38 at the Garden

You don't have to be a basketball fan to appreciate this profoundly moving, very topical short documentary. It goes to the heart of the problem of stereotypes, bias, and racism we are currently experiencing in this country.

But it's more than that, it's also the story of how parents can support their child's dream, and not theirs. It's an Asian American story that inspired and will inspire generation of young kids, and hopefully parents as well. Relive the "wave off" and imagine what that gesture can mean for people that doubt themselves, because they are not supposed to be good at something.

On top of that, it's awesome to relive Linsanity, that brief but epic moment of greatness and making the impossible, possible.

Excellent documentary on an inspiring moment in history, all the hard work that led up to it, and how it fits into the context of the Asian American experience today. A moment in history when everyone was caught up watching an underdog succeed in defeating the titans of the game.

Great mix of interviews of fellow players and fans of the NBA along with animation segments to dramatize key moments. Here is an athlete who played at the top of his game while still managing to be a decent human being, imagine that, sometimes rare in professional sports. Should be necessary viewing for all the kids out there looking for motivation and inspiration in pursuing their dreams and ambitions against all odds.

I love it! This isn't just story about one person. It is a story about a community. It is brilliantly done, where the experience of one individual is a collective experience that affect a whole community. Watching this, show us all that even the greatest and must successful person is hindered by sterotypes that affects us all.

It is great to hear the story of what is going on, but what makes this movie more different, is to hear the voices of those who is outside seeing these events, and how it affected them. How the event itself may not have been a huge action (even though 38 points against Lakers & Kobe is no small feat), can influence and impact many in the community. And create glimpse of hope. The true American dream.

This isn't just an underdog story. It is a story about someone who was put into a box, and that person proved that he is more than inside the box. And how a whole community felt the same way, and see him as inspiration of what one can be, if they just fought instead of follow the expectations.

I love sports documentaries more than watching sports. So many good stories out there about how someone beat the odds. This story is a perfect example. Incredibly inspiring thing to witness. It makes you want to get to work on things. It's also a prefect example of preaching and victimization. I remember right when this story broke and reading about it. I don't recall one single thing about race and soon i became a fan before seeing the guy play. Was i surprised, sure. Did i or anyone else care, no. But the way the story is told here, is not how I remembered it. Took a perfectly good story and made it about something else.

Short Review!

Sorry, had to make this much longer in order to post here.

This is Really, interesting in the inspirational sense.

As an FYI- There is 1 hour (ie deep not a soundbite) podcast interview with producer Travon Free available Larry Wilmore Black on the Air 19 Oct 2022.

It is over an hour so not a simple soudbyte, but a deep conversation about why and how this was /is so important culturally speaking.

It really stimulated conversation with the class in a non basketball playing country!! Bringing up issues such as the 'cognitive blind spot', where we unknowingly can delude ourselves and strip humanity away from 'the other' and ourselves, by ignoring the EVIDENCE right in front of our eyes as in Lin killing it a school, county and state level AND YET is not offered a single scholarship!

Listen to the podcast and then Watch the documentary, and enjoy deep reflective conversations.