Running head: FICTIONAL FILM REVIEW: STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORY 1

Fictional Film Review: Student Development Theory

Justin S. Caverio

Bridgewater State University

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Fictional Film Review: Student Development Theory

The fictional work I chose to review for this assignment is a movie from the early 1990’s

called Necessary Roughness. I will first briefly describe the movie and the main character of the

story. Then I will describe several development theories, and how they are applicable to the main

character and his development throughout the movie. The development theories I will discuss are

Alexander Astin’s Student Involvement Theory, Nancy Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, Nancy

Schlossberg’s Mattering and Marginality Theory, and Marcia Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship

Theory.

Brief Movie Summary

Necessary Roughness is a movie about the experiences of the members of the Texas State

University football team and their struggles through adjustment, socialization, and transition over

the course of the school year at the university. Paul Blake, the main character, played by Scott

Bakula, is a 34-year old, first-year student recruited to play starting quarterback for The Texas

State University Fighting Armadillos. The team is rebuilding from scratch, after NCAA moral

code violations caused 95% of the previous year’s team to be banned and expelled from the

school. Paul Blake, while working through his own adjustments to college life, as a non-

traditional, older student, finds he has also become a mentor and inspiration to his fellow players.

Paul’s primary goal is to successfully complete the school year and bring his make-shift football

team to victory by winning the season’s final game against Texas State’s rivals, the infamous

University of Texas Colts.

Character Background

At 18 years old, Paul Blake was a high school star quarterback who led his school’s

football team to win the Texas State Championship. His team had never lost a football game and
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he was destined to receive a full athletic scholarship to the college of his choice. When Paul’s

father died unexpectedly after his high school senior year, he was forced to give up his dream of

going to college and he took over his family’s business as a Texas ranch farmer. Paul always

wondered what it would have been like if he had played college football.

When Coach Rig, who once tried recruiting Paul for Penn State, showed up at his farm 16

years later, to invite Paul to play for the Texas State University Fighting Armadillos, Paul

initially turned the offer down. After self-reflection and consideration, he realized this might be a

second chance for him to seek his dream and discover his potential as a college athlete. Paul

later accepted the offer to play as quarterback on the university’s struggling football team. He

thought he could help re-build the team and contribute to its success. When he arrived on

campus, he was apprehensive and unaware of what the future would bring.

Nancy Schlossberg’s Transition Theory

When Paul moved from his rural Texas farm onto Texas State University’s busy campus

he was thrust into new relationships, routines, and unfamiliar roles. His entire world had changed

in a short period of time. The transition was challenging for him. Schlossberg describes transition

as an event, or non-event, resulting in changed roles, relationships, assumptions, and routines

(Patton, Renn, Guido, & Quaye, 2016). As a non-traditional student beginning his first year of

college, Paul was forced to adapt to a new environment and a new routine. Initially Paul had

difficulty coping with the changes. This difficulty can be explained by examining Schlossberg’s

four S’s. According to Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, the four S’s influence one’s ability to

cope with change. Schlossberg’s four S’s are situation, self, support, and strategies (Patton, et al.,

2016).
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Situation consists of several factors. They are trigger, timing, control, role change, duration,

previous experience, concurrent stress, and assessment (Patton, et al., 2016). Paul’s trigger

occurred when he was offered a chance to attend college and play on Texas State University’s

football team. The offer came at an ideal time, as he now had ample support from his family. He

knew his ranch and family business would be stable, and successfully managed without him.

Paul felt in control of his decision and he also knew the duration of the transition was temporary.

Paul had never experienced such a transition before and he knew it would be a challenge.

Fortunately, he had no concurrent stress outside of the transition itself. Paul’s assessment was

that accepting the offer could be a second chance for him to play college football. Paul’s situation

was solid.

The second S of the four S’s is self. Self was Paul’s greatest source of strength in coping

with his transition. His stage of life and healthy psychological state allowed him to draw on his

past experiences. Paul’s resilience was an important factor in his successful coping.

