Shadows Boxing

Towards the end of Million Dollar Baby the character Scraps, ex boxing great turned gym porter, says of a character who has been away from the gym for a while, "And then a ghost walked in." This is an inadvertant commentary on almost all the principal characters in the film, and thier relationships to each other.

Scraps (Morgan Freeman) is a ghost for Frankie (Clint Eastwood), as is Maggie (Hillary Swank) - the former because he lost sight in one eye in a match, many years ago, partly due to Frankie, and the latter because as time goes on she becomes a surrogate for his long gone daughter who refuses to reconcile with him (we are not told exactly what went wrong between Frankie and his daughter, though we see that he has a shoebox full of letters he sent her marked RETURN TO SENDER).

Frankie goes to Mass every day; the priest tells him, "Write to your daughter." Scraps and Maggie bond because both have been trained by Frankie. Scraps and Maggie, without knowing it, become mirrors of each other, each having been gravely hurt in boxing matches with Frankie as their manager. Yet, at the same time, they mirror each other in another way - boxing is their whole life (Maggie tells Frankie at one point, "If I don't have this, I have nothing"; Scraps literally lives in the gym, in a small space in a corner with a curtain.

He never leaves the place (Frankie invites him to come to Vegas for a fight and he says, "Do you know what this place would look like if I left it?") Everyone whom Frankie seems to care about in his life has been gravely hurt by him - his daughter, Maggie, and Scraps. The gym is a place of vicousness and street consciousness - a bully beats an annoying punk to a bloody pulp, only to be knocked out cold in turn by Scraps. Frankie and Maggie are both on horrible terms with their immediate families, and Scraps has no family in sight;it is such a nonissue for him that none is ever even mentioned.

In this world, in these lives, the characters share much that is bleak and dismal, yet the end effect of the film on the viewer is one of hope, respect, and dignity nonetheless. Any time one character turns to another, their souls,their cores, relate - and in this way these relationships reveal to us some of the essential truths about humanity.

Peter Quinones is the author of Amethyst Secrets, published by I Universe. His website is http://www.cultureboutique.com

---

Mexican Living: The Unexplained

The inexplicable bothers me. It always has. You know, the... Read More

Marcus Garvey: A Symbol for Black Nationalism

My first kid's father named my son Marcus after legendary... Read More

She Wrote the Book on Fakin It

She brought the guitar into vogue. She created the first... Read More

The Crisis of Human Survival

Environmental Pollution1. Damage to The Ozone Layer Causes Radiation PollutionThe... Read More

When Does Man Become God?

Some scientists argue over creation and evolution and they argue... Read More

The Year of the Rooster

The Rooster is traditionally considered to be a favourable sign.... Read More

Inuit Drum Dancing Of The Arctic

Like many other aboriginal cultures around the world, the Inuit... Read More

Paul Hamm: Did He Deserve Gymnastics Gold in 2004?

What was the controversy all about?In the 2004 Olympics, an... Read More

ML - CHI - Zadok and the Making of Gold

ATOMIC HIGH-SPIN TECHNOLOGY: - In 1950 B.C. there was a... Read More

When We Was Kids In Chicago (Part 2)

From an early age my Mother sent me to the... Read More

Dreaming of Love and Peace

She dreams of touring Europe and the US to sing... Read More

Building Catapults Required Engineering Know How

When building catapults, armies had to include in their ranks... Read More

How To Get Rich and Die Quick!

It is funny how web site promotion can suddently plunge... Read More

Feng Shui Horoscopes

A great tool to help you find out more about... Read More

Shakespeare and Human Nature

Isn't it peculiar how human nature evolves through environmental and... Read More

Tarot Cards Demystified: The Suit of Cups

There are many ways to interpret the symbolism found in... Read More

Tribal Tattoo Designs - Why Are They So Popular?

Tribal tattoos have been practiced for thousands of years. Modern... Read More

The Sixties

A decade that stands out above the rest of our... Read More

Opal Jewelry -- Your Own Personal Piece of Rainbow

Opal is a magnificent gemstone whose shades encompass virtually every... Read More

The New Age Movement

What is the New Age Movement? It is similar to... Read More

The Automatic Champion

"Babe" Didrickson Zaharias was a phenomenal athlete. This Texan ran,... Read More

Ernesto Apomayta offers Explanation of Mediums, Paints, & Techniques Used by Artists

Special Types of MediumsRice paper is a very delicate medium... Read More

Saturn: Your Challenge to Become An Expert

The true meaning of Saturn is that he is the... Read More

Mexican Living: So You Want To Expatriate?

Expatriate wannebees often ask us how we managed our expatriation... Read More

Basic Chinese Pinyin Rules

* Make sure you set your browser encoding correctly to... Read More