Akeelah and the Bee

4 Stars – Inspirational

Spelling Bees have reached new heights in the 21^st century.  Once thought of as quaint reminders of the 1950’s, today they are the “new competition”  not only on the school campus, but today the National Spelling Bee is broadcast on ESPN in place of a sporting event.  One of the hottest shows on Broadway is the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and one of the most inspirational films of 2006 is “Akeelah and the Bee.”

Set in south Los Angeles at the Crenshaw Middle School, Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an exceptional student in a mediocre school.  Her home life is a struggle in a neighborhood filled with drug dealers.  Her father is no longer present, but her older brother is a great role model getting his college degree and becoming an Air Force pilot.  Akeelah, like most teenagers, doesn’t know the potential that lies within her.  But that is where teachers make the difference, they recognize ability.  Her teacher knows that Akeelah is an exceptional speller. 

With the help of the school’s Principal, Akeelah is coaxed into entering the school’s Spelling Bee.  Most of the words that are presented are very easy.  Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), a visiting school advisor who teaches at UCLA, is intrigued by Akeelah’s adept answers and asks from the sideline if she can spell the word “ambidextrous.”  She can, and she answers five additional complicated words that Dr. Larabee throws at her.

What progresses through the story are a series of more difficult Spelling Bees, from the local school district, through the state championship, ending up at the National Spelling Bee.  Dr. Larabee takes Akeelah on as a challenge and becomes her coach.  We won’t give away the story, but during this trek she must learn how to believe in herself and stand up to the strengths and weaknesses of others.

Through this process, Akeelah is faced with a parallel problem from Tanya Anderson (Angela Bassett), her resistant mother who believes that this is a waste of time in a world of hard necessities.  The lessons that Akeelah learns in her competition prove to be invaluable in opening up lines of communication with her mother.  Throughout the story, she is always truthful and respectful, even when her mother doesn’t always hear what she has to say.

One of Akeelah’s most endearing qualities is her empathy for others.  This almost gets her in trouble in the National Spelling Bee when she feels such anguish for another contestant whose father is berating him for never winning, that she almost throws the contest in order to let him succeed.  The other boy, sensing what she is doing, purposefully misses a question and makes the point to her that any win that isn’t honest isn’t a win at all.

In the end, Akeelah comments that through the process, the only word that she learned to spell that made a real difference was l-o-v-e.  It was the one word that she fully understood came from her teacher, her coach, her competitors, her friends, her brother and her mother.

 

Discussion:                                   

1.       Challenging a child to rise to their potential is an art that requires a gifted teacher.  Can you name such a teacher who has impacted your life?

 

2.       The juxtaposition between the daughter of a single mother in a drug-dealing neighborhood with a national spelling bee makes this story more compelling.  If Akeelah had been born in privilege with special tutors then she would not be the subject of this film.  How can we honor all children regardless of their social class?

 

3.       The love that Akeelah experienced is the goal of a mature life.  How have you experienced this love in your own life?

 

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Cinema In Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary.  Hal Conklin is former mayor of Santa Barbara and Denny Wayman is pastor of the Free Methodist Church. For more reviews: http://www.cinemainfocus.com.