Losing is the New Winning: How the Sixers Can Follow the Hornets Model to Success

In theory, rebuilding an NBA team is pretty simple.  Draft a few high-effort guys, sign a couple of veterans, and hopefully land a big-name free agent, or draft the league's next transcendent talent.  However, in practice, it's not that easy.  My extensive experience playing "Association" mode in the NBA 2K franchise would make me the most successful GM in NBA history.  In every franchise, I follow my model, and within two to four years, the team is competing for a playoff berth.

The most recent actual team to follow something close to this model is the now Charlotte Hornets.  After finishing 7-59 in the 2011-2012 season, the then Bobcats finished as the worst team in NBA history.  After drafting defensive stud Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in the 2012 draft, the Bobcats finished the 2012-2013 season 21-61.

Ace in the (Buch)Holz

On Memorial Day 2010, I attended my first ever Red Sox game.  A Rochester, NY native, and coupled with being a 14 year old, I never had many opportunities to travel to Boston. But that year my mom finally gave in to my requests, and purchased tickets to the Memorial Day game against the Kansas City Royals. When we arrived at the stadium, the sun shined over Yawkey Way and I was in absolute awe.  I had never seen anything like it, including that many Red Sox fans in one place.  

I was ecstatic to find our seats along the first base line, with a beautiful view of the green monster. That day, Jon Lester was pitching, and during warm ups, new star pitcher Clay Buchholz was signing autographs.  Apprehensive and intimidated by the fans who seemed to know what they were doing, my mom urged me to get as close as I could, and eventually Clay spotted me and I threw my program down towards him.  He signed a picture of Dustin Pedroia and gave me a little smirk (Clay's picture was on the inside cover of the program, but I was happy nonetheless). That was it, I was hooked.  I framed the picture when I got home and admired it as any fourteen year old boy could.

Clay Buchholz during the Memorial
Day game in his breakout 2010 season.

It doesn't seem too long ago that Clay Buchholz was dominating opposing batters and was selected to his second All-Star game in 2013.  Buchholz looked like the best pitcher in baseball up until June, when he was sidelined with a neck injury, but seemed poised to return to form after the All-Star break.  Unfortunately, Buchholz hasn't regained his early 2013 form, and has become a major question mark for the ace-less Red Sox.

All Betts on Mookie

The youth movement in Boston appears to be over.  Well, sort of.  Jackie Bradley Jr., Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster, and Will Middlebrooks all played their way out of jobs for the Red Sox.  With a year of experience under his belt and a lot of potential yet to fill, Xander Bogaerts appears to be the only survivor of the 2014 youth movement in Bean Town.

Once promising prospects, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Will Middlebrooks did not live up to expectations.

One question mark is second basemen turned outfielder, Mookie Betts.  Betts caught the attention of Red Sox coaches and fans after a blazing hot start to the 2014 season in the minor leagues.  Betts quickly rose his way to the major leagues in late June and struggled in his first taste of major league action, batting .235 through his first ten games after batting .342 in Double-A and Triple-A.  The Tennessee native was sent down to get more seasoning in the minors, and was later called back up to the Red Sox, where he finished the season hitting .291 while playing in the outfield, and some second base while Dustin Pedroia dealt with a left hand injury.

Stuck in the Middle-brooks

On a warm, spring May day in Rochester, NY, I donned my Red Sox hat and began watching ESPN highlights from the night before.  Among them were the 2012 Red Sox, already in dismay after hiring Bobby Valentine.  The Red Sox were struggling to find an identity as a team, and star third baseman Kevin Youkilis was battling injuries.  In come third base prospect from Texas, Will Middlebrooks.  Through his first 38 games, Middlebrooks had 31 RBI and looked like a star in the making.  I immediately ran to my computer and searched "Will Middlebrooks Jersey", as I wanted to brag to my Yankee fan friends that the Sox had the superstar in the making.  The results were slim, but I managed to find a navy blue t-shirt with "Middlebrooks" and his rookie #64 printed across the back.

The rookie sensation went on to hit .288 with 15 homers before his season was ended due to a broken wrist, but while playing, he looked like the anchor of the lineup for years to come. Then 2013 came.  Middlebrooks was poised to have a breakout year and establish himself as a force in the middle of the Red Sox lineup.  But after a lower back strain, Middlebrooks lost his job and was sent to Triple-A.  The third basemen came back and, while losing playing time to Xander Bogaerts, finished the year with 17 homers while batting .227.  2014 was more of the same.  After a hot spring, Middlebrooks battled injuries and was ultimately sent to Triple-A, and finished the year hitting .192 with only two homers in 63 games.

