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Friday Night Lights, the sports drama following the ups and downs of the Dillon Panthers high school football team, was itself something of an underdog. While it was a critical darling beloved...
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00:00Friday Night Lights, the sports drama following the ups and downs of the Dillon Panthers high
00:04school football team, was itself something of an underdog.
00:07Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.
00:09Can't lose!
00:10While it was a critical darling beloved by its small but mighty fanbase, many who loved
00:14the show feel that it never really got to do.
00:17Not your average football drama focused solely on winning on the field.
00:21The show took a deeper look at the lives of everyone involved in a way that felt immediate
00:25and real.
00:26So, what is it specifically that made this show so raw and relatable?
00:30Well, you're gonna win or you're gonna lose.
00:34Either way, the sun's gonna come up the next morning.
00:37This is The Total Take, where we break down the most analyzable films and TV shows of all
00:41time through visual storytelling, writing, world, symbolism, and impact.
00:47A big thanks to Patreon subscriber Michael Mondragon for sponsoring this video.
00:51Michael wanted us to do a total take on everything that made Friday Night Lights so great.
00:56So, let's dive in.
00:57Our first category is the writing.
00:59The originality, inventiveness, and insight within the script.
01:03What is the piece's true takeaway?
01:05The show's writing feels true to life because it is pulled from real life.
01:09Based on H.G.
01:10Bissinger's 1990 book, Friday Night Lights, A Town, A Team, and a Dream, about a real-life
01:15team in Odessa, Texas, the story was first adapted into a 2004 film of the same name,
01:20starring Billy Bob Thornton.
01:21The novel was the real story of the 1988 Permian Panthers of Odessa, Texas, and their fight
01:27to the Texas State Championship that year.
01:29But the book wasn't just about the football.
01:31Bissinger was a journalist by trade, and it even won the Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for his
01:36reporting on corruption in Philadelphia's court system.
01:38And so he was also interested in digging into the larger ecosystem around the team.
01:43The players' lives off the field, the coaches, the families, and the entire town itself.
01:47It's no secret that Texas football culture is pretty intense, and in small towns like
01:52these, it can be the central driving force for many people's lives.
01:56And so adapting the story for television gave the team the opportunity to really dig into
02:00these stories and themes in a new way.
02:02I said you need to strive to be better than everyone else.
02:08I didn't say you needed to be better than everyone else.
02:12But you gotta try.
02:14That's what character is.
02:17It's in the triumph.
02:18One major event pulled from real life functions as the catalyst for much of the drama of the
02:23story.
02:23The pilot sees star quarterback Jason Street becoming paralyzed during a play.
02:28This was based on the real-life injury of David Edwards in a game a few years prior.
02:32Jason's injury not only upends his own life, but also throws many others off course.
02:37The new head coach, Eric Taylor, has to totally realign his plans for the star team now without
02:42their star quarterback.
02:44Matt Saracen, only a sophomore, is thrown headfirst into the limelight when he has to
02:49take over for Jason.
02:50And these kinds of ripple effects are one of the things that makes the show feel so true
02:54to life.
02:55While many high school shows often seem to exist in a bubble, where the kids encounter all
02:59sorts of wild and even terrifying situations, but it never seems to really affect that much
03:03in the larger world or lead to many long-term consequences.
03:07On Friday Night Lights, we do see that cause and effect.
03:10You give 100% of yourself tonight, people are gonna look at you differently.
03:14And I promise you, you're gonna look and think differently about yourselves.
03:20We feel how connected everyone is, even when they don't want to be.
03:24In a small town, everyone knows everyone, and everyone's business.
03:28This can feel suffocating and lead to a lot of pressure.
03:31And in the Panthers team, we can see how this can bubble over even for people who should
03:35be working together.
03:36Y'all wanna fight?
03:37Go ahead and fight.
03:38But not on my field and not in my collars.
03:41Is that understood?
03:42Yes, sir.
03:43You don't fight in my house!
03:45No one is perfect in the world of Friday Night Lights.
03:48From the teens to the adults, everyone is allowed to have very real flaws, which don't
03:52just pop up for one episode, for a bit of drama, but are instead a deeper part of their characters
03:57that drive them, and that they truly have to put in work to overcome.
04:02You don't listen to the grady haunts of the world.
04:04You listen to the people that love you, and you listen to people that you trust.
