Searching for Bobby Fischer is a film that explores the themes of dreams and expectations as well as control that are prominent in our societies through the life of Josh Waitzkin, a 7-year-old prodigy with a gift of playing chess. In many ways, the dreams of Josh to become a successful player and his father’s expectations of him to become a winner is reflected in the culture of Hong Kong as students are expected to thrive in their academics regardless of their dreams. The changes in Josh’s attitude towards chess are driven by the people around him and this can be compared to my attitude towards one of my few passions – photography. Josh’s father is very similar to most parents in it that they wish for their child to be the best.
In the film, many people had high hopes for Josh and expected him to claim the number one ranking in all of his tournaments as they recognised his natural gift for playing chess. However, they neglected Josh’s needs and became unconscious of the amount of pressure they were putting on Josh. Similarly, in Chinese culture, academic success is highly valued and is one of the ways that teenagers are defined or even categorised in society. Students’ mental wellness and happiness are not concerned for as all the attention is focused on their academic achievements. Just as Josh was scolded by his father for losing a game, many students are blamed for not being the top of the class or for struggling at school. Instead of tending to Josh’s needs by asking how he was doing first, Josh’s father stressed on why he had lost. The film delivers this theme very well as it clearly depicts how Josh is affected by the burden placed on him.
One of my hobbies is photography. When I first did a photoshoot for someone else, I was extremely excited because my skills were acknowledged and appreciated by someone else. However, over time, this excitement and joy faded as I continued to take photos for other people. I was no longer taking photos for myself and for the enjoyment of it, I was taking photos to satisfy other people. Subconsciously, I focused more on what the people that I was taking photos for wanted rather than bringing out my style. In the same way, Josh no longer found pleasure in playing chess when he felt that he had to please his father by winning. The pressure of becoming a winner transformed into a fear of losing. The fear was so prominent that it replaced Josh’s initial passion for chess. I was told to take and edit photos a certain way like how Josh was taught to play a certain way. I lost interest in taking photos just as Josh became disinterested in chess.
When I was around the same age as Josh is, my parents signed me up for several extra-curricular activities, such as swimming, Chinese calligraphy, and piano. It was normal to involve your kids in an overwhelming amount of activities so that they can start to develop a wide variety of skills from a young age. Although their intentions were good, my parents’ desire to give me a headstart and to entertain my time with productive things often outweighed my opinions or what I wanted. Josh’s father wanted Josh to play in tournaments after tournaments because he knew his son had a gift. He said several times that his son is “better at this (chess) than I’ll/you’ll be at anything”. Ultimately, his intentions – to help Josh further develop his talent – were well but he didn’t realise how much pressure he was putting on his son. Eventually, Josh purposefully lost a game because he didn’t enjoy playing chess anymore.
Josh’s pressure from his father to succeed in chess connects with how academics and parental control become a burden to students in Hong Kong. I was also able to relate to Josh as I’ve also experienced a loss in interest for something that I was so passionate about. Through portraying Josh Waitzkin’s journey in playing chess, the film wonderfully mirrors several aspects of our society and my life from expectations of academic success to personal passions to parents’ dominant control.
Reflection:
This piece was relatively difficult to write as it was timed and is on a topic that I’m not really interested in. There were several times where I had to stop for awhile to think about what I should write. The piece isn’t of the best quality because it was quite rushed. However, I think I had some good thoughts and made a few meaningful connections between the film and our society.
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