While I have mixed feelings about the content of the movie “Friday Night Lights,” I think there’s a lot to be said about the characters’ attitudes and how they influence the plot.

One of my favorite characters in the film was Boobie Miles. I think that if you overlook his questionable, yet somewhat justifiable, behavior towards his attending doctor at Midland Hospital, he was a consistently positive force throughout the entire movie. Throughout his personal highs and lows, he never failed to act accordingly to what would be most beneficial for his team and friends (other than his lack of discipline to train with them). When everything was going his way, he consistently attempted to make his teammates smile and feel as part of the family, despite being the superstar that everyone relied on. After being told he would not play football again, he kept his chin up in front of his friends, which may have been intended to save face, but he also gave each of them encouraging words before leaving.

Coach Taylor was another positive force in influencing the team’s attitudes. I think the way he handled the pressure being placed on him was relatively respectful, given that he was threatened and pressured from all sides at various points in the movie. His ability to guide his mentees through example, particularly through his positivity during the coin-toss to decide if they would play at states, was a powerful force that I thought influenced the team to stop looking negatively at the situations presented going forward.

Overall, I think that was the most powerful message that I received throughout the movie. “The only difference between winning and losing is how the outside world treats you.”