{"id":2007,"date":"2016-04-26T15:40:57","date_gmt":"2016-04-26T19:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2007"},"modified":"2016-04-26T16:08:37","modified_gmt":"2016-04-26T20:08:37","slug":"issue-485-april-26-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2016\/04\/issue-485-april-26-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 485 \u2013 April 26, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\nThe term \u201cInner City\u201d hadn\u2019t been invented<\/em> in the late 1940\u2019s and through the 1950\u2019s, when my neighborhood pals and I grew up in America\u2019s third most densely populated city (bracketed by numbers one and two). This was likely a good thing, because it meant we had no idea we were supposed to be \u201cunderprivileged.\u201d Instead, we just lived and played and went to school as if we were just as \u201cnormal\u201d as anyone else in America. We were English, German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, and Jewish, with a few African Americans (\u201cNegroes\u201d in that era) tossed in for a savory bouillabaisse of heritages. For us, this made no difference; we were fundamentally \u201ccolor-blind\u201d and \u201cethnicity-blind.\u201d Derogatory racial or nationality labels were pretty much taboo among us (although we overheard such words used by some parents and other neighborhood adults). Yes, we faced our occasional challenges with a few neighborhood bad guys, but mostly we just had fun growing up.<\/p>\n

I was a Scout; most of my friends weren\u2019t. At six feet tall by the time I graduated from eighth grade, I was lucky. I could wear my Scout uniform on the street and nobody messed with me. Others weren\u2019t so lucky. Had I been Tristan, the inner city middle-grader whose story we follow in the film, \u201cTROOP 491\u2014THE ADVENTURES OF THE MUDDY LIONS,\u201d I probably wouldn\u2019t have been so fortunate. And that\u2019s the point of today\u2019s column.<\/p>\n

\u201cTROOP 491\u2014THE ADVENTURES OF THE MUDDY LIONS\u201d is a film every BSA council in America needs to have in its library\u2014whether they have an \u201cinner city\u201d in their service area or not! It\u2019s also a film both younger Scouts and middle school boys who aren\u2019t Scouts need to experience.<\/p>\n

Tristan, the main character in this film, is bright yet shy, creative yet unsure of himself, and\u2014worse\u2014he\u2019s on the cusp of becoming a part of a potentially sordid \u201c\u2019hood life.\u201d In short, it\u2019s decision time for Tristan, and it won\u2019t be easy.<\/p>\n

Tristan\u2019s mother enrolls him in Troop 491\u2014perhaps, she hope, a way to keep him off the streets and aimed at the straight-and-narrow\u2026if the values of Scouting take hold, that is. Tristan\u2019s not exactly thrilled with this, but he goes along with Mom\u2019s decision, even if half-heartedly at first.<\/p>\n

As a viewer with some Scouting background, I was delighted to see how much this film got right. The uniforming was the most accurate I\u2019ve seen\u2014nothing like the fictional “Khaki Scouts” of “Moonrise Kingdom,” for instance. I also appreciated how the screenwriter depicted the way the Muddy Lions Patrol was formed and named, and the emergence of their natural leader, as well as the blend of cultures among the patrol\u2019s six new Scouts. Troop meetings went well, the Scout Oath and Law were accurate, and the blend of \u201cserious Scout stuff\u201d and \u201cjust having fun\u201d was pitch-perfect.<\/p>\n

There were a few departures from accuracy, and some viewers may have difficulty accepting such technical strays as having to do push-ups for misbehavior and the impression left that the Scoutmaster is sort of a \u201cuniversal\u201d merit badge counselor. There\u2019s also a reference to a \u201cmedal of honor\u201d that goes a bit far afield. However, none of these is \u201clethal\u201d and none gets in the way of the thrust of the story\u2014and it\u2019s definitely a story worth telling…and seeing!<\/p>\n

To preserve authenticity, Tristan\u2019s neighborhood friends use \u201cstreet talk,\u201d which at times is difficult for the average viewer to understand; but this doesn\u2019t interfere with comprehending what\u2019s going on. My suggestion is just roll with it\u2014you\u2019ll not miss much even if you don\u2019t catch every word. The thrust of the story is clear and still comes through.<\/p>\n

Noticing that this film was produced with the assistance of the staff of the Heart of Virginia BSA council, I reached out to their Scout Executive, Brad Nesheim, for further insights. Here\u2019s what he told me:<\/p>\n

\u201cPraheme, the screenwriter-director-producer, was himself a Scout and his two older brothers are both Eagle Scouts. He used much of his own knowledge and understanding of Scouting when he wrote the script. Our council\u2019s Deputy Scout Executive, Todd Martin, was involved in helping to find uniforms, literature, facilities, camp properties, and he got to know Praheme quite well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were a little skeptical (of the final product) at first, and weren\u2019t sure if we could or should endorse the movie. (But) as things have turned out, the movie\u2019s been met with great acclaim here and shown to middle school groups and received standing ovations. I know that several other councils have used the movie and endorsed it\u2026I think the character and good decision-making value of the movie is what carries it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I agree wholeheartedly. So, for those of us who are indeed \u201cinner city,\u201d it\u2019s right on the money; for those who aren\u2019t, it\u2019s a superb insight into this world and its demands on one\u2019s character and spine.<\/p>\n

For troop-wide viewing, it\u2019s a superlative springboard for lively intra-patrol discussions on decision-making and \u201cliving the Scout Oath and Law.\u201d It\u2019s as real, timely, and compelling as today\u2019s headlines.<\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you\u2019d prefer to be anonymous if published, let me know and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

[No. 485 \u2013 4\/26\/2016 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2016]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ The term \u201cInner City\u201d hadn\u2019t been invented in the late 1940\u2019s and through the 1950\u2019s, when my neighborhood pals and I grew up in America\u2019s third most densely populated city (bracketed by numbers one and two). This was likely a good thing, because it meant we had no idea we were supposed to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2007"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2013,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007\/revisions\/2013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}