October Sky Blog

I recently watched the movie October Sky during class. This movie was about an underappreciated boy named Homer Hickem who must overcome challenges and obstacles to do what he wants to do, build rockets. In one part of the movie, Homer and his friends have to prove their innocence because they are falsely accused of starting a forest fire, due to one of their rockets. Homer and his friends shoot one of their rockets, and nearby on the same day, a forest fire is started. The police find an object that looks like a rocket near the site of the fire, and they blame Homer. However, Homer uses mathematical equations to prove to Mr. Turner (the principal of Homer’s school) and the police that his rocket could not have started the fire. Homer calculated the final location of the rocket and it was no where near where the object the found. Later, it is confirmed that it was a military flare that started the fire, set off at a nearby airport. A character education trait that was not shown in the movie towards Homer was respect. Homer was not shown respect by his brother and father, because they did not appreciate his academic pursuits. Homer was not shown respect by his brother Jim because Homer wanted to build rockets, and Jim thought football was all that mattered. He felt that Homer’s dream was a joke. Homer also was not respected by his father because his father did not “approve” of Homer’s dreams. Since Homer did not excel at football, his father thought that Homer should spend his life working in the coal mine. His father proudly went to all of Jim’s football games, but never to one of Homer’s rocket launches. I found this movie to be interesting and enjoyable, especially since it is based on a true story. It also delivers a very important message - Always follow your dreams, and listen to your heart since no one can choose your life for you.