04:09Most of all, you listen to yourself.
04:10And the larger ensemble allows for a larger range of issues to be covered in a way that
04:15felt genuine, from toxic masculinity to racism to slut-shaming and beyond.
04:20And the show wasn't afraid to dive into the grittier lives of teens, working to give space
04:24to the full breadth and depth of their emotions.
04:27It was an accident.
04:28It was not your fault.
04:30Look at me.
04:32I want you to let yourself off the books, son.
04:35And it was also willing to confront masculinity in a way not often seen on television, especially
04:40at the time, taking a peek behind the stoic facade of these men and boys to see the humanity
04:45underneath.
04:46Every man at some point in his life is going to lose a battle.
04:50But what makes him a man is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself.
04:56Coach Taylor was written as an inspirational figure, but also an imperfect one.
05:01His understanding of the world and desire to push the team to be their best doesn't
05:04come from some two-dimensional need to be a good guy, but instead from a deep fire within
05:09that knew that he could really change lives.
05:12He doesn't swoop in to save or fix everything, but instead helps the team find that strength
05:17within themselves.
05:19You have to have trust and honesty without trust and honesty.
05:22It is not going to work.
05:24I can't give you any answers.
05:26You got to make the answers.
05:27He also pushes the team to not get bogged down in petty disagreements and instead understand
05:32that they'll always be more powerful together.
05:35Hey, coach, we put it away, coach.
05:37We cool.
05:37BFFs.
05:38Once again, go warm up.
05:43Our second category is visual storytelling.
05:46The cinematography, editing, the former style.
05:49How do the visuals tell and elevate the story?
05:51The show is filmed in cinema verite, or documentary style, adding to the feeling that we're getting
05:57a peek into a very real world.
05:59While multicam doc-style filming has become a staple of comedies, using it for this drama
06:03made it feel closer to reality shows of its era than the glossier teen dramas.
06:08I wish I could just hate her and walk away from it and be done with it, because it would be so much easier.
06:12But I love her, you know?
06:14There's no weakness in forgiveness.
06:15If that's what you decide.
06:20The use of multiple cameras for each scene also allowed for continuous filming and improvisation by the actors,
06:26instead of having to stop and reshoot different setups for each scene.
06:29Another key visual styling of the show is its use of close-ups.
06:32It can be difficult for anyone to say what they're thinking or what they really mean,
06:37but especially teenagers and closed-off adults.
06:40And so these close-ups give us a chance to read their feelings on their faces.
06:45We're really pulled into their world and living through each moment with them.
06:49Everybody leaves me!
06:55What's wrong with me?
06:57The shooting style also adds to the intensity of the games.
07:00It feels like we're really down on the field with these players, play-by-play.
07:04We can't see everything at once, because we don't have a bird's-eye view.
07:07We're down on the field with them, or watching intensely from the sideline.
07:12The visual style combines with the naturalistic writing to create a world that feels relatable and honest.
07:18Now, let's take a look at symbolism.
07:20Does the show have a rich and original system of symbols?
07:23And can it work as a parable on multiple layers?
07:26Unsurprisingly, the biggest symbol on the show is football itself.
07:30It isn't just about the game.
07:32Football is a metaphor for these characters' entire lives.
07:35Feeling like they're not good enough, or that they're underappreciated, or just want to give up.
07:40Or like, no matter how hard they try, they'll never really be able to make it,
07:44because there's always some huge obstacle in the way.
07:47They're often so singularly focused on this goal that it can blot out everything else in their lives,
07:53then leading them to having a hard time figuring out who they really are off-field.
07:58But we also see how it can help instill within them a feeling of purpose when they otherwise feel like they have none.
08:05Champions, don't give up!
08:08Champions, don't complain!
08:10Champions, give 200%!
08:13You're not champions until you've earned it!
08:17Family, in all its forms, is incredibly important.
08:20Biological family certainly has an effect on every single character,
08:23whether holding them up or holding them back.
08:25But the most important familial bonds come from those of the community forged between the teammates,
08:31with Coach Taylor functioning as a surrogate father of sorts.
08:35If you'll never give up on you, you go back out on the field,
08:38those are the people I want in your minds.
08:41Those are the people I want in your hearts.
08:45The next category we look at is world.
