history

12 Mighty Orphans – Movie Review

movie review

12 Mighty Orphans is based on a true story set in 1930’s depression era Texas. It stars Luke Wilson as Rusty Russell, an orphan himself, who moves his wife and daughter to an orphanage to teach and coach football. His wife, Juanita (played by Vinessa Shaw), while not excited at first, quickly adapts to her new family of orphans.

Of course, things are far from perfect at the orphanage. The boys are all in fear of the print shop teacher, Frank Wynn (played by Wayne Knight, best known as Newman of Seinfeld) and for good reason. Mr. Wynn likes to use a wooden paddle on the boys any time he feels the urge.

Russell wants to get the boys out on the field from day one. The big obstacle of getting the team in the league however, is that the boys must be able to pass a written academic test. Russell and Juanita spend time getting the boys prepped to take the test. Only 12 boys pass the test and are allowed to form the team.

Despite all the struggles of forming the team and getting the league to allow them to join, the orphan team still has to overcome their own struggles with themselves and each other. In the end, the boys succeed despite their smaller size and learn to work together and become a family, the only one they have.

I very much enjoyed 12 Mighty Orphans. It is a period piece, which I love. It has the underdog that can be embraced and a heart warming story of courage, determination, hope, and positivity.

As always, Enjoy Movie Night!

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Fashion Redux 2020 at the San Diego History Center via Zoom

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image: http://www.sandiegohistorycenter.org

Museums are closed now due to Covid-19, however, many museums are finding unique ways to allow the public to view their exhibits. Now might be a good time to ‘visit’ a museum anywhere in the world on-line. Some are even offering on-line classes and speaker presentations.

I signed-up to be included in a Zoom live-webinar for the San Diego History Center’s exhibit Fashion Redux 2020. While it would have been nice to see the exhibit in person, this was the next best thing. Fashion Redux 2020 is an exhibit featuring the designs of San Diego Mesa College fashion students that are based on and inspired by fashion from the collection at the San Diego History Center. The exhibit is now in it’s 9th year. This year’s era of choice was the 1970’s. The students researched the period and the clothing worn at that time and tried to make it relevant for today. The top four designs were chosen to be in the exhibit. During the live-webinar, the winning designers were asked questions about their designs and how they came to be and their design styles. Their professor from Mesa College was one of the speakers who questioned the students and gave information on their assignment.

The webinar began with a brief history of the museum and it’s collection. I found this very interesting. The fashion collection at the San Diego History Center is quite large and was donated by individuals living in San Diego. They (as most museums do) loan pieces from their collection to other museums. One such piece that has gone out for loan is the Bloomer Ensemble dating 1850. According to the museum’s archieve expert, the Bloomer Ensemble (which belonged to Anna Gunn Marston of San Diego) is the only existing piece of it’s kind. It had a very important significance to the change in women’s clothing, giving women more freedom of movement.

Bloomer Ensemble
Silk taffeta and glazed cotton, c. 1850
Very rare example, descended through the Anna Gunn Marston family of San Diego.
Gift of Elizabeth Bacon, 87.64.1 (photo and description from: http://www.sandiegohistorycenter.org)

So, while one may not be able to visit a museum in person at the moment, this is a great chance to enjoy an on-line experience. I am glad my daughter and I attended the on-line webinar. This year’s student designers were incredible and I learned a little fashion history as well. The webinar is eventually to be posted on the museum’s wesite and youtube as well. Be sure to check out the museum’s website for more information on the current exhibit at: http://www.sandiegohistorycenter.org).