Screenwriting in the Digital Age: Don Jon Isn't Just About Porn

This essay was written for my Writing 1 class after examining a discourse community, where my focus was on screenwriters.

          The ever-changing movie industry has caused many shakeups for screenwriters in the past twenty years.  New technology has drastically changed the way screenwriters communicate and write their screenplays as it needs to be incorporated into every aspect of a story.  Along with new technology, cultural changes have caused screenwriters to adapt their ideas to new global issues and ways of thinking.  Technological changes have allowed for easier communication among screenwriters and higher ups in the movie industry, and the inclusion of technology has changed screenplays, while cultural changes in gender roles have led to screenplays where new ways of thinking are used as central themes, such as the movies Her, (500) Days of Summer, and Don Jon.

          The rise in popularity of the internet has allowed screenwriters to easily connect with other screenwriters and higher-ups in the movie industry.  Communication among screenwriters is vital as it allows for peer review, and the ability to brainstorm new ideas.  Before the rise of the internet, an aspiring screenwriter in Idaho would have a hard time getting their work noticed.  But now, websites like “The Black List” allow for aspiring screenwriters to post their work, have it edited by other screenwriters, and possibly noticed by movie officials (Dodes).  Recently, popular movies like Slumdog Millionaire, World War Z, and The King’s Speech, once appeared on “The Black List” and were eventually funded (Dodes).  When discussing the beginning of “The Black List”, Dodes states, “Ever since the first one went viral in 2005, the Black List has generated a rush of excitement in Hollywood, as writers check to see if their scripts made it, and agents and managers claim bragging rights. A place on the list can burnish a writer's reputation and lead to future jobs, even if the featured script doesn't get produced.” (Dodes).  Steadily growing since 2005, “The Black List” has gained the reputation as a credible website that allows everyone in the movie industry a chance at success.  While the rise of the internet and websites like “The Black List” have given screenwriters an easier chance at success, some argue that screenwriting is still in decline as most screenwriters are unable to support themselves as full time screenwriters (Norton).  While there is a high number of screenwriters that have to work other jobs, the internet still gives them a chance to collaborate with other screenwriters and spread their work to new audiences.  Collaboration with other screenwriters helps the spread of new ideas, and originality is highly valued in today’s movie industry.

          Before the rise of the internet, screenwriters were stuck in a state where incorporating new technology instantly classified a movie as science fiction.  But with the major - and rapid - technological advances of the past twenty years, the use of new ideas, specifically technology, in screenplays is highly valued (Norton).  When people think of technology in movies, their mind would most likely go to the futuristic dystopia depicted in the Terminator movies.  However, as time has passed, movies like Terminator now have their own specific genre (Norton).  Scott Essman, a screenwriter, stated, “As a screenwriter, it used to be really easy to get people lost in the woods.” (Essman).  By this, Essman means that the changes in technology around the world have led to a dilemma for screenwriters.  Screenwriters must now think of creative ways to tell classic stories, but with technology people are now accustomed to using.  Now, technology can be used in movies to tell said stories, but in a modern way. 

Movies like Her, written by Spike Jonze, use a mix of futuristic and modern technology to tell a classic story.  Many reviews of Her claim that it is nothing more than a hipster film about a lonely man who falls in love with “Siri”, like film critic Ryu Spaeth, “This is the art of the hipster, which is to say that there is a lot of style, but the substance is missing.” (Spaeth).  But Her is much more than that.  Her, most eloquently described is, “a film about the nature of love and the death of intimacy in the modern world.” (Warren).  Screenwriter Spike Jonze does in Her what other similar movies failed to do – it makes viewers care.  In an interview with BBC, and asked if the technology was meant to recede into the background, Jonze responded, “Yeah, it was deliberate.  That was more of the setting for this love story.” (Jonze).  Jonze used technology as a building block for a more complex version of a love story.  Jonze also said, “the lead in was all about falling in love with software, which actually the movie really isn’t about.  It’s more of a love story and a relationship story.” (Jonze).  Critics of the movie argued Jonze used a ridiculous concept of technology, but Jonze argues that the movie uses said technology to connect with viewers who can relate to his protagonist.  Jonze created protagonist Theodore Twombly, a lonely man recovering from a divorce, trying to find his place in the world.  While the premise sounds simple, Jonze uses the unique technology in his world, basically an advanced version of Apple’s Siri, to make viewers question their previous beliefs about love.  Spike Jonze’s movie Her succeeds in incorporating new technology into its writing for its ability to make viewers care, while incorporating new (albeit fake) technology into his emotional plea to the audience, while avoiding the science fiction label.  The use of technology in Her is a modern take on a classic love story, whereas movies like (500) Days of Summer examine the definitive changes in culture of the past twenty years, specifically related to relationships.

