Themes in Akeelah and the Bee

Being a child or young adult in today’s society is challenging as there are many pressures to be the best at something. These challenges are presented in a child’s home environment and school environment as well. A few themes that was explored in the film Akeelah and the Bee were perseverance, confidence, friendship, and culture.

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As the film starts out, Akeelah is a middle school student in Los Angeles. It is shown that her father has passed away and she lives with her mother and brothers and sister. As Akeelah is an inspiring spelling student, it is at the recommendation of the school’s principal that she sign up for the school spelling bee to which she declines. Eventually, Akeelah decides to sign up and later studies with a college professor who signs her up for a National spelling bee.

After meeting with Dr. Larabee, he no longer wishes to help her as he finds that she is rude to him. After this, she starts to study by herself. As the movie progresses, Akeelah finds herself studying hard with the help of family, friends, and the community to make her way from competition to competition. Of course, she runs into difficulty along the way.

Yet, she preservers!

This is an essential skill that students should have and develop as they can learn to grow from mistakes and obstacles that are put in their way. Students should have confidence in themselves and their education and learning ability. This is believing in themselves that they have the ability to do anything that they set their mind to.

Perseverance was seen in three main parts of the film; when Mr. Larabee resigns as her coach, pressure from fellow classmates, and the influence from parents and teachers. Akeelah’s confidence in herself also grew as she begun to study on her own after she lost motivation and was close to giving up in participating in the spelling bee. In a montage in the film, members of the community can be seen helping her study and quiz her using flashcards. Here you can see the support that she has from everyone around her as they encourage her to continue on the path to the spelling bee. Too often in classrooms around the world, students are seen giving up due to frustration and lack of self-confidence. This part of the film is encouraging to see support from those around her which in turn leads to her confidence building up.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same” - Akeelah, Akeelah and the Bee

Friends are of tremendous importance to a child in their development and educational experience. We can see this in the film with the character Javier Mendez who encourages Akeelah to join the spelling bee at his school. This was a positive friendship that was developed as helped improve Akeelah’s self-esteem and confidence. As the film continues on, it can be see that Akeelah and Javier create a strong bond and they support each other as they move their way through the competitions.

Lastly, the teachers and parents in the film had a tremendous impact on Akeelah. When there is someone to navigate and guide you it can elevate your educational experience. This in turn coincides with confidence and perseverance. These skills allow children to handle a situation the best way they know how and with the confidence in themselves to do so. An example in the film would be Akeelah’s mom as she was constantly motivating her to keep participating and to not give up. The same for her father, even though he had passed away, he had a lasting impact on Akeelah as he could be seen in her memory cheering her on and was a positive role model in her life and someone she looked up to.

This film shows the viewers that with confidence and perseverance, you can get through tough times and handle almost anything that gets thrown your way. Communities, friends, teachers and family are always around to support and encourage students. As a future educator, this film has taught me that I can always try my best to be there for my students and encourage them to be the best they can be and that they can accomplish anything they set their mind to with confidence and perseverance.

Resources:https://insider.pureflix.com/movies/3-lessons-on-perseverance-from-akeelah-and-the-bee