Air (2023)
Directed by Ben Affleck
Written by Alex Convery
Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker
Release Date April 5th, 2023
Published April 7th, 2023
Air takes advantage of the collective nostalgia of sports fans of the 1990s. It's a powerful force that alters our critical thinking and places in a welcomg headspace regardless of our critical faculties. Thus how we get a movie about corporate titans, literal billionaires, becomes a shaggy underdog narrative about overcoming the odds. Never mind that Nike always had the means to land Michael Jordan and make him the global brand he became, it's more compelling to pretend that they had no chance and were some kind of upstart in an industry they'd made a billion dollars in in just a decade of existence.
Our culturewide nostalgia for what Michael Jordan represents leaves us willing to center a story about the triumph of a black entrepreneur that is centered on the success of the white men who proved capable of seeing his worth and willing to bend their profits to his will. Yes, there was still plenty of stakes in 1984 and there was always the chance that Michael Jordan could have gotten hurt or developed a disinterest in greatness, but we know that didn't happen and that fact makes this story much easier to be nostalgic about.
The makers of Air are aware of the issues we are bringing with us into seeing Air. The film is aware that Nike is the weird cult of a billionaire's personality. The filmmakers are aware that they are taking a story of black excellence and centering it on a group of white men, Nike was well aware that they were seeking athletes they could exploit for financial gain that would mostly go to the white men exploiting them. The film pitches these problems in dialogue and bats them away by telling you a pretty good story about charismatic characters in a complicated and fast paced fashion. Does this excuse the sins involved? No, not in the least, but there is no denying the entertainment value of our blinding nostalgia.
Matt Damon stars in Air as Sonny Vaccaro, basketball guru. Hired to define the Nike Basketball brand, Vaccaro works alongside marketing guru, Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), to find athletes willing to be paid to wear Nike basketball gear. As we join the story, it's 1984 and Nike ranks third in the world in basketball shoes. Adidas and Converse are numbers 1 and 2 and the biggest stars are making deals with them. This includes the top 3 picks in the 1984 NBA draft, Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Bowie, and Michael Jordan. Nike has high hopes for maybe inking a deal with someone named Mel Turpin.
Then, late one night, Sonny Vaccaro watches Michael's legendary NCAA Tournament winning shot from the 1982 NCAA tournament championship. In that legendary video, he sees something that no one else had seen before. In Sonny estimation, Michael Jordan, then a Freshman, was actually the first choice to make this game winning shot. Of all the stars at the disposal of legendary College Basektball coach Dean Smith, he chose to draw up a play that relied on Michael Jordan to make the most important shot. On top of that, Jordan appears unafraid of this kind of pressure, he's calm and he confidently hits a shot that hundreds of other players might not have the nerve to make.
Find my full length review at Geeks.Media
