THE EXPENSIVE SEDUCTIVE NOSTALGIA OF FIELD OF DREAMS
Reason magazine|May 2023
WHY ARE SO MANY FILMGOERS AND POLITICIANS EAGER TO PROP UP BASEBALL'S BOONDOGGLES?
MATT WELCH
THE EXPENSIVE SEDUCTIVE NOSTALGIA OF FIELD OF DREAMS

ASK A FULL-GROWN man why he's choking back tears at the mere mention of the 1989 baseball fable Field of Dreams, and he is almost certain to cite the film's famous final scene, in which 33-yearold Kevin Costner, voice at once hope-fully boyish and soggy with the emotionalism of looming middle age, says to an anachronistically clad young ballplayer, "Hey, Dad? You wanna have a catch?" While technically the answer to a series of supernatural riddles at the movie's outset, Costner's character, Ray Kinsella, hears a disembodied voice in his Iowa cornfield repeating If you build it, he will come, after which he irrationally constructs a ballpark-the baseball-mediated reconciliation between the son and a younger version of his father resonates with anyone carrying unresolved conflict with a parent, or shame over youthful hotheadedness, or just bucolic memory of childhood sport. There's a good reason that Field of Dreams is the third-highest-grossing baseball movie of all time (adjusted for inflation), and there's a good reason it remains the go-to source at live games for inspirational audiovisual clips.

But there is another, more insidious piece of symbolism in that very same scene. As the camera pans out from the father-son reunion and into the twilit summer sky, we see a line of cars snaking in from miles around, fulfilling a prophecy delivered minutes before by the novelist character played by James Earl Jones: "People will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up in your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. 'Of course, we won't mind if you look around,' you'll say. 'It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it."

Bu hikaye Reason magazine dergisinin May 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Reason magazine dergisinin May 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

REASON MAGAZINE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
THE REAL THREAT IS AN ISOLATED CHINA
Reason magazine

THE REAL THREAT IS AN ISOLATED CHINA

DECOUPLING FROM TRADE WILL MAKE THE U.S. POORER AND CHINA MORE TOTALITARIAN.

time-read
10+ dak  |
February 2025
Against Our Own Best Souls'
Reason magazine

Against Our Own Best Souls'

SISTER HELEN PREJEAN ON HERLIFE ASA WITNESS ON DEATH ROW

time-read
10+ dak  |
February 2025
'THE POLITICS HAVE COME TO US'
Reason magazine

'THE POLITICS HAVE COME TO US'

HOW A CHRISTIAN CHARITY IN EL PASO ENDED UP AT WAR WITH THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT FOR HELPING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

time-read
10+ dak  |
February 2025
MATERIEL LOSS
Reason magazine

MATERIEL LOSS

HOW THE U.S. MILITARY BUSTS ITS BUDGET ON WASTEFUL, CARELESS, AND UNNECESSARY 'SELF-LICKING ICE CREAM CONES'

time-read
10+ dak  |
February 2025
'NOT A SUICIDE PACT'
Reason magazine

'NOT A SUICIDE PACT'

HOW A 1949 SUPREME COURT DISSENT GAVE BIRTH TO A MEME THAT SUBVERTS FREE SPEECH AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

time-read
10+ dak  |
February 2025
HOW MUSK CAN HELP TRUMP CUT TRILLIONS
Reason magazine

HOW MUSK CAN HELP TRUMP CUT TRILLIONS

DURING PRESIDENT DONALD Trump’s first term in office, the national debt increased by $8 trillion—due, in large part, to huge spending hikes that Congress passed and Trump signed.

time-read
5 dak  |
February 2025
THE IMPROBABLE RISE OF MAGA-MUSK
Reason magazine

THE IMPROBABLE RISE OF MAGA-MUSK

IS ELON MUSK A REACTIONARY WITHA DEFECTIVE BULLSHIT METER OR THE BEST PART OF THE SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION?

time-read
10+ dak  |
February 2025
A Free-Range Family
Reason magazine

A Free-Range Family

RIGHT NOW, CHILDHOOD is intensely meh. Maybe you read the recent report in The Journal of Pediatrics that said that as kids' independence and free play have gone down, their anxiety and depression have been going up.

time-read
3 dak  |
February 2025
Educulture Wars
Reason magazine

Educulture Wars

THE CULTURE WAR is costing school districts billions, according to a report released in October 2024 by the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access. The report surveyed superintendents at 467 school districts nationwide about extra expenditures they undertook because of increased conflict over culture war issues such as critical race theory, book chal- lenges, gender-related debates, and other politicized topics. The report estimates that such fights cost school districts around $3.2 billion during the 2023-2024 school year.

time-read
1 min  |
February 2025
Q&A Penny Lane
Reason magazine

Q&A Penny Lane

PENNY LANE'S NEW Netflix documentary, Confessions of a Good Samaritan, delves into her life-changing decision to donate a kidney to a stranger. Known for her thoughtful and provocative storytelling, Lane has explored human connection and empathy in films such as Hail Satan? and The Pain of Others. Last October she spoke with Reason's Nick Gillespie and shared her emotional, physical, and philosophical experience with anonymous kidney donation and the challenges that came with it.

time-read
2 dak  |
February 2025