A sort ofPhil Alden Robinson clearly remembers the summer of 1988. “It’s hot. The weather is very dry. There are flies everywhere.” The “sweet, corrosive smell of pig manure” permeated the vast cornfields of Iowa. But this is part of the Hollywood director’s business, and he wants his films to look as credible as possible. Therefore, who will turn it into a real farm.With well-known actors such as Kevin Costner With Burt Lancaster and a considerable production budget.
The effort is worth it. Robinson’s “Dreamland” is a magical journey through time and space on the thin line of reality and fantasy. It was released in American cinemas in 1989. The film tells the story of a farmer in this remote area in the upper reaches of Mississippi, who built a baseball field based on inspiration and created a tourist attraction. This big screen event was not only welcomed by the audience, but also received praise and nominations from three Oscars.
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Even after three years, this work still exudes an eternal breath. Reason: Robinson succeeded in Hollywood’s best tradition, “turning sentimentality into real emotion” (New York Times). The result: Since then, more than 50,000 tourists have traveled to Dalesville each year to experience up close the small arena and neighboring farmhouses that were originally built as a backdrop.
The popularity and fame of the movie a while ago brought major affiliate marketing strategists baseball (MLB) came up with the idea of playing a regular championship game in this place. Due to the corona pandemic, the original plan had to be postponed. But it’s Thursday time. Then, two popular traditional teams compete against each other in a purpose-built stadium next to “Dream Field” that can accommodate 8,000 spectators: the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees.
The broad media response to the schedule will attract millions of viewers to watch a game on TV that has little sports importance.
By the way, the participation of the White Sox is a must. The club provides links to the content of the movie. Because one feature of the fantasy material is that it brings a repelled baseball legend to life: “Barefoot” Joe Jackson, the star player of the White Sox, lost the world fraudulently in the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds Contest. These professionals were later acquitted by ordinary courts. But the general manager of the Baseball League was firm and repelled everyone throughout his life.
As an unpopular person, Shoeless was later not allowed to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. Instead, he built a museum for him in his hometown in South Carolina.
The nostalgic transformation of professional sports
Nostalgia for professional sports is not a new trend in the United States. Only the triggers for the formation of memories and legends will change. Sometimes the impulse comes from Hollywood, sometimes from the book industry, sometimes from Broadway, for example, the classic musical “Damn Yankees” was written for this. Hardly any other sport is so suitable to use its heroes and their stories as a projection screen for society. The society dreams of a simpler and long-forgotten era like baseball.
As Tim Wiles, the former chief historian of the Hall of Fame, put it, like in the 1970s, “the golden age of baseball writing began.” A literary genre emerged, “committed to an era considered innocent in the United States.”
During this period, Canadian writer William Patrick Kinsella (William Patrick Kinsella) published a novel titled “Shoeless Joe”, “The Realm of Dreams”. Kinsella, “a true baseball fan” (Los Angeles Times), he spent some time in the studio of the famous Iowa writer, where he found the inspiration for his book, and even dealt with this many times. sports. And he especially likes to use magical realism. But only one work can produce such a lasting effect.
Director Phil Alden Robinson confirmed in an interview at some point that the film ignored relevant historical details. “We took a lot of freedom. Shoeless Joe is a very convincing person in the movie. I don’t think he can read or write at all. But it’s about poetry. So it didn’t bother me at all.”
