by acting comical and dumb. This results in nobody taking him seriously therefore lowering their expectations of him. Moocher, probably from lack of caring what the townspeople think of him, gets married even when nobody supports his decision. He quits his job at the supermarket due to peer pressure.
The boys feel pressured by their parents, the college students, the society as well as themselves. The college students tease them and belittle them and they try to prove that they can be just as good as or even better than them. They are also feeling pressured by society to accept a way of life they don’t think is right for them. They themselves don’t want to be Cutters but they feel pressured from all sides.
Dave’s mother does not want her son to feel the same way she does; she regrets not having done what she wanted with her life. She does this by showing him the passport that carries everywhere but has never used. It’s a symbol for everywhere she would have loved to have gone but never did.
Mike is so driven by his desire to prove that he is better than the college students that when runs after one of them in the quarry, he heads straight into the quarry wall and gets a little light-headed.
Dave works his fake Italian persona on a college girl and charms her but sooner or later, he will have to face reality and accept who he is. This reality hits him head on when his bike is tampered with during the race by the Italian team (Oxford University Press, 2004).. Dave is distraught over the realisation that people are all untruthful at some point; the irony being that he’s been in denial to this point.
His father catches up with old friends at the stone mill. This symbolizes the inconsistency of life. The friends in your life when you are young aren’t the same ones who’ll be there later on.
Despite everything, the boys take part in the little 500. Even Cyril who fails the SATs because that is what his father expects races. Dave initially plans to race all the 500 laps himself. But Moocher, still unconcerned with what people think, steps up and takes over for Dave. After being mocked by the college students, Mike is driven by the desire to beat them and Dave can actually see victory as a possible outcome.
Eventually, they end up winning the little 500 and the four friends are proud of themselves because they finally proven they can be better than the college students. Dave goes to college and through him, it’s clear that the four friends can succeed at anything they set their minds to.
References:
Oxford University Press (2004) http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195309928/instructorresources/filmstorage/breakingaway/?view=usa
