Optional Excursion 1: "The Fighter"

     A few weeks ago in mid-September my "FYSH" professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell informed us about the showing of the movie "The Fighter" at the O'Leary Library on South Campus. This movie not only features two famous actors, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, but also plays a vital role in the city of Lowell and the history that surrounds it. After the Industrial Revolution left its mark on Lowell the city had fallen into turmoil. By the mid-1970's the population dropped by nearly twenty-thousand to 91,000 and 13% of the city's residents were unemployed. The city's industrial economy had been reduced to a much smaller scale and marginal business. The city's infrastructure and buildings were old, decaying, obsolete, and abandoned. Nothing seemed to be going right for this city and it felt as if things would remain this way for a long time to come. That's where the story behind "The Fighter" comes in. In 2000 Micky Ward, a Lowell native and professional boxer was given the chance to fly cross seas to England to take on the champ Shea Neary. In the "2000 WBU Light Welterweight Title Match" Ward was able to out duel Neary in an 8th round technical knockout which brought pride, joy, and hope to the city of Lowell.

     My excursion started off roughly as I had to walk to South Campus from my dorm at Fox Hall. I would have been ecstatic if I could have taken the bus, but neither of my roommates have classes on South Campus so we didn't know which buses went where. After the painful twenty minute walk I was relieved to walk into O'Leary and find a seat for the movie. 

     "The Fighter" not only focused on the fight against Shea Neary, but on Dicky and Micky Ward's struggles back home in Lowell. "The Fighter" illustrated the crime, drug use, and poor conditions the city was in after its economic collapse. In the movie Dicky was a very talented and successful boxer who knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard in an HBO fight, but had his career fall apart from cocaine addiction. Dicky had also been getting arrested several times, which put stress on Micky. In this movie Micky's two main concerns are his family and the city of Lowell, which he eventually has to pick between. He knew that if he ever wanted to make a name for himself he'd have to leave his mother from being his manager and brother as his trainer. Although Micky knew that this would cause conflict between his new staff and his family, he emphasizes the fact that he needs both of them in order to achieve his success.

     My favorite moment of the film comes towards the end when Micky has his title shot within reach. In the late rounds Micky is losing, but has enough heart to keep fighting on and refuses to go down. In between one of the rounds, Dicky grabs Micky and says "Are you like me? Was it just good enough to fight Sugar Ray? Never had to win, did I? You gotta do more in there. You gotta win a title. For you, for me, for Lowell. This is your time, all right? You take it. I had my time and I blew it. You don't have to. All right? You get out there, and use all the shit that you've been through, all the shit we've gone through over the years, and you put it in that ring right now. This is yours. This is yours". Those lines really emphasize how important family and Lowell meant to these two despite the harsh lives they've had to grow up with.

     After the movie we were introduced to a guest speaker who acted in the movie. This man was the police officer from the movie who was Micky's new trainer. Ironically this man played himself in the movie. Having no background with acting I was surprised at how well he performed in front of celebrities and knowing that he would be seen all around the world. He told us that his role wasn't difficult at all because all he had to do was just be himself. He then got to telling us about his experiences with Micky in real life and with Mark Wahlberg in the movie. One of his biggest points about Micky's success was about the heart that Micky had when he stepped into the ring. Other boxer's may be bigger, stronger, and even more talented but Micky always had for want in his heart and that's why he outlasted them despite getting pounded on. In a sense Micky Ward, metaphorically speaking, is Lowell. He had been struggling his whole life, but he worked hard to getting back on his feet and push forward to establish a successful career.

     Living as close to Lowell as I do, I have noticed that the city is gradually getting nicer every year that goes by. A lot of the old mill buildings are starting to be put to use again for new businesses and entrepreneurs. There's also a lot of construction and new modernized buildings being sprung up from the city, especially near the university. Obviously I don't clearly remember what Lowell looked like before Micky Ward's fight in 2000, but if Lowell was how "The Fighter" portrayed it to be, then I have to agree that Micky Ward's victory did indeed dramatically change the atmosphere of Lowell.  

     Now that my excursion's done, I just thought I'd let you know that many of my friends and family have been antagonizing me for never seeing "The Fighter" for several years now, and this excursion was actually the first time I watched "The Fighter". I feel that waiting this long actually turned out to supply a much better experience to watching "The Fighter". I got to view it for the first time in the city the movie was filmed in, and got to hear a guest speaker who played both a role in the movie and with Micky in real life. It was sort of my own special premier of the "The Fighter", and I couldn't have asked for a much better one.