1
Introduction
In McFarland USA, Jim White a disgraced head football coach receives a job opportunity
in a rural farming town of McFarland. In an attempt to rescue his career and provide for his
family he blindly accepts the offer with little to no understanding of the culture which he will be
stepping into. For much of the film we see Coach White stick out as a Caucasian man in a
Hispanic culture and his lack of cultural intelligence as well as the resistance of the students he is
teaching makes for a weak relationship. However, when tasked with a cross country team Coach
White and his runners run through challenges and experiences that foster mutual respect,
commonalities, and a loyalty to not just towards the team or job title but each other. It is through
understanding the people on his team and displaying these characteristics that Coach White is
able to create genuine friendships across cultural lines.
Respect
In the predominantly Hispanic culture that the movie takes place in it isn’t hard to see
that respect is a significant element of their culture which serves as a backbone to the family and
community structure. During the movie, every encounter that we see between the mother, father
or grandparents and the runners on the cross-country team a sense of reverence and respect is
given. So much so that regardless of the time, place or what they are commanded they listen to
regardless of the circumstance. This shows up during a scene when the mother of the boys comes
to pick them up during the middle of gym class and immediately the heed to the call of their
mother and disregard any other consequence. Having never experienced anything like this and
2
having little to no prior understanding of the respect dynamic within Hispanic households Coach
White is puzzled by this. Similarly, we also see that the boys schedule is heavily dictated by the
prompting of their mother and wanting to respect and provide for their family. This shows up
during the movie when Coach White runs into a group of his students outside the local hardware
store. Upon seeing them he questions why they are drinking from the hose, and they explain that
they have been working since 5am and that they do this every day even before school. In coming
from a culture where kids don’t start working until their late teens Coach White doesn’t fully
comprehend the reasoning behind this and subsequently allows for practice time to overlap the
livelihood of his runners’ families. It is through Whites failures and misunderstanding that he is
able to open up dialogue with his runners and slowly adapt to their own way of life which slowly
gains more mutual respect.
Commonality
When interacting with other we are naturally drawn to people with common interests,
experiences, and personalities than us. We find comfort and ease in this, and it allows for us to
relate and build strong friendships. However, in this film the initial reaction of Coach White is
that there is little to no commonality between him, his family, and the Hispanic community they
are surrounded by. Much of this is due to Coach White focusing more on the goal building a
better reputation for himself and moving into an environment that is more familiar to him.
Blindly focused on the goal of winning Coach white is focused on improving his team’s
endurance with hill runner. Without much thought he makes the boys run sprints on top of the
almond mounds which many of the families in the community worked tirelessly to harvest. As a
result, one of his runners Thomas Valles is pushed to his breaking point by the cultural
3
insensitivity which displayed by Coach White in conjunction with the additional family
pressures. Along with the tension experienced by his runners Coach White also finds himself in a
challenging situation as the extra time and effort has caused for him to neglect his family.
Coincidentally the shared strain causes Coach White to find Thomas out on an overpass bridge
and have to talk him down off of the edge. This experience serves as a commonality of difficulty
which forces Coach White to share in the burdens that many of his runners are carrying. In light
of this, Coach White having understood the difficult circumstances of many of his runner
chooses to take part in an attempt to lighten the load and relate to them. He does this by coming
alongside the boys to harvest the fields which lightens the loads and starts to understand their
struggles through a commonly shared experience. In this Coach White commits to “pick with
them if he has to” and as a result gains the respect of his runner and the official title of Coach.
Loyalty
In a community that relies on the loyalty of each other to provide and protect its
members, it is no surprise that loyalty and commitment serve as important element of friendship
and relationship. This is no different when it comes to something as simple as forming a cross-
country team. Having started the team with His own motives we see that throughout the film
Coach White is faces with many cultural and physical challenges that force him to evaluate
slowly understand the culture he exists in and the difficulties that come alongside it. As a result,
we are slowly his motives change as his understanding and commitment to his runners shift from
a focus of accomplishment towards relationship. Through this Coach White in loyally
committing to the team despite the ups and downs and the obstacles faced gains not only the
adoration of his team but gains the backing of his community. This is evident during the movie
when Coach White’s family which once was outcast among their communities find there
4
community rallying around them throwing a Quinceanera for his daughter Jamie. The very same
night in a tragic attack during the Quinceanera parade the members of his team did everything to
loyally protect his daughter from any harm as if they were their own family. It among many
other reasons that because of the loyalty of the community that Coach White chooses to remain
loyal to in staying in McFarland and going on to coach nine championship winning cross-country
teams thereafter. He still lives in McFarland to this day.
Conclusion
In Coach White’s respect for the community and its culture, finding and creating
commonalities that bridge the apparent gaps between cultures and His loyalty to the community
and the team that we are able to see cultural lines overcome, and deep friendship formed cross
culturally. In understanding the elements that make each culture unique we are able to adapt our
own perceptions and value what makes each culture specifically unique.
