210west

You'd think, from this portrait of rural Indiana, that Midwesterners circa 1951 were a rude and hostile bunch, sneering at strangers, insisting that they "prove themselves."

Which is ridiculous, of course. I taught at a fairly similar rural high school in the '60s (albeit in New England), and even though I was a stranger in town like Hackman, everyone without exception was friendly and welcoming -- as, let's face it, most ordinary people are, country people in particular. In real life, people smile at one another. They make small talk. They kid around. They get along.

Only in the movies, where conflict needs to be exaggerated to boost the drama, would a newcomer face the absurdly chilly reception Hackman receives at the start of this film.

Another reminder that "Hoosiers" is a Hollywood fantasy is that in movies like this, beautiful desirable women tend to be absurdly available, unattached, up for grabs. They don't, inconveniently, have boyfriends, much less tons of suitors lined up around the block, as they would in real life. "Hoosiers" casts Barbara Hershey, in her day easily one of the world's most beautiful actresses (if never especially talented), as a single young schoolteacher mysteriously available in a small rural town in 1951, whereas in real life she'd already have been elected Miss Indiana and on her way to Hollywood. (Granted, I bailed on the movie sometime in the first half and didn't stick around for her backstory.)