Over the past twenty years, relationships and traditional gender roles have changed as women are now empowered to be independent, whereas in the past they were confined to domestic duties.  Cultural changes have altered family structures in a drastic way.  Modern women are now empowered to provide for themselves, and are no longer raised believing marriage is essential to living (Gray).  As these cultural changes have transpired, screenwriters have changed their screenplay ideas to incorporate elements of modern family and relationship structures.  Many movies and TV shows feature independent women in lead roles, who clearly display the changing cultural values throughout the nation.  However, as relationships have changed in the past twenty years, one may argue that screenwriters write whatever they want, and don’t pay attention to changing cultural values.  But in reality, screenwriting is based around changes in culture.  Like previously stated, Scott Essman used the “lost in the woods” example to describe a dilemma for screenwriters based around incorporating technology into their screenplays.  But technology is not the only thing that must be updated for stories.  When asked what influences his writing, screenwriter Cliff Dorfman, who wrote HBO’s Entourage, stated, “Every single one. Every person I know, have ever known or even ran into for an instant. Every experience I’ve ever had. My family. My friends. My relationships. Everything. Nothing is sacred when I’m writing. It’s the most vulnerable you can be. I sit around public places and listen to other people’s conversations.” (Dorfman, Knittel).  In other words, Dorfman examines every experience in life to find inspiration for writing.  As time has passed, his experiences have been directly influenced by changes in culture.  New cultural ideas, like changing dynamics in relationships, need to be implemented in order to create a successful screenplay, and are in movies like (500) Days of Summer.

(500) Days of Summer, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, explores the changes in attitudes of women and new relationship structures in the modern world (Rotten Tomatoes).  In the past, romantic comedies, like Sleepless in Seattle, would depict a man and woman who would instantly be drawn to each other (Chapman), and would live happily ever after, as a parallel to what people wanted in real life.  But (500) Days of Summer uses a quirky approach to examine the changing cultural values of men and women.  In order to show the changes in culture, the screenwriters hyperbolize women by creating a harsh antagonist, Summer, with a depressing view on love and no interest in settling down with idealistic protagonist Tom (Xanthopoulou).  The screenwriters of (500) Days of Summer specifically created Summer to go against classic notions of love stories.  The movie is written in a nonlinear structure, which in turn juxtaposes happy moments in Tom and Summer’s relationship, with the darker side of dating in the modern world.  Some would argue that (500) Days of Summer is a classic romantic comedy with a different narrative.  But unlike most romantic comedies where the female lead subscribes to stereotypes, Summer is the opposite, as she holds the position a man usually holds (Xanthopoulou).  By doing this, the screenwriters were able to clearly express the changing relationship structure in the world.  Widely viewed as a cute, but depressing, could have been love story, (500) Days of Summer is a complex overview of changing relationship structures in the modern world.

The movies Her and (500) Days of Summer are influenced by changes in technology and cultural values, respectively, while the movie Don Jon intertwines both to display the overall changes in screenwriting.  On the surface, Don Jon, written by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (IMDb), is a crass movie about a man addicted to porn, but at its core it is multifaceted indication of where society is headed.  Don Jon focuses on a New Jersey man who develops unrealistic expectations for a relationship by watching porn, and in turn can only be satisfied by his technological addiction (Travers).  The inane nature of the movie can be seen as a parallel to real life.  As people become more addicted to technology, they begin to isolate themselves in most aspects of life, as screenwriter Spike Jonze depicts in his modern love story, Her.  In today’s world, porn excluded for the sake of this argument, people are constantly thinking about what they should tweet next, or which filter to use on an Instagram picture.  Don Jon explores changes in relationships as in the movie the protagonist was addicted to porn and his girlfriend despised him for it, while in real life dates can be ruined if one person pulls out their phone, “just to check the time”.  One may argue that Don Jon is nothing more than a movie about an idiot from New Jersey, addicted to satisfying his needs.  On the surface, that’s exactly what Don Jon is.  But Joseph Gordon-Levitt didn’t want that to be what Don Jon is remembered for; Don Jon is a complex presentation on the effects of technology on lives and relationships in the modern world.

Screenwriting is heavily influenced by changes in technology and culture, as movies have been written in dramatically different ways over the past twenty years.  The movie industry is known for its ups and downs, which can leave screenwriters to lean towards another career.  However, with the rise of the internet, specifically websites like “The Black List”, communication among screenwriters has changed, and their screenplays have benefited as a result.  The movies Her, (500) Days of Summer, and Don Jon display how technology and culture have influenced screenwriters over the past twenty years.