I'll be the first to admit that mine was not the typical high school experience. A graduate of John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet High School, I managed to fulfill my four years without ever attending a pep rally, investing myself emotionally in the outcome of a football game or finding the clique that would best suit my particular personality.
Sure, I was aware of these things. Davidson was, after all, on Telfair Street, not the moon. I had friends and acquaintances at traditional high schools and I heard the stories and occasionally dipped my toe into that world. But, for the most part, I concerned myself with the artists and actors, dancers and dramatists that walked the halls with me.
In the years since, however, I've developed a fascination with high school societies. I wonder where, exactly, I might have fit in had I gone to the Academy of Richmond Academy, the school for which I was zoned? How would those pep rallies and assorted cliques have affected the person I became. There's really no way of telling, but below are a few documents of the high school experience, each slated for release in the coming week, that might offer a couple of clues. Check it out.
DVD
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Like The Last Picture Show some 30 years earlier, Friday Night Lights is about a town searching for the one thing that defines it, that proves that it is a place of consequence. In The Last Picture Show, the movie house was set as the town's spiritual center; in Friday Night, it's the 50-yard line of the local high school football field. Interesting in that it doesn't require a great understanding, or even love, of football. The film succeeds because of the level of investiture each character places on the game and how it is played. Friday Night Lights is released on DVD Tuesday.
Movie
COACH CARTER: Based on a true story, this movie about a high school basketball coach who places achievement in the classroom above achievement on the court seems poised to embrace a too-tired cinematic clich. While the idea of a good-hearted coach opening athletes' eyes to the world around them always seems appealing on paper, it's a story that's become a bit hackneyed and tired. Still, Samuel L. Jackson stars, and while his track record does boast more than a few dogs, he's always entertaining to watch. Coach Carter opens today.
Book
I'LL BE WATCHING YOU: How's this for high concept - Taylor Hatstead is a high school counselor by day and a private detective by night. Such is the set-up for author Andrea Kane's hardcover debut. Thrown into the mix are a romance with an attorney; a pair of twins, one of whom may or may not be dead; and mysterious messages that may or may not be coming from beyond the grave. I'll Be Watching You hits shelves Tuesday.
Television
THE GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS: The Oscars may have the prestige, but the Golden Globes have the party. The awards show where nominees are encouraged to enjoy a couple of beverages before hitting the podium, the Globes are what high school might have been like had the student body been insanely wealthy and severely liposuctioned. The Golden Globes airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
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