Once Paul arrived at campus, however, he struggled with the last two S’s, support and

strategies. At first he did not have family and friends nearby for support. Upon arrival Paul felt

out of place. He was not sure how to interact with the traditional college-aged students in his

classes or in his residence hall. This is a common trend among older non-traditional students. A

recent study showed that older students are an underserved population within the college setting,

challenged with navigating a system geared toward younger students (Schaefer, 2010).

As Paul progressed through the semester his increased involvement in social activities

helped him cope. It was not until he decided to become more involved in student activities

outside of class and football that he began to form a bond with the other students. This strategy

of becoming more involved helped him establish friendships and bonds which proved to be
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essential to his successful transition. He eventually built up his support network and his

strategies fell into place. In this case, the four S’s of Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, tie-in

directly with Alexander Astin’s Student Involvement Theory.

Alexander Astin’s Student Involvement Theory

Astin’s Student Involvement Theory suggests that increased student involvement in

extracurricular activities results in an increased learning experience (Patton, et al., 2016). In the

beginning of the movie, Paul struggles to find his place on campus. When he starts interacting

with the other students and begins socializing with his classmates he feels more included. His

involvement also helped others accept him as a peer and added to the synergy of the team

experience on the field. Patton, et al, (2016) states that the more engaged students become with

others, the more satisfaction they will receive. In the movie, Paul’s teammate Andre Krimm who

is also a Graduate Assistant and part-time science professor, explained to Paul, that it wouldn’t

hurt if the team saw him hanging out for once.

Paul took Andre’s advice and found that when he engaged in his peers outside of

mandatory practice his overall relationships with those around him improved and he

subsequently became more academically successful. In fact, when he began taking a sincere

interest in those around him he began transition from a feeling of marginality to a feeling of

mattering. Paul developed a sense of purpose.

Schlossberg’s Mattering and Marginality Theory

Paul dealt with the concept of mattering and marginality throughout the story. Mattering

is the feeling that others care about us and validates what we do (Tovar, Simon, & Lee, 2009).

Schlossberg identified four aspects of mattering. They are, attention, importance, ego-extension,

and dependence (Patton, et al., 2016). Paul went through a period in this story where he
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experienced a deficit in all of those areas. He felt a lack of attention and did not feel he was

noticed by the individuals he considered to be his peers. Most of the people his age were

professors, coaches, and other faculty members. He felt he was not seen as an equal to them, due

to his subordinate role as a student. Paul lacked the feeling of importance and ego-extension,

because he felt the individuals that cared about him were back home at his ranch. Paul was

struggling to meet and connect with someone whom he could share his accomplishments and

failures. On top of all this, Paul lacked a feeling of dependence because he was unable to bring

his team to victory. According to Schlossberg, dependence is the feeling of being needed and

Paul knew the Armadillos did not need him to lose (Patton, et al., 2016). He knew they could

lose very easily on their own. At one point when the team had been on a 0-9 losing streak, Paul

questioned whether he even mattered at all. Schlossberg also developed a fifth dimension she

called appreciation. She defines appreciation as the feeling that others appreciate an individual’s

efforts (Patton, et al., 2016). As a result of his experiences Paul did not feel appreciated and

experienced the feeling of marginality.

Paul was brought to this point and was ready to give up. After a verbal altercation with

his head coach, Paul announced he was quitting the team. Paul was in his Jeep ready to drive

back to his rural Texas farm, when a fellow teammate, named Edison, approached Paul’s vehicle

and asked for a ride. During their drive away from campus Paul and Edison had heart-to-heart

conversation. Edison explained that he was also quitting school and the team. Paul learned that

Edison was quitting because he felt it was impossible for him to pass his final exam. He felt he

would dishonor his family and his team if he stayed and failed. Paul realized that he could make

a difference in Edison’s life if he turned around.

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At that moment, Paul went from marginality to mattering. The components of attention,

ego-extension, importance and dependence all presented themselves. His new goal was to help

Edison pass his course so that Edison could stay on the team. Paul arranged for a tutor to work

with Edison and got his teammates and classmates to rally and support Edison in his preparation

for his final exam. Ultimately Paul decided not to quit college because he realized he could make

a difference in someone’s life. He proved to Edison that with hard work Edison could pass his

classes and succeed. When Edison announced that he passed his class with a “C,” Paul’s feeling

of mattering was completed and he finally felt appreciated.

Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship Theory

During this movie Paul Blake transitioned through three Phases of Baxter Magolda’s Path

to Self-authorship. At the beginning of the movie Paul was working on a farm in rural Texas,

supporting his family business, and doing exactly what his family expected of him. Although he

always wanted to pursue a life in football, after his father passed away, he felt it was his

obligation to step in where his father left off with the farm. This aligns with Phase 1 of Baxter

Magolda’s theory called Following External Formulas (Cohen et al, 2013). Paul was following

the expectations of those around him, and had abandoned his personal goals and dreams.

Because working on the farm was not personally meaningful to him, Paul did not feel a sense of

self-fulfillment. He probably would not have felt fulfilled later in life if he had stayed on that

path.

When Coach Rig showed up at Paul’s farm to recruit him for Texas State University’s

football team Paul entered Phase 2 of Magolda’s theory called, Crossroads (Cohen et al, 2013).

Paul found that the opportunity he had been forced to pass up 16 years earlier, was now

presenting itself again. He was faced with a decision to make, and shifted his attention toward a
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different direction. He was dissatisfied with being defined by others and he realized the need to

look within, for self-definition (Cohen et al, 2013). When Paul listened to himself and considered

taking advantage of the new opportunity in front of him, he felt a clearer sense of direction and

self-confidence. For Paul, deciding to attend college later in life as a first-year student marked

the end of the Crossroads Phase.

When Paul made his decision and officially registered for classes at Texas State

University, he reached Phase 3: Becoming the Author of One’s Life (Cohen et al, 2013). Paul

realized it would be easier for him to stay on the same course, working on his family’s farm and

wondering if he could have succeeded in college. After intensive self-reflection, he chose a

commitment to honor himself. When he walked onto the college football field in uniform again,

it restored his new strong sense of self-concept that he had felt years ago.

Paul navigated through these phases and eventually saw Phase 4: Internal Foundation

(Patton et al, 2016). At the end of the movie, when he finally brought his team to victory he

experienced the feelings of peace, contentment, and inner strength associated with Phase 4

(Patton et al, 2016). Paul never would have achieved self-authorship if he did not learn how to

listen to his internal voice.

Conclusion

I found many aspects of this movie to be directly aligned with theories discussed in our

Student Development Theory in Higher Education class. Although I chose to examine and

highlight the main character of the story, I noticed that other characters aligned with various

concepts covered in our class as well. Many of these concepts and theories intertwine and

complement each other. For example, Tovar et al (2009) states that those in transition, especially

college students, experience feelings of marginality. This underscores the point that
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Schlossberg’s Transitional Theory and Mattering and Marginality Theory are closely related. At

the same time, aspects of Astin’s Involvement Theory can be found in Magolda’s Self-authorship

Theory. For example, Magolda talks about following one’s inner-voice, and in the film, it was

Paul’s inner-voice that convinced him to become involved with others. Eventually this led to

Paul’s feeling of mattering over marginality. Ultimately the ability to successfully transition,

connect with others, feel needed, and listen to one’s own needs can result in the achievement of

goals and can lead to a positive college experience.

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References

Cohen, J., Cook-Sather, A., Lesnick, A., Alter, Z., Awkward, R., Decius, F… Thompson, A.,

(2013). Students as leaders and learners: towards self-authorship and social change on a

college campus. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, V.50 No.1, 3-13.

Neufeld, M., Rehme, R., (Producers), & Dragoni, S. (Director). (1991). Necessary Roughness

[Motion Picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Patton, L., Renn, K., Guido, F., Quaye, S., (2016). Student development in college: theory,

research, and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Schaefer, J., (2010). Voices of older baby boomer students: supporting their transitions back into

college. Educational Gerontology, V.36, 67-90.

Tovar, E., Merril, S., Howard, B., 2009. Development and validation of the college mattering

inventory with diverse urban college students. Measurement and Evaluation in

Counseling and Development, V.42 No.3, 154-178.