Conventions of

Sports Films
 Since the start of motion pictures Sports Films have been
a vital part of the success and survival of the filming
industry.
 They have created huge amounts of money for media
companies
 This has allowed many sports and stories of famous and
infamous athletes come to life on the big screen
 Many heroes of the sports film genre are based on real
life inspirations.
 The first Sports Films were actually boxing fights similar to
news.
 Sports Films have a sport setting, event or athlete at the centre of
the narrative and protagonist’s journey.
 Sports films may be fictional or non-fictional and they often tend to
become a hybrid of both.
 They are often dramas, comedy films and occasionally
documentaries.
 The first non-news sports film in 1911 was black and white and was a
silent film
 As the film industry progressed with technology, the action and
detail of sports films became more powerful and impactful on the
audience which allowed the sports film industry to flourish.
Best ever Sports Films
 Conventions
 Sports films always include:
 Sporting event
 Athlete
 Sporting narrative
 Constant change of emotion
 A sports film always follows the same path
 Equilibrium – sets the scene and introduces characters and their situation
 Disruption – presents the issues that face the sport or athlete. Generally challenges to
ability or achievement in the chosen sport.
 High impact sporting scenes charged with emotional and physical impact.
 Resolution – the narrative ends with a resolution that always brings about a personal
realisation within the athlete or sporting glory. There will either be success or failure.
Sports Films – Hollywood

 Recent sporting films can be noted to have two additional key

conventions:
 A utopian view of the world that assumes that anyone who works
hard, is determined and plays by the rules will succeed.
 A need for plausibility based on the resemblance to the actual
sports world that qualifies its utopian outlook with the complexities of
social difference.
 The Blind Side is one of the films that adheres to these conventions.