08:47How does the show use tone, atmosphere, performances, music, or sound design
08:51to build a particular world that's memorable, evocative, or takes us somewhere that makes us feel something?
08:57In addition to its ability to pull in stories from real life,
09:00the world of Friday Night Lights feels so real because the creative team went to great lengths
09:04to honestly capture the essence of the world in a way that felt genuine.
09:08Many things we see, from uniforms to stadiums to the fans,
09:12and even some of the game footage, are all borrowed from real life.
09:16This, in addition to the show's cinema verite style,
09:18helped shake off any artifice, and instead built out what feels like a real look
09:22into the intensity of small-town Texas football culture,
09:25and all of the lives in its orbit.
09:28This is about more than just football, gentlemen.
09:32It's about adversity and how we stand up to it.
09:35No one said they were going to hand us the playoffs.
09:37The creative team allowed the actors a lot of leeway with their lines and performances,
09:41giving them the opportunity to make them feel more real and lived in.
09:44Like iconic teen show before it, My So-Called Life,
09:47Friday Night Lights was more interested in performances that felt honest,
09:51which meant stumbling over words, awkward pauses, and longing glances.
09:55These are not snappy teens written to sound like what adults wish they sounded like in their youth,
10:00but instead honest depict teenagerdom.
10:02The adults, for their part, also feel human and real.
10:05They've got their own problems,
10:07and encounter the very real-world difficulties that can come with trying to deal with angsty teens.
10:12What's the big deal?
10:14Well, the big deal is that it's part of my job to make sure that you don't grow up stupid.
10:19It's bad for the world.
10:20The world also feels real because people are allowed to grow and change.
10:25The kids aren't kids forever.
10:26They get older and go off to college.
10:28Or don't.
10:29While some people do make it out and head off to build new lives for themselves,
10:33others stay stuck in their old ways,
10:36and the way we've felt has happened to other adults we've seen throughout the show.
10:40And so, we can see that this is a cycle that continues to pull some people in.
10:44No one is assured any certain kind of life.
10:47It all comes as the result of a million little decisions,
10:50and lucky or unlucky breaks that they have no control over,
10:54just like for all of us in real life.
10:56And our final category to discuss is Impact.
10:59Has the piece sparked debate, thought, and conversation?
11:02And has its influence managed to stand the test of time?
11:05The show struggled for the recognition it deserved, even while it was on the air.
11:09It was a critical darling and did get some awards spotlight,
11:12but it was constantly on shaky footing.
11:15The 2007 writer's strike led to the show's second season episode order
11:19being chopped down to 15 from the original 19.
11:22And the show had ratings issues.
11:24While it did have a dedicated group of fans,
11:26it just wasn't getting the numbers the studio wanted,
11:29and was constantly in danger of being cancelled.
11:32Fans rallied and not only saved the show from getting the axe,
11:35but also raised nearly $20,000 for charity in the process
11:38with their Save Friday Night Lights campaign.
11:41The show ended up making it to five seasons,
11:43before finally ending in 2011.
11:45No matter what happens, no matter where you go,
11:48no matter what you do,
11:50I'm always gonna be behind you.
11:53So many actors from the show have gone on to find major success in Hollywood,
11:57from Connie Britton to Michael B. Jordan to Minka Kelly to Jesse Plemons and more.
12:01Taylor Kish got a big leading man push from Hollywood after the show ended,
12:05and though it didn't elevate him to superstardom,
12:08he has still continued to have a pretty steady career.
12:11Around the time the show ended,
12:12there were talks about closing off the story with a feature film,
12:16but that never came to fruition.
12:17A reboot of the show, featuring a new cast of characters,
12:21was recently announced, though it hasn't yet moved into production.
12:24I heard that they're making another Friday Night Lights, which I find bizarre.
12:29While it's no surprise that the Hollywood reboot machine is attempting another go at this show,
12:33the original will continue to hold its place in the minds and hearts of fans,
12:37and hopefully continue to find a new audience as more people are clued into its charm and impact.
12:43The show, like its characters, is imperfect yet determined,
12:47and most importantly, full of heart.
12:49There's a joy to this game, is there not?
12:52Yes, sir!
12:53There's a passion and a pleasure to this game.
12:55There's a reason why we're all out here.
12:57So let's go out there and let's have fun tonight.
13:00That's the take.
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