Spellbound

Most movies about kids, in order to showcase their talents, are about the praising of physical attributes--Little Giants, The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year. This movie is different because intelligence is celebrated, and kids get to show their stuff by way of a public arena--a spelling bee. Spellbound is a documentary that follows eight children as they prepare for the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C.

They are kids from all different backgrounds and it's really interesting to see how they each ready her or himself for this really stressful competition that is televised. (If you've never seen the spelling bee on television, you should. It's kind of fun to try to spell words that you've probably never heard of. I mean, the kids ask for the language of origin or to use the word in a sentence, and, frankly, I can't even fathom how that helps because the words are difficult. These kids are smart.) Some kids have parents that can afford to hire professional coaches; some kids have public school teachers that don't know where to begin, and so they open a dictionary at random and begin to quiz the students; some kids have parents that do not speak English and simply have an affinity for language; some kids relish in the act of studying and have taken it upon themselves to take their love of words and carve out their own study habits.

The thing is, it doesn't matter if the children are rich or poor, if they're privileged or not. Regardless if they have parents who have the resources to pay 1,000 people to pray for their success or not, these kids still have to work. They work really hard to learn the words and to understand languages in order to figure out the roots of the words. Spellbound lets us understand that class lines dissolve when the end product really is how well the kids know their stuff. And, they all know it. They all work hard and sacrifice to study.

Spellbound is really refreshing in how it showcases children ages 11-14. These kids are individuals. They know they're different in terms of how they approach the world and how they understand words and meanings, and are so driven to study and work hard. A lot of the kids feel like outcasts in their own schools and in their respective social circles because they are so unique and smart. A nice moment in the movie is when the children meet one another at the spelling bee in Washington, D.C. They are suddenly surrounded by other kids their age who are as smart, as driven, and as unique as them. They love it. They feel part of a community, and witnessing that validation is really rewarding for the audience.

A couple of years ago, I read an article about the adult lives of the national spelling bee contestants and winners. All of the kids grow up to live good, productive lives. They grow into good people who have come to terms with (and, subsequently, celebrated) their individuality and passion. Spellbound, at its core, is about eight smart, likeable, good kids. It's good to see their intelligence celebrated, and the spelling bee is a perfect way because it has all the drama of sports--only, the physical attributes are all in the mind.